Divorce has long been described as one of the most stressful experiences that any human being can ever experience. The process of divorce implies numerous sudden and highly stressful changes to any individual affected by it, including children. The literature review of the present study revealed valuable insight regarding the effects of divorce, in particular on children. The studies among them which were found to have identified some of the more detrimental implications of divorce for children in particular, included the studies by Jonsson, Njardvik, Olafsdottir and Gretarsson (2000); Eldar-Avidan, Haj-Yahia and Greenbaum (2009); and Yu, Pettit, Lansford, Dodge and Bates (2010). Despite numerous research studies having been done on the phenomena of divorce both in South Africa and globally, it appears that the majority of these studies mostly focused on its detrimental implications for both children and adults. Few of these studies were found to have focused on possible optimal implications or on effective coping with divorce. Some studies that were found to have touched on the potential optimal effects of parental divorce included the studies by Mullis, Mullis, Schwartz, Pease and Shriner (2007); Graff-Reed (N.D.); and Spalding and Pretorius (2001). One particularly influential study that was, however, identified to have been done on the phenomena of coping with parental divorce, was conducted by Roux (2007) who focused specifically on children’s coping with parental divorce. This study focused exclusively on children and involved interviews with children themselves at the time of their parents’ divorce. No research could be identified on how young adults in South Africa had attempted to cope with their parents’ divorce during their childhood and/or adolescent years. This determination led to an attempt to fill this apparent void in the literature and expand on the study that had been conducted by Roux (2007) by completing the present study. The focus of the present study subsequently fell on how young adults had coped with the divorce of their parents during their childhood and/or adolescent years. The aims of the present study were: * To investigate and obtain a clearer understanding of young adults’ coping with divorce during their childhood and/or adolescent years. * To determine if there were factors that played a role in coping with parental divorce. * To determine what recommendations could be made to the parents of children undergoing divorce. * To determine what recommendations could be made to children while undergoing parental divorce. The research questions that were included in the present study for the aforementioned purpose included the following: * How did young adults cope with the divorce of their parents during their childhood and/or adolescent years? * Were there factors that played a role in their coping and if so what were the factors? * What would they recommend to the parents of children during and after divorce? * What would they recommend to children during and after parental divorce? Semi-structured retrospective interviews were conducted with 15 participants in the completion of the present study. Each of these interviews where transcribed and the relevant data were analysed from these transcriptions by firstly reading of the protocols, followed by dividing them into natural meaning units (NMUs), performing linguistic transformation, integrating the NMUs with related themes, synthesising the data and developing a general description before it was finally documented and published. Selection of the participants was made by means of snowball sampling, as young adults nominated acquaintances whom they believed may also be willing to participate in the research (Whitley, 2002). The value of the present study was that it expanded the knowledge base regarding young adults’ coping with parental divorce during their childhood and/or adolescent years. It also culminated in the creation of a set of recommendations for both children and adults that would promote effective coping among them with parental divorce. It is hoped that these insights and recommendations will enable psychologists, social workers, counsellors, health care practitioners and/or any other individual/s involved with assisting families during divorce, to cope more effectively with this event. It is also hoped that further future research and follow-up studies into this particularly relevant and far reaching phenomenon will continue to be conducted by other researchers both in South Africa and abroad. / PhD (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Abstract Background: Networks with closed structures may lead to a scarcity of diversified norms which may leave an individual with only negative norms to be influenced by. Trust, relationship quality and social support are also examples of characteristics which may affect the adoption of health behaviors.                                                                                           Aims: To study whether there are any associations between network closure as well as relationship content (trust, relationship quality, social support) and the use of cannabis as well as the frequency of binge drinking, and how these associations are interacted by other factors.  Method: Logistic regression analyses were carried out to calculate the crude and adjusted odds ratios for 19-years old young adults in Sweden (n=2,942). Interaction analyses were also performed.                                                                                                                          Results: Individuals in high closure networks had a higher tendency to binge drink frequently. Individuals that in general are unhealthy, have many smoking friends and who are males had a higher propensity to both use cannabis and to binge drink when included in high closure networks.                                                                                                                      Conclusion: Individuals may be affected negatively by being included in networks with closed structures – some more than other − which is possibly mediated by the types of norms that are available.

