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Venice Bruno is a 2015 graduate of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, Santa Barbara.

Dissertation Committee

  • Sharleen O'Brien, PsyD - Dissertation Chair
  • Randy Wood, PhD - Committee Member
  • Elizabeth Shorin, PhD - External Expert
  • Kandice Timmons, M.A. - Student Reader

Keywords

parenthood, personhood, balance, well-being

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

Parents are constantly engaging in a balancing act, weighing their own needs with those of their children and family. Helping parents navigate the role of parenthood can promote optimal development in the child, parent, couple and family. Parents engage in various roles and responsibilities essential for family and individual well-being that require balance in order to be effective. Past research on balance has indicated that people are more satisfied with life when they are active in multiple life domains rather than in a single one. This study is interested in two specific life domains: personhood and parenthood, and how parents balance these two roles and identities. Balance between these two domains may operate to develop the individual and collective simultaneously, seeking to satisfy basic human needs. As a result, this fulfillment and balance may contribute to the experience of well-being. The focus of this study is on parents who believe that they have balance between personhood and parenthood. The mission is to bring awareness and understanding to the experiential part of parenting through a qualitative, phenomenological approach. This study explores parent’s personal accounts, experiences and stories through a semi-structured face-to-face interview. Participants included seven American parents of a variety of ages but all of whom were age 26 years and older. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible at the Ohiolink ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd.

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ORCID Scholar ID : orcid.org/0000-0003-0964-530X

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