An intuitive inquiry into the volitionally childless woman and the images that support her transpersonal development
by Maschka, Rebecca, Ph.D., INSTITUTE OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2011, 242 pages; 3466824

Abstract:

The goal of this study was to explore the images, symbols, and/or archetypes that volitionally childless North American women identify as supporting their transpersonal (personal and spiritual) development using the qualitative research method of intuitive inquiry. This exploration included the opportunity for 13 Caucasian, volitionally childless women, ranging in age from 30 to 69, selected through flyers and word of mouth, to create a visual representation of personal and spiritual identity using the artistic method of collage followed by a dialogue with the collage using active imagination. The intent of this study was to address the lack of research on the transpersonal development of volitionally childless women, to honor a variety of life choices for all women, and to add focus to the positive aspects of a choice that has historically been viewed negatively by patriarchal and pronatal cultures. Thematic content analysis was used to derive themes from the participant data regarding (a) greatest influences on development, (b) qualities or traits of these influences, (c) collage images and symbols, and (d) keywords and phrases from the imaginative dialogue. Results of this study contributed new data on the lived experience of volitionally childless women including (a) the images and symbols that most represent the personal and spiritual identity of the participants, (b) artistic collages that symbolize this identity, and (c) the greatest influences on the transpersonal development of the participants. Contributions were also made to the field of transpersonal psychology in the use of images and symbols to support the process of transpersonal development and intuitive methods of data collection and analysis.

 
AdviserJudy Schavrien
SchoolINSTITUTE OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY
SourceDAI/B 72-11, p. , Sep 2011
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsSocial psychology; Spirituality
Publication Number3466824
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» This is an open access dissertation.
  Use the link below to access the full text PDF of this graduate work:
  http://gradworks.umi.com/3466824.pdf
  Use the link below to search and retrieve all open access dissertations:
  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.