This thesis explores representations of British youth culture and adolescent identity formation in the ‘first generation’ (seasons 1-2) of the British television teen drama Skins (2007-8). Like its peers in the Teen TV genre, Skins focuses on normative teenage angst and rebellion that results in ‘naughty behavior’: sex, drug and alcohol use, and conflict with and alienation from parents. Skins sets itself apart from genre standards by heightening and glamorizing the way these behaviors are visually depicted. Furthermore, the characters experience very few substantial consequences or repercussions from parents or other authority figures, but rather repercussions come from within their own close-knit group. The primary source of tension in the series occurs during the moments when the group of friends challenge the cultural, biological and ideological constraints under which they find themselves when their preoccupied, self-involved, neglectful, and otherwise overbearing parents directly contribute to the conditions that fuel their excessive ‘naughtiness.’ The series creators, writers, producers and actors promote Skins as an authentic representation of teenage experience and this thesis ultimately seeks to explore the implications of this representation in order to gain a better understanding of British youth culture in the new millennium.

The oxygen uptake (VO2) kinetic response to exercise provides insight into aerobic performance and the efficiency of the body to maintain oxygen demand during the initiation of exercise. Previous research in normal weight children reports insignificant differences in gender VO2 on-kinetic responses to moderate exercise. No study has evaluated the impact obesity may have on gender VO2 on-kinetics. PURPOSE: To determine if sex differences exist in the VO2 kinetic response to moderate exercise in obese adolescents. METHODS: Male (n=16) and female (n=39) adolescents completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion on a treadmill. Data from initial 4-min treadmill walking was used to determine a time constant. RESULTS: The time constant was significantly different (P=0.009) between obese male and female adolescents (15.42±7.31 s vs. 22.03±8.56 s, respectively). CONCLUSION: Sex differences exist in VO2 on-kinetics during moderate exercise in obese adolescents indicating an enhanced potential for males to deliver and/or utilize oxygen.

This study investigated the knowledge level of secondary building-level administrators and secondary teachers regarding adolescent suicidal risk factors and warning signs. Additionally, this study contributed a social mediation component, to explore whether educators believe that they have the potential to be change agents for youth in their school communities. Three hundred forty-three participants (318 teachers, 18 assistant principals and 7 principals) from the middle and high schools in a local public school district in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States completed a survey pertaining to information on adolescent suicide. Data analyses were conducted through detailed cross-tabulations and analysis of variances to examine educator knowledge. Despite a wide variability in scores, findings suggest that the majority of educators acknowledge having moderate to low knowledge levels in most critical content domains of youth suicide. Additionally, educators believe that they have the ability to be social mediators of change for youth in the school setting.

Specificity of interrogation of children My Diploma Thesis deal with the particularities of children and adolescent interrogation. In thesis I discuss the examination of minors as witnesses, victims (aggrieved) and as the person against whom is initiated a procedure by the Law on Juvenile Justice and related regulations. The aim of this thesis is to point out to the process and forensic differences in the conduct of an examination of children and minors. Specific in the conduct of an examination respect psychological rarity of the stated interviewed group. In describtion of the differences of children and minors questioning I draw mainly from the professional literature. At the end of this thesis I have included the empirical research which deals with comparing of information gathered from professional publications with informations odtained by questionnaire survey. The first part describes the issue of examination criminal law, criminological perpective and from the perspective of forensic psychology. In this part is described the basic rules of examination in general which allows improved subsequent orientations for highlighting children and minors examination diferences. The second part deals with oddness of the children and minors examination in general. In the introduction I mentioned history of minor...

Master of Science / Curriculum & Instruction / F. Todd Goodson / This study analyzes the power of literacy and language in adolescent negotiation of identity, particularly in a classroom setting. The theoretical notion of discourse communities provides the framework for this qualitative, narrative case study of one high school junior and her literacy and language experiences from the perspective of her own video diaries. The study applies Critical Discourse Analysis and sociocultural theory to literacy in order to better understand the identity choices students make as they navigate different spaces in their lives. In addition, this study offers several implications for the education profession in regard to the English language arts curricula and new teaching standards. Four emergent themes resulted from analyzing the case study’s video diaries and interviews: 1) Anna uses social languages to enact different identities; 2) Anna’s agency is affected by her assigned identities; 3) language acts as a means of moving between contexts; and 4) language is more than just words. This project sought to understand how Anna’s literacy and language practices are embedded in her sociocultural experiences, and how these experiences and practices shape identity and reconfigure moments of agency and power in the process of negotiating identities across discourse communities. The results of the study indicate that classroom spaces do not always adjust their context to meet the needs of the student, and for Anna, making identity choices to move between contexts did not always mediate success. In essence, language influences opportunities to learn, and our social and cultural position in society, to some extent, determines our success.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / This study prospectively examined how parent-adolescent relationships influence romantic relationship quality of offspring, utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (ADD Health, n = 3,946). Further, this study investigated whether self-esteem and depression symptoms mediated these relationships, and if gender was a significant moderator. Adolescent girls who perceived their relationships with their mothers and fathers to be strong were more likely to have better quality romantic relationships as young adults. This relationship was found to be direct and indirect, through the effect of self-esteem. Adolescent boys who perceived their relationship with their father to be strong and whose mothers were more knowledgeable about them were less likely to experience depression symptoms as young adults, and in turn, to have better quality romantic relationships. Adolescent boys whose mothers perceived to have a strong relationship with them had higher self-esteem as young adults. Finally, there were significant differences between boys and girls in that the association between mother knowledge and depression symptoms was stronger for boys. Results support the stability of parent-adolescent relationships in influencing future relationships and highlight the importance of parent-adolescent relationships in predicting psychological wellbeing and romantic relationship quality.

