This study is in two parts, separate and distinctive, yet interconnected. It is concerned with black young people, bom in Croydon, whose parents and grandparents were born in the Caribbean or who were socialised as Caribbeans. It seeks to generate a theory of how being black and bom in Britain creates intergenerational tensions which transcend those of "normal" adolescent relationships and how this affects their membership of 'main-stream' society. Part A, is an Institution Focused Study which examines the efficacy of the grounded theory approach as a suitable methodology for an ethnographic study of British-born black young people, necessitating in-depth interviewing both of the young people themselves and adults of their parents' and grandparents' generations. The Institution Focused Study explains the background to the research including the interest of the researcher in this topic. It charts the conditions which black young people face in a white-dominated and inherently racist society and highlights the paucity of research on this issue. It examines the grounded theory approach, suggesting that its suitability arises from its similarity to the youth work practitioner's style of operation and devises an appropriate research design to ensure that sufficient subjects are recruited and interviewed to provide information-rich data to be collected and analysed. It concludes that this method, when applied with scientific rigour, will produce sufficient data to enable both substantive theories and a more formal theory of British-born black young people to be generated. Part B constitutes the main study. After a brief introduction a discussion on Adolescence is provided to contextualise the study in view of the varying and rapid changes occurring in this period of human development. The study returns to the question of the research design and considers how information-rich data is to be gathered, and how subjects will be recruited and interviewed for which It provides an interviewer prompt sheet. An analysis of the data is then offered, grouped into the categories which have emerged and been developed as the study unfurled. Discussion then centres around the subjects 'own stories' together with other theories and research. The findings are summarised leading to a number of substantive theories which then are synthesised into a formal theory of British-born black young people. This suggests that they suffer a sense of cultural anomie denying them a necessary, new and distinctive identity as emerging black British citizens. The study raises the implications of this for the future work of the Croydon Youth Development Trust before offering a foot-note on methodology; a reflection on the grounded theory approach and its suitability to this type of ethnographic research.

No description available.

No description available.

As families immigrate to a new country, adolescents often acculturate and learn the host-language more quickly than do their parents. As a result, many adolescents engage in language brokering (i.e., providing translation, interpretation, and communication mediation assistance) for their immigrant parents. This study aimed to disentangle the nature of multiple dimensions of language brokering within a community sample of 152 Chinese immigrant families residing in Western Canada. Specifically, I examined language brokering frequency as well as positive and negative feelings about language brokering as distinct constructs to better understand how they relate to one another and with adjustment. Applying self-determination theory, I also considered the role of autonomy-supportive contexts in moderating links between the various language brokering constructs and adjustment, with the expectation that language brokering would present less risk to adjustment in contexts high in autonomy support. A higher frequency of language brokering for both mothers and fathers predicted more intense feelings. Further, language brokering feelings were more predictive of adjustment than frequency. There was little evidence that brokering feelings moderated relations between language brokering frequency and adjustment. However, there was evidence that the absence of autonomy-supportive contexts was a risk for poorer adjustment, and that environments rich in autonomy support have the potential to mitigate risks associated with language brokering. The results are discussed with respect to unique adolescent experiences language brokering for mothers versus fathers, which further highlight the complex relations between language brokering and adjustment. / Graduate

<p>South Africa is reported to have the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result the quality of life of families living with HIV/AIDS is negatively affected. Literature indicates that the majority of affected persons are young children and adolescents whose siblings or parents are infected with HIV/AIDS. Most affected adolescents are reported to have difficult social lives due to their parent&rsquo / s illness, difficult financial situations at home, stigma and discrimination within the society. The study attempts to explore the experiences of adolescents in households where the mother is HIV/AIDS positive. This research project is an exploratory study using a narrative approach within a qualitative methodological design. The study was conducted with 6 Xhosa-speaking adolescent boys (2) and girls (4) aged 12 to 15 years. An open-ended interview schedule was used to prompt participants to tell their stories. Data was collected by means of a voice recorder in order for adolescents to tell their stories. The responses were transcribed verbatim, translated and verified with the participants. The data were analysed by means of narrative analysis. The results indicate that most adolescent participants were coping with the mother being HIV/AIDS positive and maintained hope for their futures. Adolescents were coping due to support from friends and relatives. Some adolescents experienced rejection and discrimination. The biggest challenge in the home was due to socioeconomic status. The study is intended to benefit the community in terms of making recommendations to social workers at NGO&rsquo / s and the government sectors in terms of strengthening the existing support programmes in the community.</p>

