This study was focused on exploring the relationship between victimization history, attachment to parents, pornography exposure/use, and characteristics of the sexual offences committed by male adolescents. It was hypothesized that, the poorer the attachment to parents, the greater number of abuses experienced, and the more exposure to pornography, the more likely an adolescent would be to have had more victims, have offended against more age groups, have both male and female victims, have committed penetration in his sexual offences, and have been forceful or violent in his sexual offences. The study involved secondary analysis of a large data set that was based on prior administration of an extensive survey which also included a number of psychological measures and questionnaires. A total of 308 male participants ranging in age from 13 to 20 at the time of completing the survey were included in this study. Participants were 12-17 years of age at the time of their sexual offending. A series of regressions were used to examine if attachment to parents, history of abuse/neglect, and pornography use could predict the number of victims, age group of victims, gender of victims, sexual intrusiveness, and level of force in the sexual offences that had been committed by the participants. Predictor variables that emerged as important in this study were the duration of the sexual offending, having experienced three or more types of abuse, and exposure to live sex. In general, it was suggested that treatment efforts should focus on intervening promptly and reducing the duration of an adolescent’s sexual offending and that intervention for all types of abuse be prioritized. Additionally, it was recommended that future research seek to identify characteristics that might predispose certain victimized individuals to develop sexual offending behaviours in the future. In general, it was noted that further explorations are needed regarding applicable theoretical approaches, as well as the various factors, and interactions among factors, that contribute to the characteristics of sexual offences committed by male adolescents.

Two measures, The Adolescent Invulnerability Scale (TAIS) and The Adolescent Personal Uniqueness Scale (TAPUS) were developed to quantify levels of felt invulnerability and personal uniqueness, respectively. The relationship among these two personal fables (invulnerability, personal uniqueness), and mental health variables was assessed in a large sample of adolescents (n = 248, including seventh and eighth grade students). Participants responded to the newly crafted measures of adolescent invulnerability and personal uniqueness, the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, three indices of suicidal ideation, an inventory of delinquent risk behaviors, and two subscales from the Self-Image Questionnaire for Young Adolescents. It was predicted that invulnerability would be positively associated with risk behaviors and more prevalent among boys. In addition, personal uniqueness would be positively associated with depression and suicidal ideation, and more prevalent in girls. With respect to personal fable ideation, boys demonstrated higher levels of felt invulnerability and more risk behaviors than girls. In addition, girls reported more feelings of depression than boys, however neither group differed on the amount of reported felt personal uniqueness. The results show that the personal fables of invulnerability and personal uniqueness are differentially linked to indices of mental health within an adolescent population. / Department of Educational Psychology

The aim of the study was to determine whether adolescent psychological well being can be significantly influenced by attributional style, general health, satisfaction with life and self esteem. A cross-sectional research design was implemented for this study. An availability sample of 130 learners from 2 high schools; namely Batloung and Kgobokwe in the Ramatlabama area in rural North West Province (RSA) were chosen to collect data. The learners were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. All participants described themselves as equally traditional and westernised with a high value placed on individual goals and community goals. The respondents were 12-22 years old. Participants responded to a questionnaire consisting of six sections. The first section comprised of biographical data. Psychological well-being was measured in terms of distinctions between hedonism and eudaimonism. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was used to measure hedonism and the PWB scale by Ryff (1995) was used to measure eudaimonism. General health was measured by the 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The cognitive Attributional Style Questionnaire (CaQ) measured attributional style. The I 0 item Rosenberg's Self Esteem Scale (SES) was used to measure self esteem. The quantitative data for the research, which was gathered through questionnaires, was subjected to statistical analysis. This was done through the utilisation of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS ver. 12). Descriptive statistics and Cronbach alpha reliability indices were computed for each scale. Regression analysis was used to establish the relative contribution made by the independent variables; Attributional style (AS),Self Esteem (SE), General Health (GH) and Satisfaction With Life (SWL); on the dependent variable (psychological well being). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to test the significance of R2 , which is the same as testing the significance of the regression model as a whole. The results of the study generally show that satisfaction with life, attributional styles, self -esteem and health meaningfully predict psychological well- being (R2 = .41). the practical significance of the finding based on the Steyn's formulation was 0.69. psychological well-being correlated positively with satisfaction with life, general health, and the external attributions made by learners. There were no significant differences regarding 1he nature of attributions made by both male and female learners. It is therefore recommended that adolescents get support from parents, engage in challenging activities, positive life events, and interact more with significant others for their well being. Further research into the mechanisms of how life satisfaction plays its role in positive youth development is needed to promote the psychological well-being of all youth. / M.Soc.Sc. (Clinical Psychology) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

The temporal relationship between two types of perfectionism— self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP)— and depressive symptoms was examined in a sample of 653 children across Grades 6 (depressive symptoms only), 7, and 8. A vulnerability model, in which perfectionism affects depressive symptoms, was compared to a scar model, in which depressive symptoms affects perfectionism, and to a reciprocal-causality model, in which both constructs concurrently affect each other across time. Cross-lagged paths analyses using structural equation modeling supported a scar model where increases in depressive symptoms lead to increases in SPP, but not SOP. The findings applied to both boys and girls. Results suggest that in childhood, depressive symptoms increase the perception that others are expecting excessively high standards from oneself and the need to satisfy this perception.