Aims: The purpose of this thesis is to describe peer educators’ experiences from the training given to them by The Leadership South Programme. The aim is also to describe the participants’ perceived self-empowerment and perceptions about their own learning and experiences of being a peer educator. The study also aims to explore how peer educators share their skills with others. Methods: Grounded Theory is the method used for the research presented in this thesis. The data collection was done by open-ended questionnaires followed by qualitative interviews. Results: The results show that the peer educators who participated in our study show increased self-esteem and motivation. The training has also given them increased knowledge in communicating, listening and facilitating others. Furthermore peer educators experienced increased self-awareness and learned how to motivate and support their peers and share information. / Mål: Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur ungdomar, som har genomgått Leadership South’s program, upplever utbildningen. Syftet är också att analysera deltagarnas upplevda känsla av egenmakt, så kallad empowerment, och uppfattningar om deras eget lärande och erfarenheter av att vara en fadder (peer educator). Slutligen vill vi också undersöka hur respondenterna agerar för att dela med sig av sina erfarenheter. Metod: Grundad teori är den metod som använts i forskningen som presenteras i denna uppsats. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av en enkät med öppna frågor följd av en kvalitativ intervju. Resultat: Resultatet visar att de ungdomar som deltagit i vår undersökning har stärkts genom ökad självkänsla och ökad motivation. Utbildningen har också gett dem ökade kunskaper i kommunikation, att lyssna och att facilitera andra. Vidare har ungdomarna, genom ökad självkännedom, lärt sig att motivera och stötta sina kamrater och tillsammans dela och sprida information.

<strong>Background. </strong> Post-secondary institutions account for more smokers than any other occupational setting in Canada (Hammond, 2005). Unfortunately, little is known about tobacco use among this distinct population of students. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of smoking and patterns of cigarette use among undergraduates at the University of Waterloo. The current study also sought to investigate the role of school connectedness in predicting students? smoking behaviours, and to explore the relation of student smoking status as determined by a behavoural measure and self-reported smoking status. <br /><br /> <strong>Methods. </strong> A secondary analysis of data collected using the University of Waterloo Tobacco Use Survey (2004) was employed for this research. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, and percentages), non-parametric statistics (chi-square and Cohen?s kappa), principle components factor analysis and logistic regression in order to serve the exploratory purposes of the study. <br /><br /> <strong>Results. </strong> Overall, 17. 55% of the respondents reported current cigarette use (3. 37% daily; 14. 18% non-daily). Although most (85. 5%) students? self-perceptions remained as ?nonsmokers who never smoke? from university entrance to the study date, a greater proportion of students made a negative change in their self-perceived smoking status over this time period than a positive change (10. 13% vs. 4. 38%, respectively). Among students who perceived themselves as ?nonsmokers who never smoke? or ?ex-smokers? at university entrance, being more academically engaged predicted making a negative change in ones? self-perceived smoking status (OR= 1. 924, CI₉₅= 1. 064-3. 480). Finally, the proportion of non-daily smokers differed between the two measures of smoking status. Many students classified as ?occasional smokers? using the behavioural measure actually perceived themselves as ?nonsmokers who smoke sometimes?. <br /><br /> <strong>Discussion. </strong> The results of this study provide valuable new insights into smoking among Canadian university students. Students who are more academically engaged may be at risk of initiating smoking, perhaps as a means of stress reduction. Furthermore, the adult measure of occasional smoking typically used in tobacco research may be insufficient to inform tobacco control efforts for this population as it results in different proportions of non-daily smokers when compared against students? self-perceived smoking status. The findings of this exploratory research await replication with larger samples and different measures. Implications of the results for practice and further research are discussed. <br /><br /> <strong>Conclusions. </strong> This strategy of assessing connectedness to school shows promise in predicting post-secondary students? cigarette smoking behaviours. The results also provide support for continued investigation into the best ways to measure and assess current cigarette use in this unique population.