<p>South Africa is reported to have the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result the quality of life of families living with HIV/AIDS is negatively affected. Literature indicates that the majority of affected persons are young children and adolescents whose siblings or parents are infected with HIV/AIDS. Most affected adolescents are reported to have difficult social lives due to their parent&rsquo / s illness, difficult financial situations at home, stigma and discrimination within the society. The study attempts to explore the experiences of adolescents in households where the mother is HIV/AIDS positive. This research project is an exploratory study using a narrative approach within a qualitative methodological design. The study was conducted with 6 Xhosa-speaking adolescent boys (2) and girls (4) aged 12 to 15 years. An open-ended interview schedule was used to prompt participants to tell their stories. Data was collected by means of a voice recorder in order for adolescents to tell their stories. The responses were transcribed verbatim, translated and verified with the participants. The data were analysed by means of narrative analysis. The results indicate that most adolescent participants were coping with the mother being HIV/AIDS positive and maintained hope for their futures. Adolescents were coping due to support from friends and relatives. Some adolescents experienced rejection and discrimination. The biggest challenge in the home was due to socioeconomic status. The study is intended to benefit the community in terms of making recommendations to social workers at NGO&rsquo / s and the government sectors in terms of strengthening the existing support programmes in the community.</p>

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / South Africa is reported to have the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result the quality of life of families living with HIV/AIDS is negatively affected. Literature indicates that the majority of affected persons are young children and adolescents whose siblings or parents are infected with HIV/AIDS. Most affected adolescents are reported to have difficult social lives due to their parent's illness, difficult financial situations at home, stigma and discrimination within the society. The study attempts to explore the experiences of adolescents in households where the mother is HIV/AIDS positive. This research project is an exploratory study using a narrative approach within a qualitative methodological design. The study was conducted with 6 Xhosa-speaking adolescent boys (2) and girls (4) aged 12 to 15 years. An open-ended interview schedule was used to prompt participants to tell their stories. Data was collected by means of a voice recorder in order for adolescents to tell their stories. The responses were transcribed verbatim, translated and verified with the participants. The data were analysed by means of narrative analysis. The results indicate that most adolescent participants were coping with the mother being HIV/AIDS positive and maintained hope for their futures. Adolescents were coping due to support from friends and relatives. Some adolescents experienced rejection and discrimination. The biggest challenge in the home was due to socioeconomic status. The study is intended to benefit the community in terms of making recommendations to social workers at NGO's and the government sectors in terms of strengthening the existing support programmes in the community. / South Africa

Text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, and social networking sites are changing the way people interact with each other. The popularity of these communication technologies among emerging adults in particular has grown exponentially, with little accompanying research to understand their influences on psychosocial development. This study explores the relationship between communication technology usage (text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, and social networking) and adolescent adjustment among 268 high school students. It was hypothesized that use of communication technology would be related to psychological adjustment, including identity development, relationship attachment and peer conflict. Participants were recruited from three public high schools in central Florida (69% female, 81.9% White). Time spent using communication technology was significantly correlated with psychological symptom severity (i.e. anxiety and depression), identity distress, peer aggression, and existential anxiety. It was also significantly but negatively correlated with relationship avoidance. Degree of usage of communication technology for interpersonal communication was significantly correlated with peer aggression, relationship anxiety, and existential anxiety. Those with a preoccupied style (high in relationship anxiety, low in relationship avoidance) spent significantly more time using communication technology than those in the dismissive (high in avoidance, low in anxiety), fearful (high in both), and secure (low in both) styles. Further analyses and their implications for adolescent development will be discussed.

No description available.

No description available.