Secrecy is a growing topic of interest in research, but little research has been done on adolescents keeping secrets from their friends. The purpose of this study was to find out if keeping secrets from friends was related to elevated depression and more behavior problems. The data in this study were obtained from 197 adolescents who were interviewed the summer after their 6th (n = 182, M age = 12.4, SD = 1.01) grade school year in southern Louisiana. This sample was 50.8% female, and the majority of the adolescents self-identified themselves as being white, non-Hispanic (47.7%) or African American (46.7%), while few self-identified themselves as being of other ethnicities (6.1%). Results showed that keeping secrets from friends is associated with higher levels of depression but not with more behavior problems. Keeping secrets from friends accounted for unique variance in depression after controlling for keeping secrets from parents. Secrets from friends accounted for the association between low friendship quality and depression. The link between secrets from friends, depression and behavior problem was not moderated by friendship quality and depression.

The study explored maternal and paternal attachment, taking a multidimensional approach, in relation to adolescent self-harm. Based on adolescents’ perception of their mothers and fathers availability, anger, and empathy, we examined what contribution of attachment was most predictive of self-harm separately and simultaneously. The sample included 564 Canadian high school students in grade 8 to 12. The quantitative survey was conducted on computers, and was from a three year longitudinal study, using the second and third annual assessments. Cross-sectionally, the results suggested low parental availability, anger toward mothers, and low empathy toward fathers to be related to self-harm. Longitudinal analysis did not support the hypotheses. In sum, attachment to mothers and fathers both contributed to the understanding of adolescent self-harm.

Background: Youth and young adults have the highest incidence and prevalence of mental health issues, and most do not receive the services they need. Mental health is an essential component of wellness, and primary care providers (PCPs) serve a critical role in promoting mental well-being, identifying problems, facilitating and coordinating services, and managing and monitoring mental health outcomes. Many barriers exist to incorporating mental health into routine primary care for adolescents, and little is known about the specific nature of the obstacles that impede the quality improvement process related to integrating mental and physical health and how to overcome them. Objectives: The purpose of this DNP project was to gain insight into the PCP role, exploring perceptions, current practices, and barriers related to screening, identifying, and managing adolescent mental health needs, understand the challenges and opportunities, and guide future quality improvement projects that reflect and respond to the needs of adolescents in the local community in effective and sustainable ways. Methods: The project was designed as a needs assessment, and conducted as an anonymous 20 question survey that was distributed to 13 local PCPs that routinely provide primary care services to the community’s adolescent population. Results: Nine of the surveys were completed and returned. Time constraints and competing demands were dominant concepts, reported as primary barriers to screening, collaboration with mental health professionals, and addressing mental health in general. The participants articulated the need for high-quality professional mental health involvement, improved collaboration, inter-professional development, and inter-agency cooperation to successfully promote mental health and provide excellent care that improves outcomes. They also displayed an interest in innovative solutions and organizational restructuring to better coordinate mental health services. Conclusion: This project offered preliminary insight into the challenges faced by PCPs addressing adolescent mental health in primary care, and generated ideas for further exploration to guide quality improvement initiatives designed to support the providers' capacity to incorporate mental health into routine care, and contribute to the community’s efforts in promoting mental health for local youth. PCPs occupy esteemed roles in the community, and their perspectives and insight are invaluable.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in the branch of Psychiatry Johannesburg, 2017 / Introduction. Eating disorders are an important group of mental illnesses in Psychiatry. The aetiology is multifactorial, developing from distorted beliefs around body image and shape, with resultant abnormal eating behaviours. This study explores the views and perceptions of a group of university students regarding their peers’ body image and shape and eating behaviours, which they experienced (at the time) during their senior high school years. The majority of these students attended high schools in Johannesburg. Method. This was an explorative, qualitative study using qualitative methods. A sample of 153 participants was voluntarily recruited from students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. A manually distributed anonymous questionnaire was used, with questions about their high school peers’ personality traits, early and late childhood experiences, eating behaviour, and the last three years of high school environment. Questions in each section were deconstructed and categorised into subthemes. Subthemes were further deconstructed into replicated ideas. These subthemes and ideas were presented in hierarchical tables. Findings in this study were compared with the literature. Results. The most commonly described subtheme of participants’ perceptions of high school peers’ personality traits was “poor self-confidence”. The most replicated subthemes of views on peers’ childhood experiences were “personal conflict with members of the family”, “a disruptive home environment” and “mother’s attitude”. In terms of peers’ eating behaviour, a subtheme on “body shapes” included “fat”, “skinny” and “fit” and “muscular” bodies. In terms of the high school environment, the subtheme of “bullying and peer discrimination” was regarded as important, while “the impact of media” was regarded as extremely important. Fifty percent of participants viewed body image to be important for social status. There were mixed views on whether specific programmes should be introduced to identify pupils at risk. Conclusion. Although bullying and peer pressure have been described as contributing factors in the development of eating behaviour problems in high school learners, as perceived by a group of university students, the most prominent potential contributing factor considered was the media, specifically social media. This finding could contribute to further research looking at the role of social media, not only its relationship in the potential development of a Psychiatric Illness, but possibly, too, its role in the educational and rehabilitation process. / MT2017