<p>This essay describes how theatre can be a tool in social work. The essay evaluates the Swed-ish KRAFT-project, a course for unemployed people with the goal to make them grow as in-dividuals by using drama exercises and performing a theatre play in front of an audience. The essay is a quantitative secondary study of the questionnaire used in the KRAFT-project. Through analysing the questionnaire the participants answered this essay tries to explain the results from a social psychological perspective. The essay also discusses how the participants’ self-concept and self-esteem could have been affected by the KRAFT-project. The discussion generates several new hypothesis concerning this issue. The results of this study can not be generalised to other projects using theatre or drama as a tool for personal development but it describes an example of how it can be used as a method in social work.</p>

<p>The general objective of this thesis was to examine aspects of adolescents perceived interpersonal relations, in view of the association between adolescents’ interpersonal problems and self-concepts, and considering influential factors such as behavioural problems, depression, perceptions of parental rearing styles, type of relationships and sex. All of the studies examined participants from the four-year longitudinal research project in Umeå, which was designed to investigate the psychic health and social context of adolescents with psychological and antisocial problems (Armelius & Hägglöf, 1998), except for the normal adolescents in study I, who took part in a project with purpose to determine norms for an intake interview that is used for adolescents in different settings in Sweden. Study I addressed the impact of type of relationship on adolescents interpersonal behaviour, and the results were discussed in terms of interpersonal theory and the complementarity principle. Study II investigated the association between self-concept and interpersonal problems in normal adolescents. Different interpersonal problems were systematically related to three self-concept patterns, and showed the importance of considering the combination of self-love and self-autonomy to understand interpersonal problems in adolescents. In study III the associations between self-concept, and interpersonal problems were investigated, also considering depression as a factor, in a group of adolescents with conduct problems. This study revealed sex differences: boys’ interpersonal problems mainly were associated with self-control, an imbalance between self control and autonomy, and depression, whereas girls’ interpersonal problems mainly were associated with low self-love and depression. Study IV examined the relationship between memories of perceived parenting styles and interpersonal problems. Also in this study, sex differences were shown. It was found that for boys the perceived parenting styles of the fathers had the strongest associations to interpersonal problems, and for girls the perceived parenting styles of the mothers had the strongest associations to interpersonal problems.</p>

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

<p>Self-concept is a very complex structure that includes feelings and beliefs, which people have about them in relations to other people and objects. Many marketers and researchers found that expression of self has a great influence on customer’s buying behavior and defines her attitudes towards products and services that correspond to her self-concept. This study, which is based on quantitative research with deductive approach, examines a self-concept of women in advertising across cultures. One hundred and sixty respondents from Russia and Sweden in the age from eighteen to thirty have been asked to identify the ideal eye color, hair color, hair length and make-up for a woman in order to look beautiful. Besides that, congruence between advertising images of female beauty and consumer's perception of ideal self in terms of wanting to look like a specific model was tested. After analysis of empirical results, some differences, as well as similarities between two countries have been found. Since the issues of advertising standardization still are in the focus of many studies, findings of this study is another argument in favor of adaptation international advertising campaigns to the specific requirements of local markets in different countries.</p>

The general objective of this thesis was to examine aspects of adolescents perceived interpersonal relations, in view of the association between adolescents’ interpersonal problems and self-concepts, and considering influential factors such as behavioural problems, depression, perceptions of parental rearing styles, type of relationships and sex. All of the studies examined participants from the four-year longitudinal research project in Umeå, which was designed to investigate the psychic health and social context of adolescents with psychological and antisocial problems (Armelius &amp; Hägglöf, 1998), except for the normal adolescents in study I, who took part in a project with purpose to determine norms for an intake interview that is used for adolescents in different settings in Sweden. Study I addressed the impact of type of relationship on adolescents interpersonal behaviour, and the results were discussed in terms of interpersonal theory and the complementarity principle. Study II investigated the association between self-concept and interpersonal problems in normal adolescents. Different interpersonal problems were systematically related to three self-concept patterns, and showed the importance of considering the combination of self-love and self-autonomy to understand interpersonal problems in adolescents. In study III the associations between self-concept, and interpersonal problems were investigated, also considering depression as a factor, in a group of adolescents with conduct problems. This study revealed sex differences: boys’ interpersonal problems mainly were associated with self-control, an imbalance between self control and autonomy, and depression, whereas girls’ interpersonal problems mainly were associated with low self-love and depression. Study IV examined the relationship between memories of perceived parenting styles and interpersonal problems. Also in this study, sex differences were shown. It was found that for boys the perceived parenting styles of the fathers had the strongest associations to interpersonal problems, and for girls the perceived parenting styles of the mothers had the strongest associations to interpersonal problems.

