Bachelor with Honours Dissertations - open access

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/14987
The "Bachelor with Honours Dissertations - open access" collection contains digital copies of AUT University B(Hons) dissertations approved for open access. B(Hons) dissertations are required to be open access from April 2022. Past students may contact the Tuwhera team (tuwhera.opentheses@aut.ac.nz) if they wish to make their B(Hons) open access.

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Browsing Bachelor with Honours Dissertations - open access by Supervisor "Goedeke, Sonja"

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    Contributing Factors to Parental Stress and Health-Related Quality of Life in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Beattie, Seona Katherine
    Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a life-long neurodevelopmental condition often requiring substantial support from parents. Research has identified that parents of children with ASD tend to experience increased stress and lower quality of life (QoL) compared to parents of typically developing children. However, little research has investigated child factors related to ASD and the impact of these on parental stress and QoL in New Zealand. Aim: The present study aims to explore how the severity of child core ASD symptoms, child comorbidities, and problem behaviours might impact upon parent stress and health-related QoL (HR-QoL). Method: Using a quantitate approach and cross-sectional design, 494 parents of children with ASD were recruited for the study between August and September 2021 by voluntary sampling. Participants completed the Autism Impact Measure (AIM), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a comorbidities checklist, Parental Stress Scale (PSS), and Short Form-36 Questionnaire (SF-36) to assess parent-rated child factors and obtain self- rated measures of stress and QoL. Results: Pearons’s correlation analyses revealed all child factors and parent mental and physical HR-QoL were significantly associated with parent stress. The mental HR-QoL of parents declined significantly with increasing parental stress. Path analysis demonstrated that child problem behaviours significantly predicted mental HR-QoL directly, and indirectly with partial mediation via stress. Moreover, the only child factor significantly predicting parent physical HR-QoL was a positive direct effect observed from ASD symptom severity. Parental stress was a direct and significant predictor of QoL in both mental and physical health domains for parents of children with ASD. Conclusion and implications: Findings of the present study add to the body of literature investigating the impact of child factors on parent stress and quality of life for parents caring for a child with ASD in New Zealand. It has been highlighted that child factors can impact both the mental and physical HR-QoL of these parents, with mental HR-QoL most affected. The exploration of environmental and personal factors acting to mediate child variables and parent outcomes could further develop our understanding of how best to support parents and guide development of mental health intervention.
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    An Exploration of Women’s Motivations for and Experiences of Egg Freezing for Social Reasons: A Systematic Review
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2022) Hathaway, Jo
    Introduction: The increasing trend in developed countries of women delaying childbearing has led to an increase in oocyte cryopreservation for non-medical reasons or social egg freezing (SEF), whereby women prolong their fertility by freezing their eggs for elective or social reasons. The aim of this systematic review was to gain an understanding of the motivations for and experiences of women who choose to undergo SEF. Methods: A systematic search of English language peer-reviewed journals of five computerised databases was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. No time restrictions were set. The five databases searched were MEDLINE and CINHAL Complete (using EPSCO Health as the host platform), Scopus, PsychINFO and Google Scholar with the aim to identify articles that examined women’s motivations for and experiences of SEF such as “egg freezing”, “fertility preservation” and “experience*“. The databases were searched up until August 2, 2021. 588 studies were identified. Results: After applying inclusion criteria thirteen studies were examined in this review. Extracted data was analysed using thematic synthesis with prominent themes identified. The most common motivating factor was lack of a suitable partner while a feeling of running out of time and utilising SEF as a back-up plan or to buy options were prime considerations. While overall satisfaction with SEF was typically reported, both empowerment and loneliness were common experiences along with a need for support and honest information to ensure realistic expectations. Conclusion: The predominant reason women are electively choosing to freeze eggs is lack of finding a suitable partner with whom to have children and a sense of declining fertility. The resulting experience of freezing their eggs leads to a sense of empowerment and gratitude in having a back-up plan even if SEF might not be successful. There is a significant gap in current research with respect to New Zealand women who have undergone SEF, therefore future research into their motivations and experiences would be invaluable. It is apparent that both men and women should be given earlier information about fertility in order to be aware of age-related fertility decline.
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    Heterosexual Parents’ Decisions and Experiences of Disclosure to Their Donor-Conceived Children in the Last Ten Years: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2022) Duff, Michelle
    Disclosure of donor conception has been advocated in several jurisdictions in recent years, especially in those that practice or mandate identity-release donation. This systematic review aims to integrate knowledge from research over the past ten years concerning heterosexual parents’ decisions to disclose donor conception to their children, and their experiences of disclosure, in both jurisdictions which allow anonymous donation (non- mandated jurisdictions) and those which require donation to be identity-release (mandated jurisdictions). This may provide a context for understanding the disclosure patterns of heterosexual parents in Aotearoa New Zealand and the effects on their well-being, as the first donor-conceived children born under the provisions of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology [HART] Act (2004) turn 18 in late 2022. Methods A bibliographic search of English language, peer-reviewed, and published journal articles from six computerized databases was undertaken from January 2012 to August 2022. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses [PRISMA] 2020 approach was used. Results Twenty-six reports met the inclusion criteria, representing 23 study populations and the decisions of 2,114 participants. The review shows that parental disclosure decisions and experiences may be understood via a biopsychosocial framework, and are impacted by multiple interacting intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external contextual and social factors across both mandated and non-mandated jurisdictions. There appears to be a general trend towards early disclosure with most of the parents in the studies included in this review disclosing to their donor-conceived children before the age of ten. Additionally, there appears to be a trend towards increased disclosure over time, specifically in mandated identity-release jurisdictions. The varied methodological approaches and sample sizes across the reports making it difficult to integrate the findings are discussed. Conclusion Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external factors influence parents’ decisions and experiences around the disclosure process. The need for further research across many aspects of the donor conception field has been demonstrated by this review, including the role of mandating identity-release, gender, culture, donor type, and professional psychological support in parental disclosure decisions and experiences.
Dissertations are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
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