Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Stress in sport is complex and can lead to a number of undesirable consequences such as burnout, performance difficulties, interpersonal problems, and injury. Lazarus’s (1991, 1999) Cognitive-Motivational-Relational model holds that stress is best understood as a transactional relationship between a person and their environment. Stress is a process which is influenced by appraisals and coping. Appraisals are influenced by personal factors as well as environmental demands and the availability of external resources. Coping involves constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage the perceived external and internal demands of a stressful situation (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The present study examined how appraisal processes mediated (or were possibly moderated by) the effects of social anxiety and perceptions of teammate social support on how high school female soccer players thought they would cope with a hypothetical interpersonal stressor. The study also examined simple relationships among variables. The participants were 181 female high school soccer players from Greater Vancouver. The athletes first completed two questionnaires designed to measure social anxiety (Interaction Anxiousness Scale; Leary, 1983a) and perceived social support from teammates (modified Social Provisions Scale; Weiss, 1974). After reading the scenario, the athletes indicated their appraisal of threat and challenge (Stress Appraisal Measure; Peacock & Wong, 1990) and how they thought they would cope (Coping Functions Questionnaire; Kowalski & Crocker, 2001). . The initial findings indicated that challenge appraisals were moderately correlated with both emotion-focused (r = .41) and problem-focused coping (r = .51), whereas threat had a weak association with avoidance coping (r = .19). Using mediation analysis, the results indicated that challenge fully mediated the relationship between social support and emotion-focused coping, and partially mediated the relationship between social support and problem-focused coping. Threat appraisals mediated the relationship between social anxiety and avoidance coping. Contrary to hypotheses, there was no evidence that social anxiety or threat were related to emotion-focused coping. There was also no support that person variables (social anxiety, social support) moderated the effects of appraisal on coping. The findings suggest that challenge appraisals and social support were key predictors of coping with interpersonal stress in this population.

<p>A favourable school atmosphere, in which adolescents behave positively, is one of the greatest concerns for teachers, administrators and parents. Although there are several different pressures leading to adolescent misbehaviour at school, the most contributing factors are peer pressure and the socio-economic status of the school. As adolescents enter the school, the peer group then functions as an important socializing agent for them. As peers socialize within their different school environments, individuals are forced to conform to the practices and opinions of the group. Usually this conformity is unconstructive and clashes with the parents&rsquo / and teachers&rsquo / expectations. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of peer pressure on adolescent misbehaviour in advantaged and disadvantaged&nbsp / schools. A quantitative methodological approach was used to conduct the study. The study was conducted with adolescents aged from&nbsp / 13 to 17 years in both advantaged and disadvantaged secondary (high) schools in Windhoek, Namibia. A sample of 300 participants was randomly stratified across the schools. The Exposure to Peer Pressure Control Scale (Allen &amp / Yen, 2002) and Child Behaviour Checklist&nbsp / questionnaires (Achenbach &amp / Edelbrock, 1987) were used to collect the data. Ethical considerations were carefully considered before and during the research procedure of data collection. The reliability of the instruments was checked by means of a pilot study. The data was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 to reveal descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed a significant positive relationship between peer pressure and adolescent misbehaviour in schools. In addition, misbehaviour was also positively predicted in both advantaged and disadvantaged schools, with disadvantaged schools being significantly more influential. When comparing peer pressure and adolescent misbehaviours in both advantaged and disadvantaged schools, adolescents in&nbsp / is advantaged schools engaged significantly more in misbehaviour activities and also responded positively more to peer pressure than their counterparts in advantaged schools. Implications for further research were suggested.</p>

