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.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

The aim of the thesis on the topic of Self-concept in adolescence is to clarify the construct of self-concept from the perspective of personality psychology, because self-concept is an individual specific characteristic of human personality and its meaning is unquestionable. In the course of human ontogenesis, self-conception gradually develops, and forms based on acquired knowledge about itself and has its differences in each developmental period. The work is focused on the period of adolescence and therefore also presents typical features of self-concept in adolescents. The end of compulsory schooling is an important milestone in the life of adolescents, which relates to the process of choosing a profession that his work is associated with school success. The empirical part focuses on finding out whether there is a relationship between the self-concept of school success and the choice of future profession in adolescents. In this respect, it is essential that the way in which adolescents experience and evaluate their own school success can affect the career choice process. The objectives and research questions were set for the quantitative research. A standardized SPAS questionnaire examining the self-concept of school success was used as a diagnostic tool to obtain data, as well as a...

Whilst there are numerous studies on young people’s engagement in academic study, the internal relationship between young people and academic study is still unclear. This thesis seeks to explain the relation of young people to their academic study, in the context of Brunei Darussalam, through analysing young people’s motive hierarchy. The research is based on the understanding that young people are faced with multiple contradicting demands from the society, which evolve with their developmental age. The contradicting demands generate conflicts for young people as they participate across the different institutional practices in their everyday lives. The research entailed a semi-participatory research approach, which emphasised young people’s lived experiences, from a first-person perspective. Eight (8) young people aged 16-18 years who are studying for their GCE A Level examinations, played roles as both trained Student Researchers, as well as participants in this research. Data were collected from focus group discussions, annotated photo albums (MyAlbum) and a ‘participant self-generated’ questionnaire (MyQuestionnaire). The focus of the data collection was on the young people’s experiences of conflicts with respect to their academic study and the different agendas in their everyday lives. Intermediary tools were developed to focus the data analysis to identify motive-orientations and their relative importance in the construct of the motive hierarchy of a young person. An initial general model of motive hierarchy was developed from this study too. It is a societal demand for young people in late adolescence to be vocational and career oriented. However this study shows the eight (8) young people are also oriented towards other objects, apart from being future oriented. They can still have a dominant motive-orientation towards intimate personal relations, which usually prevails for early adolescence. Two other motive-orientations have also emerged from this study, i.e. the societal value system and self-comfort related. These different motive-orientations of the young people contradict the societal demands and create conflicts for the young people as they participate in and across the practices. These findings are important in informing intervention programmes to improve young people’s engagement in academic study.