Adolescent pregnancy is an important public health issue. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine factors related to inadequate use of prenatal care (PNC) among adolescents living in inner-city Winnipeg. The quantitative component consisted of a secondary analysis of data from 92 adolescents (<20 years of age) who participated in a larger case-control study. Adolescents who were of First Nations ethnicity, single, multiparous, and who had low interpersonal support were more likely to receive inadequate PNC. Barriers, facilitators and motivators to PNC utilization were also identified. The qualitative component consisted of open-ended interviews with ten inner-city pregnant adolescents to examine how social support affected their use of PNC. Results showed that material, emotional and informational support were important factors affecting use of PNC. The most important source of material and emotional support was the adolescent’s mother, and the main source of informational support was the PNC provider.

Moraliska bedömningar har länge ansetts komma från rationellt tänkande, men även andra aspekter har setts ha en inverkan på individers moraliska bedömningar: så som socialt samspel med vänner och föräldrar. I arbetet undersöktes det om två till synes likvärdiga situationer bedöms som moraliskt olika, där ena situationen utspelar sig i verkligheten och den andra på Internet. 276 gymnasielever med en medelålder på 17 år användes i analysen, 137 slumpades till betingelsen verklighet. Det framkom att situationen över Internet ansågs som moraliskt värre än situationen i verkligheten. Vissa inomgruppsskillnader observerades, exempelvis att färre diskussioner om moral med vänner, samt det upplevda förtrycket av kritiskt tänkande från lärare, samvarierade med åsikten att individerna agerade moraliskt bättre. Även om det framkom en skillnad i hur Internet och verklighet bedömdes moraliskt, så går det inte att utesluta om mediet Internet har en komplett likvärdighet i jämförelse med verkligheten. Vidare studier behövs för att undersöka detta.

It is suggested that commercial video games and gambling activities make use of similar types of intermittent reinforcement schedules. This research seeks to examine the nature of this relationship amongst children and adolescents. One hundred and four children from grades 4, 6, and 8 participated. A questionnaire exploring issues related to video game playing and gambling behavior was completed and a computerized blackjack game was individually administered. High frequency video game players are compared to low frequency video game players with respect to their gambling performance on the blackjack gambling task as well as on information gathered from the questionnaire. Findings suggest that high frequency video game players nor only gamble more than low frequency video game players but report that gambling makes them feel more important. Furthermore, they appear to be taking greater risks on the blackjack gambling task. Males exhibited greater risk-taking tendencies on the blackjack task than did females.

This study examined parenting stress among parents of adolescents with ADHD. The sample comprised 45 adolescents (26 ADHD; 19 Comparison) age 13 to 18 and their parents. The Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents was completed by both mothers and fathers of participating youth. Parents of adolescents with ADHD reported more stress than parents of adolescents without ADHD. Mothers of adolescents with ADHD experience higher levels of stress in all areas. Fathers of adolescents with ADHD experience more total stress and more stress in the Adolescent and Adolescent-Parent Relationship domains. Maternal inattention and adolescent externalizing behaviour mediated the relationship between ADHD status and maternal parenting stress, and ADHD status and adolescent externalizing behaviour were found to predict paternal parenting stress. The results of this study provide strong support for the need to provide parents of adolescents with ADHD with interventions designed to reduce or help them cope with parenting stress.

This study examined parenting stress among parents of adolescents with ADHD. The sample comprised 45 adolescents (26 ADHD; 19 Comparison) age 13 to 18 and their parents. The Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents was completed by both mothers and fathers of participating youth. Parents of adolescents with ADHD reported more stress than parents of adolescents without ADHD. Mothers of adolescents with ADHD experience higher levels of stress in all areas. Fathers of adolescents with ADHD experience more total stress and more stress in the Adolescent and Adolescent-Parent Relationship domains. Maternal inattention and adolescent externalizing behaviour mediated the relationship between ADHD status and maternal parenting stress, and ADHD status and adolescent externalizing behaviour were found to predict paternal parenting stress. The results of this study provide strong support for the need to provide parents of adolescents with ADHD with interventions designed to reduce or help them cope with parenting stress.

The psychosocial correlates of adolescent gambling behavior were assessed among 7th, 9th, and 11 th graders. Participants (N = 587) completed questionnaires concerning their gambling behavior, coping skills, locus of control, depression, and substance use. Adolescents were grouped into 1 of 4 groups based upon their performance on the DSM-IV-J (Fisher, 1992) gambling screen: non-gamblers, social gamblers, problem gamblers, and probable pathological gamblers. This research examined whether individuals belonging to the 4 groups differ with respect to locus of control, coping skills, depression, and substance use. Results indicated that probable pathological gamblers were characterized by an external locus of control and reported higher levels of maladaptive coping styles, depression, and regular substance use than non-gamblers and social gamblers. Logistic regression analyses suggest that coping skills, locus of control, substance use, and depression alone do not adequately predict pathological gambling, but do seem to play an important role in the etiology nonetheless. Implications are discussed.