Much of the research on women who become mothers during their teenage years has focused on risks and negative outcomes. Many of these risks are directly linked to the limited education of women who become pregnant before finishing high school. Research indicates that many young pregnant and parenting women drop out of high school and live in poverty.., Some women, however, who become mothers during their high school years do go on to complete high school as well as post-secondary education, which significantly reduces the risks associated with poverty. In this study, I have revealed the experiences of one woman who became a mother before she had completed high school. After experiencing many of the risks associated with adolescence, as well as lone-parenting, she went on to pursue a university degree. Her story lends insight into the issues, challenges, and resiliency factors she faced along her journey. Hers is a story not only of personal change and development but also of issues reaching beyond her life into the social arena. Using Immersion/Chrystallization of the interview and fieldnotes collected for this study, I have presented this positive research as an evocative story. To represent this story, I used elements of both autoethnography and fiction. Themes and significant events within the participant's life were represented in the form of fictional accounts., which I connected and interpreted through my own experience, providing the autoethnographic component of this research. The ultimate purpose of this research is the evocative story that I have presented. This is a story that will lead the reader to understand the complexity of the life of a lone-mother, to know the story of her life and to enter into her feelings, to find her inner story. It is a story that not only tells of personal experiences but also confronts the patriarchal structures of society that enmesh lone-mothers and challenges many of the myths or grand narratives that define the lives of teenage mothers.

Although wellness has become a declared priority within education, a thorough exploration of the factors responsible for student wellness has yet to occur. There have been many studies with a focus on adolescent problems; however, wellness research is limited and non-holistic in its approach.<p> This dissertation sought to explore the adolescent wellness phenomenon and the factors influencing its enhancement through the experiences of adolescents and teachers. The primary purpose of the research was to explore adolescents perceptions of wellness in two mid-sized Western Canadian high schools. The second purpose was to use a theoretical framework to describe the relationship between adolescent perceptions of wellness and the developmental dimensions of adolescent lives, the perceived influences on adolescent wellness, and the links between professional support (teachers) and students perceived levels of wellness (low, medium and high-level wellness). To accomplish this, two hundred and eighty grade eleven students completed a wellness survey. Additionally, subgroups of 22 students and 6 teachers were asked to participate in focus group discussions. <p>It was found that wellness was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The study revealed that there were at least four dimensions contributing to the balance of wellness: physical (physical activity, nutrition, smoking, drugs and alcohol), psychological (self-esteem, media), spiritual and social (parents, teachers and peers). For many students, the dimensions were not considered equally important, but wellness was seen to involve maintaining a balance in life. <p>The findings of the study indicated that modifications to particular areas of educational practice should be considered when working to promote adolescent wellness and the some of the suggested change areas include: additional professional development, school health programming and committing to school partnerships with health care professionals such as nurses. Implications for educational policy included the support for professional development related to health education, policies that fiscally support the hiring of school health nurses, and policies that are reflective of adolescent developmental stages. Among the implications for research are a need to further explore the conceptualization of adolescent wellness in youth of all ages and in schools across the Canada, as well as the need for longitudinal studies which would allow for further investigation of wellness, and its validity beyond this study.

Much of the research on women who become mothers during their teenage years has focused on risks and negative outcomes. Many of these risks are directly linked to the limited education of women who become pregnant before finishing high school. Research indicates that many young pregnant and parenting women drop out of high school and live in poverty.., Some women, however, who become mothers during their high school years do go on to complete high school as well as post-secondary education, which significantly reduces the risks associated with poverty. In this study, I have revealed the experiences of one woman who became a mother before she had completed high school. After experiencing many of the risks associated with adolescence, as well as lone-parenting, she went on to pursue a university degree. Her story lends insight into the issues, challenges, and resiliency factors she faced along her journey. Hers is a story not only of personal change and development but also of issues reaching beyond her life into the social arena. Using Immersion/Chrystallization of the interview and fieldnotes collected for this study, I have presented this positive research as an evocative story. To represent this story, I used elements of both autoethnography and fiction. Themes and significant events within the participant's life were represented in the form of fictional accounts., which I connected and interpreted through my own experience, providing the autoethnographic component of this research. The ultimate purpose of this research is the evocative story that I have presented. This is a story that will lead the reader to understand the complexity of the life of a lone-mother, to know the story of her life and to enter into her feelings, to find her inner story. It is a story that not only tells of personal experiences but also confronts the patriarchal structures of society that enmesh lone-mothers and challenges many of the myths or grand narratives that define the lives of teenage mothers.