This essay describes how theatre can be a tool in social work. The essay evaluates the Swed-ish KRAFT-project, a course for unemployed people with the goal to make them grow as in-dividuals by using drama exercises and performing a theatre play in front of an audience. The essay is a quantitative secondary study of the questionnaire used in the KRAFT-project. Through analysing the questionnaire the participants answered this essay tries to explain the results from a social psychological perspective. The essay also discusses how the participants’ self-concept and self-esteem could have been affected by the KRAFT-project. The discussion generates several new hypothesis concerning this issue. The results of this study can not be generalised to other projects using theatre or drama as a tool for personal development but it describes an example of how it can be used as a method in social work.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of gender, age, duration of relationship, self concept clarity and personal agency in predicting romantic relationship satisfaction of emerging adults. Participants were consisted of 344 (70.3% female, 29.7% male) volunteered undergraduate students from one of the state universities in Central Anatolia. Age of the participants ranged from 18 to 25 with the mean of 20. 85 (SD = 1.65). The data was gathered using four instruments namely, Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), Self Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS), Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale- Short Form (MAPSSF), and personal information form. In order to analyze the data, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Results revealed that gender, age and duration of relationship were not significant predictors of romantic relationship satisfaction / whereas self concept clarity and purpose in life dimension of personal agency were significant predictors which explained the 12% of the total variance in romantic relationship satisfaction scores of emerging adults. Results of the study are discussed in the light of the relevant literature. Finally implications of the study and recommendations for further research are presented.

No description available.

Social competence and positive self-concept are essential to future adaptive outcomes and overall well-being; but children and adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) frequently struggle in these domains. This dissertation examined changes in the social competence and self-concept of campers with learning disabilities (LD), within a specialized summer camp, with particular focus on friendship development. The dissertation is presented in two manuscripts, which will be submitted for publication. The objective of the first manuscript was to examine changes in campers’ social skills, social acceptance, self-worth, and self-esteem, within the context of summer camp, as reported by parents and campers. Parental reports indicated small gains in social skills, social acceptance, and self-worth from the beginning to the end of camp; with gains in social acceptance and self-worth maintained four to five months later. Campers did not report changes in any domains. Parents and campers reported declines in camper self-esteem at follow-up. In general, campers with LD+ADHD exhibited smaller gains in social competence and self-concept, than those with LD. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical frameworks and existing camp and LD research. The objective of the second manuscript was to investigate campers’ friendship development, within the summer camp context. Many campers reported having high-quality, reciprocal friendships at the beginning of camp. Campers reported more reciprocal friendships after camp, but these were not maintained at follow-up. Campers also reported having a best camp friend by the end of camp, and this relationship was maintained at follow-up. In terms of friendship quality, campers reported increased closeness by the end of camp and conflict ratings were low, overall. This study examined factors predicting changes in social competence. High-quality, reciprocal friendships predicted changes in campers’ social acceptance, according to parents. Similarly, reciprocal friendships predicted changes in camper reported social acceptance. These results highlight the inter-connections between friendship and aspects of social competence. Camp attendance was found to be a relevant factor in friendship development and quality. The concluding chapter discusses social competence, friendship, and self-concept outcomes for campers with LD within the context of a specialized summer camp. The implications of the findings for present theory and clinical practice are discussed, including specific recommendations for this camp’s structure and program evaluation procedures.

Academic self-concept (ASC) refers to one's beliefs about himself or herself in academic situations. ASC has been found to be moderately correlated with academic performance when ASC and academic outcome measures are in the same domain and at the same level of specificity. It was hypothesized that differentiating between ASC under typical versus maximal environmental press may increase its predictive validity by providing further specificity to items and thus greater reliability to ASC scales. In this study, a battery of assessments was administered to Georgia Tech undergraduates in order to examine the factor structure of new measures of typical and maximal ASC, as well as their predictive and construct validities. A two-factor model fit the data better than a one-factor model, but did not meet criteria for good fit. Most hypotheses about the relationship between typical and maximal ASC and other constructs were not supported, though gender differences were found which may indicate an interesting line of future research.