This is the first study of the adjustment of adolescent children placed in foster homes in the rural community in British Columbia. As the writer is familiar with Kamloops district, this area is used to show an average rural community in British Columbia. The services given children by the Social Welfare Branch have been described as well as the development of present child welfare services. In the children studied, some of the fifty-two have now been discharged from care, while others are still in foster homes. Twelve illustrations have been selected to show the problems the adolescent has in adjustment in a foster home, as well as the problems the social workers may have in giving service. There are both failures and successes in the adjustment of the children studied. There is evidence that further evaluation of the present services to adolescent children in foster care is needed. There seems to be a need as well to review the type of care most suited to this age group. Children who have been in care for a long period before they have reached the transition from childhood to adulthood seem to adjust easier. However, there appears to be need to re-evaluate these placements periodically, as there is evidence that problems often arise during this time. The child who comes into care either just before the period of transition or during it, is the one who most often shows that he cannot relate to adults. There is real necessity for further study of this group of children. Although there are definite problems in the adjustment of the adolescent, it is gratifying to note that the number of replacements in the rural community is small. It is speculated that the frequency with which a child is moved is much less than in urban centres. In conclusion, it is felt that there is a need for review of services given this age group by district offices. This study only touches on the multitude of problems involved in foster placement of adolescent boys and girls. It is hoped that the study may act as an incentive to others interested in this problem to evaluate further the adjustment of this age group in foster homes and the present program in operation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

[no abstract included] / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was twofold: to measure problems and needs of senior high school students as an aid to counsellors and guidance personnel in planning meaningful psychological services in the school, and to compare the problems and needs of students grouped according to school programme in order to determine if there are significant differences between these groups in terms of problems and needs expressed by means of a problem inventory. A population of 574 high school students was selected, comprising the grade eleven classes of two high schools in the area surrounding Vancouver. As each of the schools selected received students from over a wide area, it was assumed that social-economic-ability variables were randomized. The data was presented in a number of forms: 1) according to the intensity of the problem choices as expressed by the intensity scale of the Youth Inventory; 2) according to the percentage of students selecting each problem; 3) by problem areas; 4) by arithmetic means; and 5) by profile charts. This presentation was repeated for: 1) the entire population; 2) the entire male sample according to school programme sub-groups; and 3) the entire female sample according to school programme sub-groups. Analysis of variance was used to determine whether there were significant differences in problem choices between the eight problem areas for the entire population. The analysis of variance disclosed significant differences in five of the eight problem areas: Looking Ahead, About Myself, Getting Along with Others, Health, and Things in General. A Scheffé test for multiple comparisons between means did not disclose any significant differences between the problem choices of the school programme sub-groups. Limitations in sample size in the Visual and Performing Arts, and the Community Services programme sub-groups can be considered a serious weakness of the study. The findings did tend to support the hypothesis, that students with similar sets of problems tend to be found in the same school programmes. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This study was done to determine if students, classified differently on certain environmental and physical determinants, come from differing value populations. This was done by use of two instruments, the Differential Values Inventory for personal values and the Occupational Values Rating Scale for vocational values. Three schools were used, two public schools and a private religious school. The public schools were situated in different socio-economic areas. The students were rated on each of 5 classifications: socio-economic standing, sex, grade, church attendance and school program. Scores were obtained for each student and were analyzed using the Hotelling T² test which gave confidence intervals for acceptance or rejection of the hypotheses that students classified differently on the above named 5 factors would have the same values. It was found that students, when classified according to regularity of church attendance, sex, school program and grade did create populations which held significantly different values. When students were classified according to socio-economic status there was no significant difference in the values they held. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

M.A. (Psychology) / The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether a group of compulsive stealers would differ from a group of non-compulsive juvenile delinquents in terms of certain personality traits. Using the theories of Freud and Erikson and Kohlberg' s theory of moral development, the general theory of adolescence as a development phase with increased tension and conflict is stressed. Against this background the causes of juvenile delinquency have been discussed in general, in order to better comprehend how the different ethiological factors can impede the heal thy development process. The hereditary factors, personal pathology, family background and sociological factors have all been taken into account. From the literature it would seem that the family background is of primary importance in the causation of juvenile delinquency. Hereafter a classification of the different types of stealers follows, as well as the ethiological factors of compulsive stealing. In the discussion of the ethiology, the psycho-dynamic view has been specifically stressed. The basic premise of this theory is that the compulsive stealer does so by virtue of a symbolic gratification of needs and that it particularly concerns unsatisfied affective and sexual needs...

