abstract: This dissertation shares findings from a qualitative case study of Latina adolescent girls (ninth and 10th graders) and their mothers and fathers participating in Somos Escritores/We Are Writers. Somos Escritores was a five-week bilingual writing workshop for Latina adolescent girls and their mothers and fathers that invited them to write, draw, and share stories from their lived realities on a variety of topics relevant to their lives. The stories, voices, experiences, and ways of knowing of the Latina adolescent girls, mothers, and fathers who allowed me a window into their lives are at the center of this study. This study explored the ways a safe space was coconstructed for the sharing of stories and voices and what was learned from families through their writing about who they are, what matters to them, and what they envision for their futures. To understand Somos Escritores, and the Latina adolescent girls, mothers, and fathers who participated in this space and the stories that are shared, I weave together multiple perspectives. These perspectives include Chicana feminist epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998), third space (Gutiérrez, 2008), Nepantla (Anzaldúa, 1997) and sociocultural theories of writing (Goncu & Gauvain, 2012; Prior, 2006). Data were drawn from the following sources: (a) postworkshop survey, (b) audio recording and transcription of workshops, (c) interviews, (d) workshop artifacts, and (e) field notes. They were analyzed using narrative methods. I found that Latina adolescent girls and their mothers and fathers are “Fighting to be Heard,” through the naming and claiming of their realities, creating positive self-definitions, writing and sharing silenced stories, the stories of socially conscious girls and of parents raising chicas fuertes [strong girls]. In addition, Somos Escritores families and facilitators coconstructed a third space through intentional practices and activities. This study has several implications for teachers and teacher educators. Specifically, I suggest creating safe space in literacy classroom for authentic sharing of stories, building a curriculum that is relevant to the lived realities of youth and that allows them to explore social injustices and inequities, and building relationships with families in the coconstruction of family involvement opportunities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2017

No description available.

No description available.

This study draws on a black feminist theoretical perspective, to develop an understanding of the cultural identities and experiences of twelve, academically 'successful', British South-Asian girls. The girls are aged between 16-18 years, and from Hindu, Sikh and Muslim religious backgrounds, selected across two West London secondary schools. A narrative interview approach is used to explore how these girls configure and invest in 'culture' and their cultural identities, during a critical stage in their academic lives before entering university. A series of unstructured interviews have been held with each girl, and these were complemented with reflective journals. The girls' narratives reveal how 'culture' (a contested term) is discussed with high weighting in relation to the importance of education, which they all narrated as an important key to unlocking 'success' in their future lives. The girls' identities move beyond media discourses that stereotype them as ‘passive’ and lacking a voice. These girls demonstrate agency and high aspirations for 'having it all', narrated through discourses of hard work, meritocracy and aspiration. This study reveals the complex interaction of experiences that influence South-Asian girls' cultural identities, and the interplay of structure and agency in their journeys towards becoming 'successful', irrespective of their largely working-class backgrounds. Whilst I recognise that all adolescents will face challenges of some kind, being a South-Asian girl embodies its own particularities, linked to markers of difference in 'culture', religion, gender, ethnicity, 'race', class, language, dress, amongst other historical influences. These differences are not necessarily embodied as negative forces by these girls, but rather, used as a catalyst for personal growth, where they draw on their psychological strength, aspirations and desires, to become 'successful' young women. This thesis makes a unique contribution to black feminist theory, girlhood studies, as well as narrative and educational literature. It acknowledges the uniqueness of South-Asian girls' cultural experiences and backgrounds, and challenges some of the cultural discourses in the media that pathologise them. It is written in a critically reflexive style, from the perspective of a second-generation, British-born, South-Asian academic, who, at the time of writing this thesis, was also raising two academically 'successful' daughters of her own. The inspiration for this research is rooted in the researcher's narratives of girlhood and early womanhood.

HIV/AIDS is prevalent among adolescent youth in South Africa particularly among adolescent girls. Numerous efforts have been made to contain the pandemic through HIV prevention information in schools and through community and mass media campaigns, but all these efforts seem not to have an impact on the sexual behaviour of the youth. Reports from various studies concluded that although these programmes increase adolescents’ knowledge they have a minimal impact on their sexual behaviour. The current study explores perceptions of HIV/AIDS among a group of adolescent girls (between 14 and 19 years old) as well as the impact of these perceptions on their sexual practices and development. The results revealed that perceptions of HIV/AIDS appear to have an impact on adolescent girls’ sexual practices.

