Table Of ContentLIVING THROUGH PRIVATE TIME:
AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALES AT MENARCHE
By
DOROTHY JEAN HAWTHORNE
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
1999
Copyright 1999
by
Dorothy Jean Hawthorne
Dedicated to
The Loving Memories
of my Father
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, SR.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge the young girls and their mothers
for sharing their life-lived experiences about a private and
sensitive topic, menarche. I am especially grateful to my
early maturing daughter, Nathan'ette Burdine, for inspiring
my interest in menarche as a research focus. I thank my
family and friends for their continued support throughout
this lengthy doctoral process.
My deepest sincere thank you is extended to Dr. Richard
Lutz and the members of my supervisory committee including
Dr. Hossein Yarandi, Dr. Faye Gary, Dr. Sharleen Simpson,
Dr. Felix Berardo, and Dr. Joe Feagin. Often I encountered
one obstacle after another as I struggled to maintain my
focus on the goal of completing this task. Abandoning this
project, however, was impossible with the strong support
offered by the University of Florida's Graduate School
through Dr. Richard Lutz and the members of my supervisory
committee. I thank you.
Dr. Hossein Yarandi served as my mentor long before
officially assuming the advisor and supervisory chair roles.
I wish to acknowledge his years of kind guidance, patience,
and friendship. Dr. Faye Gary has been my shining light at
the end of a lonely and dark tunnel for the final twelve
iv
weeks of this project. It has been an honor to work closely
with a graceful and focused professor as Dr. Gary. She is a
joy, and I am deeply indebted to her.
I wish to acknowledge Dr. Felix Berardo as my
counselor-of-reality. He is a person of wisdom, and he
served as my voice of reason throughout my doctoral
experience at the University of Florida. I appreciated his
direct and taciturn ways of sharpening my insight into
issues that truly mattered.
There is no question that most African Americans know
what it means to be black while living in the United States.
Of course I knew this, at least I thought I did, until I met
Dr. Joe R. Feagin. I wish to acknowledge Joe's professional
and candid analysis of racial-ethnic situations that have
either directly and/or indirectly influenced my personal and
professional lives. Joe helped to hone my critical thinking
about how the literature and media portray African American
females. With Joe's help, I was able to critically evaluate
and present literature that addressed the life of African
American females at menarche.
Lastly, I dedicate this work to my father, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Sr., and all that he stood for. Only through
memories of his image as a strong, loving, and devoted
father was I able to persevere to the completion of this
task. I wish to acknowledge my love for him, and my
commitment to making him proud of having me as a daughter.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv
LIST OF TABLES ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTERS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Problem 2
White Females 3
African American Females 6
Parents 8
Statement of the Problem 11
Purpose of the Study 13
Research Questions 14
Theoretical Perspectives 15
Symbolic Interactionism 16
Phenomenologic Humanism 19
Significance of the Study 22
Definition of Terms 24
Origin of the Study 25
Assumptions 29
Scope of the Study 3
Delimitations 30
Limitations 31
Overview of the Remaining Four Chapters 32
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 33
Age of Menarche Onset 33
Chronological Age at Menarche 34
Biophysiological Thesis 37
Sociobiological Thesis 39
Cognition in the Child 42
Information Processing 43
Storage and Use of Information 44
Educational Preparation 45
Limited Educational Preparation 46
Mothers as Teachers About the Menarche 47
VI
Responses to Menstruation 49
Psychological Responses 50
Self-Concept 57
Personality Characteristics
of Maturing Females 59
Familial Status 61
Menarche to Sex and Pregnancy 62
Peer Relationships 65
Summary 67
METHODS AND PROCEDURES 68
Research Design 68
Sample 71
Feasibility Study 71
Family Types 72
Socioeconomic Status (SES) 73
Sampling Procedures 75
Demographic Information 79
Scientific Integrity and Rigor 82
Protection of Human Subjects 91
Data Collection 92
Data Analysis and Verification 95
Summary 97
LIVING THROUGH PRIVATE TIME 98
Organization of the Chapter 98
Symbolic Bleeding 99
Philosophical Beliefs 99
Emotional Responses 108
At Another Time 119
Sexual Sensuality 126
Private Business 132
Regulating Sexual Behavior 137
Gender Sexuality Scripting 138
Cross-Sex Segregation 142
Parental Supervision 147
Good Company 153
Managing Menstrual Flow 156
Mother's Significance 156
Comfort Measures 162
Hygienic Measures 165
Preparation for Subsequent Flows 171
Summary 173
SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS 176
Organization of the Remainder of the Chapter 178
Living Through Private Time 178
Symbolic Bleeding 180
Regulating Sexual Behavior 183
Managing Menstrual Flow 184
VII
Self-Concept 186
Self-image 187
Self-Esteem 190
Recommendations 194
Implications for the African American
Family Literature 194
Implications for Nursing 196
Implications for Further Research 197
APPENDICES
A INFORMED CONSENT 200
B DEMOGRAPHICAL DATA 209
C INTERVIEW GUIDES: CHILD AND MOTHER 210
D STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SERIES (SAS) 213
REFERENCES 214
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 232
Vlll
LIST OF TABLES
Table page
3-1 Profile of Feasibility Sample's Types of
Families and Socioeconomic Classes 74
3-2 Demographic Profile of the Young Girls
Indicating ID Number, Age, Tanner's Stage,
Time in Study, and Height and Weight 83
3-3 Demographic Profile of the Parents Including
ID Number, Mother's Age, Father's Age,
Mother's Education, Father's Education,
and Household Income 84
3-4 Profile of the Young Girls' Families
Including Family Type, Socioeconomic
Status and Number in Household 85
3-5 Profile of Family Types and Socioeconomic
Classes According to Hollingshead1s Index
(Gilbert & Kahl, 1993) 86
3-6 Profile of Biological Father's Presence
and Absence in the Home and Socioeconomic
Class Stratification 86
3-7 Frequency and Percent of Variables Tanner's
Stage, Family Type, and Socioeconomic
Status (SES) 87
3-8 Summary Measures of the Demographic Variables 88
IX
Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School
of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy
LIVING THROUGH PRIVATE TIME:
AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALES AT MENARCHE
By
Dorothy Jean Hawthorne
August 1999
Chairperson: Hossein Yarandi, PhD
Major Department: College of Nursing
A female's first menstrual flow (menarche) is not only
a physical experience, but an influential social,
psychological and familial event. The social psychological
responses of individuals from various ethnocultural and
socioeconomic backgrounds to influential events are
significant to the professional practice of mental health
nursing. The positive, negative, and mixed effects of
menarche in middle-class European (White) American females
have been well researched as compared to other ethnocultural
and socioeconomic groups. Theoretical formulations for the
social psychological responses of African (Black) American
females at menarche were prepared. The qualitative case
study approach was used to: (1) discern the thoughts,
feelings, beliefs, practices, and social interactive