Although wellness has become a declared priority within education, a thorough exploration of the factors responsible for student wellness has yet to occur. There have been many studies with a focus on adolescent problems; however, wellness research is limited and non-holistic in its approach.<p> This dissertation sought to explore the adolescent wellness phenomenon and the factors influencing its enhancement through the experiences of adolescents and teachers. The primary purpose of the research was to explore adolescents perceptions of wellness in two mid-sized Western Canadian high schools. The second purpose was to use a theoretical framework to describe the relationship between adolescent perceptions of wellness and the developmental dimensions of adolescent lives, the perceived influences on adolescent wellness, and the links between professional support (teachers) and students perceived levels of wellness (low, medium and high-level wellness). To accomplish this, two hundred and eighty grade eleven students completed a wellness survey. Additionally, subgroups of 22 students and 6 teachers were asked to participate in focus group discussions. <p>It was found that wellness was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The study revealed that there were at least four dimensions contributing to the balance of wellness: physical (physical activity, nutrition, smoking, drugs and alcohol), psychological (self-esteem, media), spiritual and social (parents, teachers and peers). For many students, the dimensions were not considered equally important, but wellness was seen to involve maintaining a balance in life. <p>The findings of the study indicated that modifications to particular areas of educational practice should be considered when working to promote adolescent wellness and the some of the suggested change areas include: additional professional development, school health programming and committing to school partnerships with health care professionals such as nurses. Implications for educational policy included the support for professional development related to health education, policies that fiscally support the hiring of school health nurses, and policies that are reflective of adolescent developmental stages. Among the implications for research are a need to further explore the conceptualization of adolescent wellness in youth of all ages and in schools across the Canada, as well as the need for longitudinal studies which would allow for further investigation of wellness, and its validity beyond this study.

Adolescent social influence is a contributing factor to higher rates of delinquent behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, and sexual activity. The objective of this study is to assess how the distinction between the perception of two social groups, peer and friend, influences behavior based on individual smoking status. Data from the 2006 Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors Survey is used for secondary analysis using questions that address individual perception of delinquent behavior based on peer ("people your age") and friends. An independent samples t-test is used to assess the combined friend and peer perception based on lifetime smoking status (non-smokers and smokers). Next, a paired samples t-test using the significant variable of smokers only is used to measure the difference in perception of the social groups, peer vs. friend. The data indicated that there is a perceived difference between social groups behavior based on smoking status with smokers perceiving their peers to be more delinquent than their friends. There is a need for further research to address true prevalence rates in adolescent social groups and education efforts to focus on the dynamic of social interactions that influence delinquent behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of experiences with cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease on self-reported health behaviors in older adolescents/young adults, conceptualized as 17 to 24 years of age. This study utilized a developmental perspective to review models of health motivation and prevention. Pertinent models are discussed, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior, models utilizing the concept of locus of control, the Biopsychosocial model, the Contextual/Social- Ecological model, as well as an Integrated Developmental model. The present study sampled university students to examine the impact on health behaviors of knowledge or experience with serious medical conditions. The overall hypothesis, based on the Integrated Developmental model (Cooper & Heffer, in preparation), was that illness experiences or knowledge influences self-report of health behaviors and health locus of control. Participants (n=459) were administered a demographic questionnaire, the Illness Experiences Questionnaire, the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales. Factor analysis was conducted on the YRBS, yielding three factors: Alcohol Use, Smoking Behaviors, and Sexual Activity. The MHLC is also comprised of three subscores: Internality, Powerful Others, and Chance. The research question examined differences on YRBS factors and MHLC scales by several independent variables. MANOVAs were conducted on the three YRBS factors and on the three MHLC scales by several independent variables. Results did not support the hypothesis that experiences with or knowledge of these illnesses are associated with differences in ratings of health behaviors and reported health locus of control.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2001. / Thesis advisor: Judith Rosenberg. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-131). Also available via the World Wide Web.