Thesis advisor: Ruth McRoy / Thesis advisor: Linnie Green Wright / Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence rates have risen dramatically over the past decade and boys are five times more likely to be diagnosed than girls. Prior research on children with ASD includes samples that are overwhelmingly male, but does indicate that girls with high-functioning ASD may have distinct needs and profiles. This study begins to address this gap in the research through a qualitative study of eleven families with an adolescent daughter with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The family is the primary unit of analysis and the study focuses on the following: (a) families' experience with the diagnostic process (b) families' management of their daughter's adjustment to adolescence, and(c) the impact of the ASD on family well-being. Family stress theory was the conceptual framework used to guide the study. Using grounded theory with a supplemental quantitative data strand, the study involved forty in-depth semi-structured interviews. Parents completed the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA) and a demographic questionnaire. Findings indicate that parenting a daughter with ASD could be categorized as a chronic stressor. The majority of parents endorsed clinically significant levels of stress on the SIPA. The mean age of ASD diagnosis was 8.7 years, well above the most recent (2014) Centers for Disease Control findings (6.3 years). Delayed and misdiagnosis for girls with ASD resulted in significant stress for families and reduced access to appropriate intervention. A shift in perception of the ASD from an acute to a chronic stressor allowed families to move toward acceptance and adaptation. The study findings support the need for a family centered model of assessment and intervention. Social workers in schools and in early intervention programs can play a critical role in providing education and support for families. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world while obesity, a condition tied to numerous chronic conditions throughout the lifespan, is at epidemic levels throughout most of the world. Adolescence is a crucial transition period for physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Adolescents, particularly girls, are at high risk of developing depression and obesity. Some studies suggest that obesity is a risk factor for the development of depression while others suggest that depression alters health habits, thereby leading to obesity. The overall goal of this work is to examine both of these questions in adolescent girls and further to explore whether the relationship between obesity (and other related risk factors) and depression is a bi-directional one. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Growth and Health Study (NGHS) is an observational study of 2379 adolescent black and white girls. Height and weight was measured annually (and used to estimate body mass index) over 10 years from early to late adolescence. Diet and other risk factors were also measured longitudinally over 10 years. Depression was measured twice using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D): first at exam 8 and then at the final exam (exam 10). Multivariable logistic regression and longitudinal (repeated measures) mixed models were used to control for potential confounding by age, socio-economic status, physical activity, hours of television/video watching per day, and dietary factors. The first objective was to determine whether young adolescent girls who were already overweight or obese had a higher risk for developing depression during the follow-up exams in later adolescence. Overall, the prevalence of moderate (or worse) depression was much higher in girls who were classified as obese (474% with depression) than either overweight (37.8%) or normal-weight (34.3%) girls. After adjusting for baseline age, race, SES, television/video hour per day), physical activity level, diet quality (using Healthy Eating Index scores), and percent of energy from protein, obese girls had a 68% increase risk of subsequent depression (95% CI: 1.17 to 2.39) compared with normal weight girls. There was no increased depression risk for overweight girls. The risk of incident depression associated with obesity was the same for blacks and whites in the study. Finally, after controlling further for a measure of self-worth (using the Harter Scales), the effect of obesity was somewhat attenuated. The second objective of the study was to explore other risk factors for depression in these adolescent girls. In these analyses, several factors from the early adolescent years predicted the development of later depression (moderate or worse). These included hours spent watching television (risk increased by 6% for each additional hour watched per day), white race, SES, obesity, and self-worth score. While the self-worth score ranged only from 1 to 4, there was nearly a 60% reduction in risk for each increase of one point in the score. Thus, self-worth was a particularly important predictor, with higher self-worth scores protecting these girls from incident depression. The final objective of this work was to examine the change in behavioral risk factors associated with prevalent depression at exam 8. Depressed (vs. non-depressed) girls who were not obese at exam 8 were approximately 75% more likely to become obese by exam 10. The results of this study support a finding of a bi-directional relationship between obesity and depression in adolescent girls.