This research explores the effect of incest on adolescents, according to the person-centred approach. The researcher was prompted by her observation of the escalating rate of incest in South Africa, and thus decided that an exploratory study on this theme was essential for social work practitioners. The literature study indicated that little research has been conducted on black children who are exposed to incest in South Africa. Therefore this research was conducted with the intention of exploring the effects of incest on adolescents according to the person-centred approach, in order to fill the gap in knowledge. A qualitative method was used to collect data. Ten unstructured interviews were conducted with two respondents, who were purposefully selected. All ten sessions are reflected in this thesis in order to indicate how the person-¬centred approach can be implemented. Data was analysed according to the nineteen propositions of the person-centred approach. The literature study revealed that the occurrence of incest is not limited to certain geographic regions and social classes, but that it covers a broad spectrum of occupations, income and racial groups. It also showed that incest perpetrators are mostly males with deviant sexual patterns, low self-esteem and poor social skills, that mothers in families where incest is likely to occur possess personality traits that somehow warrant an incestuous assault on their daughters by the father, that children who are at risk of being incest victims are children with low self-esteem and lack self-confidence and also that incest is actually a symptom of severe family dysfunction. This study showed that, irrespective of the time frame from the occurrence of the abuse, incest affects the emotional functioning of the victims and until dealt with, the emotions do not just disappear with time. Incest was found to affect the individuals' self-image and their interpersonal relationships. Incest also causes depression in the victims. The person-centred approach in dealing with incest victims is recommended in this study. This approach gives clients full control over the therapeutic process, which makes them feel respected and empowered. It focuses on the individual rather than the problem and enables clients to discover themselves through realizing and dealing with symbolised and unsymbolised experiences in their lives. The researcher also recommends that further research be conducted to see how the person-centred approach could best assist in giving therapy to families or groups where incest was experienced. / Dissertation (MA (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / AIDS related deaths of parents have resulted in children being orphaned, in large numbers. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period in a child’s developmental life.It is a period charactarised by uncertainties, role confusion and identity crises. This stage becomes even more complex when adolescents loose their parents through AIDS. This thesis is an explorative study to understand the experience of adolescent who have lost their parents through HIV/AIDS. This study was theoretically located within a phenomenological framework. The participants were recruited from the foster care project of Ikamva Labantu in Gugulethu. The participants were adolescents aged from 14- 17 years old. They were purposively selected to participate in this study. The study was conducted within a qualitative research design, and underpinned by an interpretative framework. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews with the aid of an interview guide, and observations. This study identified seven themes. Three themes share the experience prior to parental death and the four express the experience after parental death. The research findings led to the conclusion that adolescents struggle with a myriad challenges such as discrimination, stigmatisation, caring for siblings and having to deal with the death of parents often without the necessary support. The conclusions drawn and the recommendations made will contribute to knowledge that will support social workers and other professionals working with AIDS orphaned adolescents, in understanding their experiences.

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Loneliness is a common experience for many people (Rubenstein et al., 1979) and most lonely individuals experience a variety of comorbid disorders (Heinrich & Gullone, 2006). Adolescent loneliness is particularly problematic, due to the rapid changes that take place in the peer social world (Laursen & Hartl, 2013). Prior evidence ties loneliness to low group status and victimization (Asher & Paquette, 2003), but we do not fully understand the transmission mechanisms. A full longitudinal mediation design (Fritz & MacKinnon, 2012) was used to test the hypotheses that social withdrawal mediates the association from loneliness to changes in peer status and peer difficulties victimization among adolescents. Results indicated that the longitudinal associations between loneliness and peer outcomes were mediated by social withdrawal. Successful engagement with peers is vital to navigating the complex social world of adolescence, thus the results provide an impetus for aiding lonely adolescents in improving their social connections. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection