Tamara L. Anderson

Calling and Conflict: A Qualitative Exploration of Interrole Conflict and the Sanctification of Work in Christian Mothers in Academia

This study investigated the role of spirituality in working Christian mothers coping with tension due to interrole conflict, in light of past research suggesting a relationship between spirituality and coping constructs. Interviews with 32 mothers working in Christian academia were examined using a post hoc analysis of content informed by principles of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Several aspects of a sense of calling emerged that appeared related to the experience of interrole tension: a sense of certitude, collaboration, and a context of purpose. It was theorized that for these women, the sanctification of work, through experiencing a sense of calling, was related to coping with interrole tension.

Diapers, Dissertations, and Other Holy Things: The Experiences of Mothers Working in Christian Colleges and Universities.

Academic institutions present specific challenges to women attempting to balance work and family responsibilities. This type of involvement within the subculture of evangelical Christianity presents its own variations. Interviews with 30 mothers working in Christian academia were analyzed using a post hoc content analysis informed by principles of grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, 1998). The experiences of these women reveal a number of emotional and practical needs that can inform institutions desiring to create family-friendly climates. These womens stories also reveal that women working within a Christian subculture may differ in displaying tensions consistent with gender-role ideologies that are more conservative than those of the larger society. They seek work environments that are consistent with these ideologies, desire personal integration of their spirituality with their work and family commitments, and express the need for flexibility in establishing goals that are consistent with their ideologies. Implications for Christian institutions are discussed.

Adult Attachment, God Attachment and Gender in Relation to Perceived Stress

This study examines whether adult attachment, God attachment and gender are related to perceived stress. Based on the literature on these variables, it was expected that adult and God attachment would predict perceived stress, that God attachment would have incremental validity over adult attachment in predicting perceived stress and that gender would be a moderator in the relationship between attachment and perceived stress. Two hundred seventy-six participants from a private, Christian university in Southern California completed questionnaires assessing these variables. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that adult and God attachment anxiety as well as adult attachment avoidance significantly predicted perceived stress. Furthermore, God attachment anxiety had incremental validity over adult attachment. Interestingly, gender was a suppressor variable in the relationship between attachment anxiety and perceived stress. Therefore, attachment relationships with ones partner and God are both important in explaining perceived stress level. Gender may also play an indirect role in this relationship, though this concept should be further validated with future research.

Becoming a Mother: The Influence of Motherhood on Women's Identity Development

This qualitative analysis investigated womens experiences of identity change in the process of becoming mothers. Thirty semistructured interviews were completed and the analysis was conducted through a grounded theory framework. The analytic process yielded results that grouped into three overarching themes. The first of these relates to the ways in which women lost themselves for a time while incorporating their children into their identities and reforming their identities. The second theme explores the expansion of the self insofar as women incorporated children into their identities and self-boundaries. The third theme explores ways that women felt that mothering and the close relationships with their children intensified their personalities and identities. Implications for future research are explored.

Breaking the Mold A Qualitative Exploration of Mothers in Christian Academia and Their Experiences of Spousal Support

Women who have chosen to invest in multiple roles as wife, mother, and professional often experience difficulty in balancing these roles. However, research shows that spousal support for women investing in multiple roles can be an important factor in their experience of distress. The authors conduct qualitative interviews designed to gather experiential information with 30 women who are both faculty members at Christian universities around the country and mothers of children living in the home. Information on the participants’ relationships with their husbands and their experiences of spousal support, both practically and emotionally, are determined. Participants report that their spouses help them practically through child care, household chores, and availability in a crisis. Additionally, spouses help their wives through emotional support, including mutual respect, pride in their wives’ accomplishments, and interest in their wives’ work.

Asian and female in the white God's world: a qualitative exploration of discrimination in Christian academia

This study is a phenomenological exploration of discrimination experiences among 11 Asian/Asian-American female faculty at various Christian universities, with a specific focus on the characteristics of the Christian academic environment which contribute to those experiences. Participants completed a 90-minute semi-structured interview. Ten of the 11 women described experiences where they perceived being treated differently due to race and/or gender. Qualitative analyses of interview data resulted in the emergence of three themes related to the discrimination context (lack of diversity, naiveté and denial and “missionary mentality”). Resulting themes are discussed in light of existing research. Future research implications include the continued need for research on factors that contribute to discrimination in religious contexts.