The Indian population is at high risk for obesity and its related diseases. Paradoxically, there is also a high prevalence of low birth weight in this population. Throughout life, factors associated with these abnormalities reflect genetic, environmental and lifestyle patterns.World-wide, the Indian population is largely non-meat-eating which could compromise the quantity and quality of the diet in macronutrients (proteins) and micronutrients (vitamin B12). Vitamin B12 has been suggested to increase the risk for the metabolic syndrome (dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, hypertension and central adiposity). Factors measured in this pilot study designed to examine the differences between meat-eating and non-meat-eating Indian preadolescent girls were body composition, dietary food and nutrient analysis, physical activity patterns and biomarkers of diet and metabolic syndrome.Six non-meat-eating (9.8±0.9 y) and six meat-eating (10.0±0.6 y) Indian preadolescent girls participated in the two weeks study. Mothers and their daughters in each group had followed the same dietary pattern from birth. Anthropometry, hand-to-foot bioelectrical impedance and resting energy expenditure were measured. Biomarkers associated with one carbon metabolism; serum B12, methylmalonic acid (MMA) and folate were measured. Inflammatory markers; high sensitivity C-reactive protein and ferritin were measured. Serum lipids, fasting glucose and haematological parameters were measured. Time spent in sedentary activities and dietary information was extracted from seven day physical activity and food diaries respectively.There was an overall trend towards higher values for the non-meat-eaters as compared to the meat-eaters in body fat percent (29.7±6.6 vs. 29.0±6.2%, p = 0.85), and waist to hip ratio (0.89±0.12 vs. 0.84±0.07, p = 0.37) but the meat-eaters weighed more (31.2±5.5 vs. 33.3±9.6kg, p = 0.65). Compared to British reference ranges, girls in both groups had a higher BF% of 29±6% which was 34 percentile points above the British median (McCarthy et al., 2006) adjusted for age.Both groups spent 21 hours each day in non-moving/sedentary activities. Dietary consumption of vitamin B12 was higher in meat-eaters compared to non-meat-eaters (2.5±0.8 vs 1.8±0.6μg.day-1, p = 0.11). Serum vitamin B12 was substantially higher in the meat-eaters (543±212 vs. 232±95 pmol/L, p = 0.01) with lower serum concentrations of MMA (0.2 ± 0.1 vs 0.3 ± 0.2 μmol/L, p=0.3). Serum folate was adequate in all girls ranging from 16.5-45.0 pmol/L, which was within the normal reference values. Two non-meat-eating girls were vitamin B12 deficient (<170pmol/L). These differences were associated with high fibre and less protein intake in the nonmeat-eaters (30±8 vs. 20±7 g day-1; 64±12 vs. 66±11 g.day-1).The initial findings in this pilot study provide early evidence that risk factors for metabolic disease associated with body composition, diet and activity are accumulating in preadolescent Indian girls. Imbalance in one carbon metabolism is clearly a factor to be considered. In those with a low consumption of meat and/or animal products, B12 monitoring, dietary recommendations and if necessary supplementation should be considered and where possible intervention before pregnancy (as for folate) be a priority. New Zealand Indian people would be a priority group.It is time for serious action in this area of health so that the risk accumulated through an imbalance in nutrition and physical activity is reduced and the health of those as yet unborn is improved.

