It is common for Evangelical Christian churches to encourage young adult congregants to volunteer within their organization. However, when a volunteer applies for a position, and they do not receive it, they risk experiencing emotional hurt. There is a gap in the literature regarding responses of church attenders who have experienced rejection within the Evangelical church, specifically from a volunteer leadership position. In light of this, the present research conducted a qualitative study to identify how relationships between church staff and aspiring volunteers influence acquiring a leadership position and how young adults respond when they have been hurt by perceived rejection messages regarding volunteer leadership requests. This study gathered data through in-depth, one-on-one interviews of young adults, pastors, and church consultants. Pastors and church consultants provided context for young adults’ responses to rejection from volunteering. Analysis of raw data followed Braun and Clarke’s reflexive Thematic Analysis to identify patterns and themes seen throughout the data set. The depth of a relationship between a pastor and an aspiring volunteer is the primary evaluative process for pastors to acquire responsible leaders. However, aspiring volunteers who do not maintain a deep relationship with the pastor perceived behaviors demonstrating favoritism and were inclined to experience emotional hurt caused by feelings of exclusion and feelings of being morally or socially less than others. Young adult aspiring volunteers responded to perceived rejection through negative self-talk, avoidance, and continued participation in the ministry. Over time, young adults learned to understand and accept what had happened. Ultimately, the research found that the common leadership approach of developing leaders based on personal relationships between church staff and aspiring volunteers increases young adults’ hurt when they are not accepted into a leadership position.

The purpose of this project is to analyze the physical, mental, and interpersonal health benefits that "mindfulness" can bring to employees and upper division executives in numerous workplace settings. In addition, this project also emphasizes the importance of having program implementation and how this could benefit employee and company success. The first portion consists of an academic literature review of the three categories of benefits on employee well-being in the workplace and how it can influence overall productivity and performance. Physical benefits include lower blood pressure; Mental benefits include lower levels of perceived stress; Interpersonal benefits include stronger relationship building and more efficient conflict resolution skills. Most research found proved to be statistically significant (mental and interpersonal benefits) whereas other research is still being practiced to produce significant results (physical and some mental health benefits). The second portion focuses on recent mindfulness programs that are established in well-known companies such as Aetna Insurance, the U.S. Marine Corps as well as a Counterproductive Work Study. All programs showed significant results in all three employee health categories when mindfulness was present. Finally, the third area of the project includes a suggested program outline that focuses on physical forms of meditation to enhance mindfulness along with happiness in conjunction with strengthening mental and interpersonal mindfulness skills.

The objective of this project was to develop a forgiveness training program to be used at a corporate level in addition to the current conflict management strategies. In addition to teaching the value of forgiveness, this search also touches on resilience and how forgiveness increases our personal resiliency. Forgiveness and resilience have been closely linked in previous forgiveness research as they relate to reconciliation. Based on the research, forgiveness has been widely talked about in relation to religious practices, however it is now being discussed in relation to communication. In order to understand forgiveness as a communication process, one has to understand where it began and how the definition of forgiveness has evolved overtime. This project looks at how forgiveness creates value for the individual in terms of the relationship and expresses why forgiveness and reconciliation are not mutually exclusive. Forgiving an individual does not always lead to reconciling the relationship; however, making it so the individuals can continue working together is the goal at work. A key part of understanding forgiveness is being able to identify what forgiveness is not, as much of what we have been taught from a young age is the exact opposite. Adult learners are much different from any other type of learners due to the level of life experience they have -- which can often make it more challenging to rewrite concepts, like forgiveness. This project identifies the best ways to teach adult learners through the use of interactive handouts and videos that demonstrate the power of forgiveness in our day-to-day lives.

Romantic relationships are an important aspect of anyone's life. For individuals with an autism spectrum disorder, this is true as well. However, these people may experience relational dynamics and trajectories that are in some aspects either similar to or markedly different from those who are not on the spectrum. There are very few studies analyzing and understanding how adults with an ASD navigate romantic relationships. This particular study examined how turning points pertaining to relational escalation or de-escalation were recognized and understood by eight individuals (four men and four women) possessing an ASD. The Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) was implemented in order to accrue data from participants. Each participant completed a RIT graph mapping out a romantic relationship of their choice by understanding when a turning point was identified and placing a mark next to the corresponding level of relational closeness or attachment. Once all turning points were mapped out, they were connected with lines so that a visual representation of the entire relationship may be viewed. Participants were then queried about how they knew that particular event (or mark) to be a turning point, how it impacted the relationship, and how they were, personally, influenced by it (how they responded to the event). Interviews were transcribed and explored through a grounded theory approach. Specifically, Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis method was applied to articulate interview data. The research revealed four main themes (Relational Genesis, Relational Escalation, Relational De-escalation and Conflict Management) as well as seventeen sub themes. Limitations for this study, information relating to discourses surrounding autism spectrum disorders and romantically intimate relationships, as well as, areas for future study are also discussed.

This study examines long-distance relationships between grandparents and their adolescent grandchild through the qualitative identification and analysis of relational turning points and trajectories. A sample of 30 grandparents yielding 99 individual turning points allowed for an in-depth understanding of these relational constructs that previous research neglects to explore from the perspective of a grandparent. A constant comparative analysis of these turning points reveals 8 distinct categories of relational turning points including Spending Time Together, Family Relational Dynamics, Geographic Distance, Lack of Relational Investment, Use of Technology, Relational Investment, Lack of Free Time, and Grandchild Gaining Independence. These turning points vary in how they positively or negatively impact relational closeness between participants and their grandchildren. The use of Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) yields 30 individual relational trajectory graphs categorized into five trajectories including Decrease in Closeness, Increase in Closeness, Multidimensional Changes in Closeness, Minimal Changes in Closeness, and Consistent Relational Closeness. Results provide theoretical contributions to aging and family literature as well as practical findings pertaining to current and future grandparents. These implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Emerging adulthood--a developmental point in the life span (usually between the ages of 18-25) during which children no longer see themselves as adolescents but would not yet consider themselves adults--is marked by identity exploration and discovering new life directions. When emerging adults find themselves serving as caregivers for their parent during a time when they would normally be establishing autonomy and exploring new directions, they may feel conflicted by their desire to both care for their parent and maintain a sense of independence. Thus, using a multiple-method research design that includes both an autoethnography and a qualitative content analysis of young adult caregivers' online posts, this study intends to uncover the dialectical tensions (the interplay of communicative tensions within a relationship) an emerging adult daughter experiences in her relationship with her mother as she serves as her caregiver, experiences her death, and grieves her passing by analyzing the author's personal narrative. To provide a deeper understanding of the dialectical nature of the emerging adult caregiver experience, the study was extended with an examination of other young caregivers' experiences, drawn from online forums, to explore how they encounter tensions within their own relationships with their parents. An analysis of the personal narrative revealed one primary dialectical tension, separation-connection, and three interrelated tensions--predictability-change, openness-closedness, and holding on-letting go--that seemed to influence this primary tension. Results of the qualitative content analysis revealed that other caregivers experienced one primary dialectical tension, sacrifice-reward, and two additional, interrelated tensions: independence-dependence and presence-absence. A comparison of the findings from each methodological approach revealed both similarities and differences in experiences of emerging adult caregivers.