African American mother's socialization of daughter's dress and consumption of appearance-related products

Abstract

First, I would like to thank God. During the course of completing this dissertation, I had many doubts in my abilities to write and complete my dissertation. I was constantly reminded that I can do things through Christ who strengthens me. I prayed for guidance and clarity to get me through this dissertation. It was a difficult process, due to deaths within my family. However, I prayed for strength, and I was able to complete this dissertation by the grace of God. I would like to acknowledge my dissertation committee for their guidance and support throughout the doctorate program at Iowa State University. Each of you contributed meaningfully to my dissertation. Thanks to my major professor Dr. Mary Lynn Damhorst for her endless support and patience assisting me during this process of writing my dissertation in addition to helping me prepare for my future profession. Dr. Damhorst's extensive research experience on social psychology of dress, appearance, and body image was extremely useful throughout my dissertation study. I would like to thank Dr. Telin Chung for helpful insight toward consumer behavior research as a resource for this research. Thanks to Dr. Eulanda Sanders for her assistance in understanding social psychological aspects of African American appearance prior to the beginning of this research project. Thanks to Dr. Yalem Teshome for her assistance with her contribution of Black feminist theories, which helped guide this dissertation tremendously. Thanks to Dr. Zlantan Krizan for all the encouraging words during the writing phase of my dissertation in addition to making sure the material collected for this research will be useful for future research studies. I humbly thank my mother Gloria Wilburn for her prayers, encouragement, support, and belief in me to complete my dissertation. Thank you Lorraine Acker, Malika Butler, vii

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