This study investigates the influences on participation in physical activity of thirty adolescent girls from a metropolitan secondary school in Victoria. It seeks to understand how they perceived, experienced and explained their involvement or non involvement in both competitive and non competitive physical activity during four years of their secondary schooling. Participants experienced physical education as both a single sex group in Years 7 and 9 and a coeducational group in Years 8 and 10. They were exposed to a predominantly competitive curriculum in Years 7 to 9 and a less structured, more social, recreational program in Year 10. These experiences enabled them to compare the differences between class structures and activity programs and identify the significant issues which impacted on their participation. Large Australian population studies have revealed that fewer girls participated in sport and regular physical activity than boys. An important consequence is that girls miss out on the health benefits associated with participating in physical activity. Other research has found adolescence is the time that girls drop out of competitive sport. However, an important issue is whether girls who drop out of competitive sport cease to be involved in any physical activity. There are some studies which have reported good participation rates by adolescent girls in non competitive, recreational forms of physical activity and the possibility exists that they may drop out of competitive and into non competitive physical activity. This study primarily utilises a qualitative approach in contrast to previous studies which have largely relied upon the use of surveys and questionnaires. Whilst quantitative research has provided useful information about the bigger picture, there are limitations caused by reliance on the researchers' own interpretations of the data. Additionally there is no opportunity for any clarification and explanation of findings and trends by the respondents themselves. The current study utilized qualitative individual and collective interviews in three stages. Questions were asked in the broad areas of coeducation and single sex classes, preferences for competitive or recreational activity and body image issues. Some quantitative information focusing on nature and extent of current activity patterns was also gathered in the first stage. Thirty Year 10 girls participated in individual first interviews. Nine selected girls then took part in the second (individual) and third (collective) interview stages. Results revealed three groups based on the nature of physical activity involvement: [1] competitive activity group, [2] social activity group and [3] transition group. The transition group represented those who were in the process of withdrawing from competitive sport to take up more non competitive, recreational activity. The most significant difference between groups was skill level. On the whole those entering adolescence with the highest skill levels, such as those in the competitive group, were the most confident and relished competing against others. The social group was low in skill and confidence and had predominantly negative experiences in physical education and sport because their deficiencies were plainly visible to all. Similarly, a lack of skill improvement relative to those of 'better performers' affected the interest and confidence levels of those in the transition group. Boys' domination in coeducational classes through verbal and physical intimidation of the less competent and confident girls and exclusion of very competent girls was a major issue. Social and transition group members demonstrated compliance with boys' power by hanging back and sitting out of competitive activities. Conversely, the competitive group resisted boy's attempts to dominate but had to work hard to demonstrate their athletic capabilities in order to do so. Body image issues such as the skimpy physical education and sport uniform along with body revealing activities such as swimming and gymnastics, heightened feelings of self-consciousness and embarrassment for most girls. When strategies were adopted by social and transition group members to avoid any body exposure or physical humiliation, participation levels were subsequently affected. However, where girls felt confident about their physical abilities and body image, they were able to ignore their unflattering uniforms and thus participation was unaffected. Specific teaching practices such as giving more attention to boys, for example by segregating the sexes in mixed classes to focus attention on boys, reinforced stereotypical notions of gender and contributed to the inequities for girls in physical education. The competitive group were frustrated with having to prove themselves as capable as boys in order to receive greater teacher attention. The transition group rejected teacher's attempts to coerce them into participating in the inter school sports program. The social group believed that teachers viewed and treated them less favourably than others because of their limited skills. Girls were not passive in the face of these obstacles. Rather than give up physical activity they disengaged from competitive sport and took up other forms of activity which they had the confidence to perform. These activity choices also reflected their expanding social interests such as spending time with male and female friends outside school and increased demands on their time by study and part time work commitments. This study not only highlighted the diversity and complexity of attitudes and behaviours of girls towards physical activity but also demonstrated that they display agency in making conscious, sensible decisions about their physical activity choices. Plain Language Summary of Thesis Adolescent girls in physical education and sport; An analysis of influences on participation by Julia Whitty Submitted for the degree of Master of Applied Science Deakin University Supervisor: Dr Judy Ann Jones This study investigates the influences on participation in physical activity of thirty adolescent girls from a metropolitan secondary school in Victoria in order to understand how girls' perceived, experienced and explained their involvement or non involvement in both competitive and non competitive physical activity. Qualitative individual and collective interviews were conducted. Questions focussed on attitudes about coeducation and single sex classes, preferences for competitive or recreational activity and feelings about body image. Some quantitative information about the nature and extent of current activity patterns was also gathered in the first stage. Thirty Year 10 girls participated in individual first interviews. Nine selected girls then took part in the second (individual) and third (collective) interview stages. Results revealed three clearly different groups based on the nature of physical activity involvement (1) Competitive, (2) Social and (3) Transition (those in the process of withdrawing from competitive sport to take up more non competitive, recreational activity). The major difference between groups was skill level. Those entering adolescence with the highest skill levels were more competent and confident in the coeducational and competitive sport setting. Other significant issues included boys' domination, body image and teaching behaviours and practices.

<p>Djur har historiskt haft en central roll i människans utveckling och behandling av ohälsa, och djurs hälso- och terapifrämjande egenskaper har de senaste decennierna börjat uppmärksammas. Med syfte att utröna hur hästar kan användas i terapeutiskt arbete intervjuades sex yrkesverksamma kvinnor på två behandlingshem med hästassisterad terapi (HAT) för tonårsflickor med psykosocial problematik. Därtill enkätintervjuades fyra kvinnor som genomgått HAT. Det framkom att hästar kan utgöra terapeutiska och kommunikativa verktyg som kringgår klientens försvarsmekanismer, reducerar det hotfulla i samtals-situationer samt underlättar koncentration och anknytning. Klienten upplever ett ömsesidigt förhållande med hästen, och meningsfullhet och kärlek. Det dis-kuteras att HAT effektivt kan komplettera redan etablerade behandlingsformer, samt att bredare acceptans av djurassisterade behandlingsmetoder tycks närmas genom ökad öppenhet och kunskap.</p>