Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

In this thesis, I am examining the decision making process of how we choose our romantic partners. I use the term “settling” and in this thesis that term refers to the idea of accepting less than what you want in romantic relationships; it is the action of becoming comfortable/content and not searching for what one might know is better for oneself. Although this specific topic has not been explicitly studied under this term, there are underlining concepts that relate to “settling.” These concepts fall under the broader study of relational maintenance and relational satisfaction that is found in interpersonal communication literature. Canary and Stafford (1992) conceptualize these terms as the communication approach one utilizes to preserve the desired relationships (1992). Additionally, relationship maintenance impacts the relationship satisfaction of a person in a relationship due to what efforts are invested in the relationship. Researchers have suggested that relationship satisfaction is a defining factor of a partner’s decision to remain or terminate the relationship (Jang, S. A., et al., 2002; Dainton, 2003). This literature review will examine relationship maintenance and satisfaction and how it may relate to people settling for their partners, and the likelihood of people to maintaining their relationship. Additionally, attachment styles can be a contributing factor in why people may settle in their romantic relationships.

The portrayal of those with mental health disorders in film and television, particularly those with disorders that label them as psychopaths, have often been overlooked. It is all too common for mental health disorders to be romanticized, dramatized, or simply depicted incorrectly. The historical fiction films Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and My Friend Dahmer depict serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer respectively, and while depict historical events to a degree of accuracy, still take creative liberties. The proper definition of psychopathy must be analyzed more and the reason why films about psychopaths are popular with audiences must be as well.

The juvenile justice system was established over a century ago with “the goal of diverting youthful offenders from the destructive punishments of criminal courts and encouraging rehabilitation based on the individual juvenile’s needs” (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2001, p. 154). Although significant progress has been made in maintaining the goals set out when the juvenile justice system was established, there is still a lack of awareness about the dehumanization of juvenile offenders who have been incarcerated. Individual failures of juvenile offenders can occur for a variety of reasons, including a lack of support from their communities and the juvenile justice system as a whole. Throughout the years, there have been several reformations made to the juvenile justice system as there seems to have been a prime focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation. Reformations were made through a few court cases regarding sentences such as capital punishment and life imprisonment without parole. The cases that have brought reform to the juvenile justice system have also brought awareness to the immaturity and cognitive development of juvenile offenders. There are numerous risk and mitigating factors that children face as they grow up, which is exacerbated for those who are incarcerated. The fact that juveniles come out of incarceration with more problems than they did when they entered juvenile facilities is an indication of the need to focus on restorative justice rather than punishment.