This qualitative study of nine women examined the changes in their everyday lives as they cared for their terminally-ill husbands and after their husbands died. It also studied how the women coped with these changes, and how their coping contributed to their identity change from wife to widow. Symbolic interaction was utilized to study the changes…

This research examined resilience processes in context through a narrative case study of Tasha, a young African-American woman who grew up in a poverty-ridden area of a mid-sized city in the Southeast. Personal and external data are analyzed and interpreted in terms of contextually defined themes of adversity (i.e., intersectionality of social…

Describes a personal growth group format involving ten weekly sessions for a maximum of ten people per group based on Adlerian premises. Assessment plus directions for further research are provided. (Author/BH)

The purpose of this study was to explore women students' experiences and reactions to a core Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) class cross-listed with Women's Studies (WS). Using 6 focus groups with 22 women, we found that the course increased "awareness of gender" (Theme A) but was limited partially because of patriarchical beliefs,…

The theme of silence is one of the most pervasive themes in the study of girls and women across cultures. Examines the emotional, physical, educational, and behavioral losses that occur for adolescent girls. Results of landmark research studies and the implications for practitioners also are discussed. (Contains 53 references.) (GCP)

The purposes of this study were to investigate female juvenile delinquents and at-risk girls' perceptions of their new school experience at a residential alternative education program in Singapore. Participants' views about the three key components of the alternative school are presented. Student characteristics and services offered at the school…

This report presents a dialectical model of identity development which is based on observations of how the self evolves within the context of feminist/transpersonal therapy. Developmental stages which are identified include fusion (Stage I), differentiation (Stage II), and integration (Stage III) of the Child (asserting) and Parent (nurturing)…

The conflict management skills of 16 women receiving self-esteem training were assessed before and after the program. Most made significant gains in self-esteem and at the same time developed nonadversarial styles of conflict management. (SK)

Presents Afrocentric model, an approach to identify problems and develop strategies to enhance the sense of belonging, identity, and control in African-American females. Describes three areas of experience (sense of belonging, identity, and control) and demonstrates application of model by discussing preliminary study of African-American females.…

The multiple and conflicting identity pressures that young women in western society face have been remarked upon in the literature. Adolescence is a time when identity development activity intensifies, and this process can present young people with challenges. In this paper a social constructionist and interpretive frame is applied to such…

This article emerged in the course of a doctoral study that focused on the role of literary and filmic texts in constructing adolescent girls' subjectivities and desires for womanhood. Analysing data drawn from both text and subject, the study focused on the discursive choreography of girls' imaginary constructions of their mature adult selves.…

The purpose of this article is to review the personal development and transformation of women earning an online degree and to what extent their goals were met through earning the degree. Eighteen adult women who earned a fully online master's degree at least one year ago from a university affiliated with the Southern Regional Education Board were…

A personal accounting of the change and growth that occurs for one woman, on her own, and with a weekend-long women's encounter group. (EJT)

Presents a model of feminist identity development for women, derived, in part, from Cross's (1971) theory of Black identity development. The stages in this process include passive acceptance, revelation, embeddedness-emanation, synthesis, and active commitment. Implications of the model are outlined for women, nonsexist and feminist…

Arthur Chickering's (1969) psychological theory that men and women from the ages of 17 through 25 years share common developmental tasks was tested in a cross-sectional study of the psychosocial development of 241 college students and adults. Evidence supported a sequence of developmental tasks for women that differed from Chickering's theory.…