The three reported articles examine self-mutilation (SM) in a community sample of adolescents. First, the frequency of the behavior, gender differences and self-mutilative practices were examined. In addition, two models of self-mutilation, the anxiety reduction model and hostility model were explored in order to gain preliminary information regarding possible etiological factors in the manifestation of self-mutilation. Finally, other related maladaptive behaviors such as depressive symptomatology and eating pathology were also investigated. Four hundred and forty students from two schools, an urban and a suburban high school were given a screening measure designed to assess for SM. Students who indicated that they hurt themselves on purpose also participated in a follow-up interview. Based on interviews it was found that 13.9% of all students reported having engaged in SM behavior on at least one occasion. Girls reported significantly higher rates of SM than boys. Self-cutting was found to be the most common type of SM, followed by self-hitting, pinching, scratching and biting. In terms of support for the models, students who SM reported significantly more anxiety and more intropunitive and extrapunitive hostility relative to students who did not SM. In addition, prior to self-mutilating, feelings of both hostility and anxiety were described. Findings lend support to the hostility model of self-mutilation. Finally, greater depressive symptomatology and eating pathology were reported by students who SM. Results are discussed with reference to the anxiety reduction model and the hostility model of SM.

<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>

No description available.

The educational needs of adolescent girls have never really been met by schools leading to a variety of social, emotional and aspirational problems for girls and women alike. In this speculative inquiry I have explored the work of care ethicists, imaginative educators, critical theorists and groups outside of schools to develop a new framework for educating girls based upon the needs that I have identified as critical and unmet for far too many girls. I have surmised that girls’ needs for belonging, identity, competency and caring spirit could be better met and could lead to voice, agency and freedom for girls if schools were to implement the ideas contained in my critical framework.

The internal dynamics of four selected groups of male adolescents were analyzed and the resultant findings were compared with those based on three previous hypotheses on adolescent values, attitudes, and behaviors.This study shows that the three hypotheses used for comparison were too vague and encompassing and based on too little data to have much general or specific use.

The primary goal of this study is to research the pressure imposed upon adolescents to perform as well as to suggest practical guidelines to counsel them. It is found that adolescents experience both external (parents, teachers, coaches and friends) and internal (perfectionism and the fear of failure) factors. Stress, anxiousness, depression, eating disorders, substance and alcohol abuse and even suicide have been found in terms of the effects of performance pressure as found with adolescents. The Bible enlightens us to the possible external factors of performance pressure found with adolescents. According to the Bible, parents have certain responsibilities in terms of raising their children, and discretion should be applied when selecting friends. The internal factors related to performance pressure, such as perfectionism and the fear of failure can be addressed within the context of the Bible's message, guiding the adolescent pastorally. The Bible provides general perspectives regarding anxiousness, stress, depression, suicide, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse that can be applied during the pastoral counseling of adolescents. Research of the literature found within the subject areas of psychology and sport sciences, regarding performance pressure, within the context of adolescents show that the motivation for parents, friends, teachers and coaches to pressure adolescents to perform. This research (from psychology and sport sciences) regarding depression, suicide, anxiousness, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse display the effect of performance pressure found within adolescents. A qualitative empirical study with five adolescents, provide the reader with a good comprehension of performance pressure experienced by adolescents. The perspectives found within the Bible, literature and empirical research are placed within a hermeneutical interaction to produce a practical theorem. Finally, practical guidelines can be formulated in the pastoral counseling of adolescents experiencing performance pressure. / Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The primary goal of this study is to research the pressure imposed upon adolescents to perform as well as to suggest practical guidelines to counsel them. It is found that adolescents experience both external (parents, teachers, coaches and friends) and internal (perfectionism and the fear of failure) factors. Stress, anxiousness, depression, eating disorders, substance and alcohol abuse and even suicide have been found in terms of the effects of performance pressure as found with adolescents. The Bible enlightens us to the possible external factors of performance pressure found with adolescents. According to the Bible, parents have certain responsibilities in terms of raising their children, and discretion should be applied when selecting friends. The internal factors related to performance pressure, such as perfectionism and the fear of failure can be addressed within the context of the Bible's message, guiding the adolescent pastorally. The Bible provides general perspectives regarding anxiousness, stress, depression, suicide, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse that can be applied during the pastoral counseling of adolescents. Research of the literature found within the subject areas of psychology and sport sciences, regarding performance pressure, within the context of adolescents show that the motivation for parents, friends, teachers and coaches to pressure adolescents to perform. This research (from psychology and sport sciences) regarding depression, suicide, anxiousness, eating disorders and substance and alcohol abuse display the effect of performance pressure found within adolescents. A qualitative empirical study with five adolescents, provide the reader with a good comprehension of performance pressure experienced by adolescents. The perspectives found within the Bible, literature and empirical research are placed within a hermeneutical interaction to produce a practical theorem. Finally, practical guidelines can be formulated in the pastoral counseling of adolescents experiencing performance pressure. / Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Objective: The primary goal of this study was to investigate the possibility of a relationship between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and adolescent autonomy. Adolescents and their parent reported on lhree types of autonomy; renective autonomy, reactive autonomy, and functional independence. Adolescent cognitive skills, reading ability, and affective states, along with parent perceptions of !.he adolescents' executive functioning and parent-related stress were assessed in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms through which TBI and autonomy interact. Participants and Methods: Participants included 20 adolescents, 12 to 19 years of age, with a history ofTS! and 19 age· and gender·matched adolescents wilh no history of TBI. Each adolescent was accompanied by one parent who completed parental reports while the adolescent underwent testing and completed questionnaires. Adolescents were screened for cognitive functioning and reading ability using subtests ofthe Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scale (RIAS) and the Wide Range Achievement Test _ 4th Edition (WRAT4). Adolescents then completed questionnaires to assess depression (Beck Depression Inventory - 2nd Edition, SOl-TO and anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI). Lastly but most importantly. the adolescents completed questionnaires to assess reflective autonomy using a modified version of the Ryff Psychological Well Being Scale, and reactive autonomy (Adjectives Checklist, ACL). Meanwhile, parents completed a brief demographics questionnaire, a report of their adolescent's functional independence (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System II. ABAS-IO. executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning, BRIEF), and parenting-related stress (Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents, SlPA). Results: Significant group differences were noted on measures of reflective autonomy, but not on reactive aUlonomy. A history ofTBI was also influential in parent ratings of functional independence and executive functioning, but not levels of parent stress. The adolescents with TBI did not repon higher levels of depression or anxiety. Within the TBI group, significant correlations were found between parent ratings of adolescent functional independence and executive functioning, yet no correlations were found between adolescent and parent reports of autonomy, adolescent reports of autonomy and affect, or between parent ratings of adolescent functional independence/executive functioning and parent stress levels. Conclusions: These findings provide some indication of a potential relationship between TBI and both self-repons and parent repons of autonomy. Adolescent's with a history of TBI in this sample felt less in control of their decision making process regarding actions/behaviors, and were viewed by their parents as are less functionally independent. These findings do not provide any indication of a potential relationship between TBI and an adolescent's ability to resist external innuence. However, the number of participants was limited and there were several other factors which complicate the interpretation of this lack of difference between adolescents with and without TBI. Clearly. further investigation of this phenomenon is warranted, yet these findings suggest that clinicians working with adolescents with brain injury might benefit by considering both internal and external perceptions of autonomy in treatment implementation. / Graduate