Expanding the Self Motherhood and Identity Development in Faculty Women

Research on women’s identity development has indicated that women generally form and view their identities within the context of their relationships and connections to others. Previous research has looked at various aspects of motherhood identity including paradoxical, conflictual, and ambivalent components of motherhood. The current study contributes by exploring 30 university faculty women’s personal experiences of motherhood through a grounded theory framework to determine the contributions of motherhood to adult identity development. Mothering expanded the women’s selves and identities multivariously, by developing new personal qualities, by increasing relational capacity and concern for others, by creating a sense of lasting influence by contributing to younger generations, and by enhancing their engagement with their careers. In this way, motherhood was personally, relationally, generationally, and vocationally expansive. Implications for clinical work and research are included.

I became a mom : Identity changes in mothers receiving public assistance

ABSTRACT This phenomenological study used individual, semistructured, face-to-face interviews to explore motherhood experiences among 15 women receiving public assistance in a large urban area on the West coast. A primary phenomenon observed was that motherhood was described as an experience of identity change, with resulting emotional, behavioral, and sense-of-self changes. Within this broad theme, two categories emerged: the experience and process of change, and consequences of change. It was concluded that motherhood may serve as an important catalyst for change in some women and that the context of poverty is essential for understanding the motherhood experience. These results suggest that interventions aimed at leveraging emerging motherhood identities may be beneficial in setting women on the path out of poverty, drug addiction, and incarceration. Future research should examine the consequences of maternal change within the specific context of the stages of change documented in the recovery process from drug addiction.

Because God Said So: Religious Facets of Sexual and Gender Harassment in Christian Academia

The present study explored experiences of sexism (sexual and gender harassment) in a Christian university student population. This study assessed the frequency of sexism, documented how sexism is expressed in a Christian context, and evaluated the relationships between sexism and two outcomes, campus climate and college satisfaction. Additionally, it was hypothesized that attribution of gender harassment to the perpetrators religious belief system would potentiate the negative effects of harassment. 187 female students completed an online questionnaire, including the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire—Short Form (SEQ), the General Campus Climate Scale (GCCS), and the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment Scale (CMS). Results indicated very low rates of sexual harassment. Also, religious attributions for gender harassment had a significantly negative relationship with the outcome variables although they did not moderate these outcomes. Qualitative descriptions of students’ experiences with gender harassment were recorded, shedding light on what gender harassing behaviors look like in Christian academia.

Religious beliefs and experiences of the body: an extension of the developmental theory of embodiment

Embodiment involves the engagement of the body with the world, including the relationship between peoples bodies and their social contexts. As one aspect of a persons social context, religion has been shown to be linked to body image, weight concerns, and eating behaviours in previous research. The present study extends existing research by examining the relationship between two specific religiously influenced beliefs about the body and three ways of experiencing the body. One view, radical dualism, sees the body as corrupt and separate from oneself, while a second view, sanctification, sees the body as holy, worthy of respect, and integral to ones being. This study examined how both radically dualistic and sanctified views of the body relate to ways people experience their bodies including depersonalisation, body connectedness, and sexuality awareness. Participants were 243 adults from a variety of Protestant denominations. Using an online survey system and self-report measures, participants indicated the degree to which they hold radically dualistic and sanctified views about their bodies as well as the ways they experience their bodies. Radical dualism was found to be positively related to depersonalisation and lack of body connectedness and negatively related to sexuality awareness. Sanctification was found to negatively predict depersonalisation and positively predict body connectedness. Both radical dualism and sanctification predicted body connectedness and depersonalisation over and above more general religious measures. In addition, measures of religion-specific views of the body predicted body connectedness and depersonalisation over and above both general religious measures and more general measures of sanctification. This study contributes to a greater understanding of how religiously based beliefs about the body are related to peoples experiences of their bodies.