This thesis records an empirical study into psychological aspects reported by early adolescent and mid-adolescent boys. The research described in this thesis considered three different psychological characteristics, namely motivation, self-concept, and coping strategies, in 13-15 years old boys in Australian independent schools. These characteristics were considered within the context of two different school types, co-educational or single-sex boys. A total of 330 boys were tested, with samples from two year groups (Year 8 and Year 10) in each of two co-educational schools and two single-sex boys' schools. The four schools surveyed were located in large urban areas in two Australian states, and they were non-Catholic Christian day and boarding schools taking enrolments from pre-Grade 1 (four and a half years old) to the final year of secondary education. Year 12 (seventeen years old).The psychological tests used were the School Motivation Analysis Test (motivation), the Self- Description Questionnaire-ll (self-concept), and the Adolescent Coping Scale (coping strategies). Additionally, a demographic questionnaire obtained details of family background, socioeconomic status of children in the school, ethnic origin, occupation of parents, number of years spent in co-educational schools and single-sex schools, number of brothers, number of sisters, whether a day boy or a boarder, and date of birth. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in each of the three psychological characteristics studied; multiple regression analysis showed that these differences were indicated by school type more frequently than any other independent variable. Finally, suggestions for future work in this area are made.

The main goal of this thesis was to enhance understanding of potentially offensive sexual behaviors that occur among adolescent peers. Sexual behaviors were divided into three categories: moderate---did not involve physical touching; severe non-coercive---involved physical touching without the use of coercion; and severe coercive---included physical touching that involved the use of coercion. The first manuscript examined the incidence and tolerance of potentially offensive sexual behaviors and results were comparable to those found in previous studies on peer sexual harassment among adolescents. Boys tended to perpetrate moderate behaviors to both boys and girls, whereas severe behaviors were perpetrated by other-sex peers. Most importantly, experiencing a greater incidence of moderate and severe sexual behaviors for girls, and severe sexual behaviors for boys, was associated with having more other-sex friends. The second manuscript focused on elements that influence the degree of upset over relatively ambiguous potentially offensive sexual behaviors (i.e., moderate and severe non-coercive behaviors). Targets with higher self-esteem tended to attribute more acceptable intents (e.g., thought I liked it) to the perpetrators of potentially offensive sexual behaviors. Furthermore, targets attributed more acceptable intents to close friends than other peers. However, targets were most upset when they attributed less acceptable intents (e.g., wanted to have power over me) to the perpetrator, regardless of self-esteem or relationship with the perpetrator. The final manuscript compared adolescent victims and perpetrators of peer sexual coercion and a control group. Sexist attitudes were highest in male perpetrators and in female victims. Furthermore, victims of sexual coercion tended to report relatively high amounts of drug and alcohol use, and both victims and perpetrators tended to be involved in more non-sexual deviance than controls. Overall