Young people who are in the process of establishing their independent lives or families in Uzbekistan find it almost impossible obtain housing. The issue has become acute after the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991 and is worst in the capital, Tashkent. This thesis focuses on a sample of young people belonging to middle-income category who are seeking for affordable and suitable housing in the capital. It maps out the issues involved with housing in Tashkent, and investigates how young people, from both the city and other provinces, find accommodation in Tashkent. The study finds that these young and educated, middle-class citizens are not “passive recipients” of the status quo, and they find their own ways to mitigate the affordable housing deprivation within their means. In addition to the Soviet-built housing stock, they make use of culture and social capital in creative ways. In this, they have contributed to the building of a new informal housing market, which. / Establishment of Tashkent as a regional center and its housing -- Literature review, analytical framework, research methods and limitations -- Stories of ordinary people housing by themselves in Tashkent -- The implications of people's housing journeys in Tashkent. / Department of Urban Planning

The aim of this thesis was to explore the efficacy of the rational choice model in the electoral decision making of young people. The initial view was that this was too narrow a concept to apply to a real world situation. Therefore, consumer behaviour theory was reviewed in order to find out how marketers understand consumer decision making and explore if this could add anything to electoral decision making. Using an ideographic approach, this research revealed a number of different groups that did not conform to the rational choice model. Moreover, it was interesting to discover that many voter and non-voter groups exhibit what can be described as irrational behaviour. Using education as a key variable and the Elaboration Likelihood Model as an analytical framework, it was possible to identify the different ways in which the groups built up their political knowledge and what effect this had upon the extent of their engagement with the electoral process. Two models were developed that described the various groups and their electoral behaviour. The thesis concludes by suggesting that engagement is limited to a small number of groups and the level of engagement is determined by a complex mix of education, life stage and the notion of risk.

This thesis reports a five year longitudinal study of 300 Scottish school leavers. The research used quantitative and qualitative techniques to intensively investigate the relationship between personality type and achievement and explore the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The researcher devoted considerable effort to ensuring that participants and schools could benefit from involvement in the study. The thesis includes the researcher's reflection on the role of her own subjectivity within the research process. The distribution of personality types was ascertained using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) based on Carl Jung's Theory of Types. The MBTI was administered to 298 4th year pupils and 72 teachers from two schools. The research findings indicate that extraverted participants were more likely to leave school earlier and with poorer qualifications than those who were introverted. Sensates were also more likely than intuitives to leave school at the end of their period of compulsory education with poorer qualifications. Thus the educationally most vulnerable group consisted of the young people who were both extraverted and sensing. A subgroup at particular risk was subjected to closer scrutiny and a case study provided. No type group was more likely than any other to become employed or unemployed. Participants were occupationally oriented even at the age of 14 with the young people in general fearing unemployment but still aspiring to a work identity. However, stable employment or unemployment were seldom reported after leaving school. Rather young people tended to report moving frequently between jobs, training and unemployment. 80 depth interviews conducted at 18 years indicated that the majority still did not regard themselves as adults, which was seen as characterised by assumption of responsibilities and the end of &quot;fun&quot;. The thesis ends with recommendations for enhancement of the educational process.

This thesis examines how young people identify and affliate with particular club scenes and how these practices and processes relate to their transitions, identities and lifestyles. It aims to give a sense of the processes and the resources that are required to 'become' a clubber over time. The thesis engages with the recent attempts to reconcile the conceptual and empirical divisions between the two main approaches in the sociology of youth. It suggests that the work ofSchutz serves as a heuristic framework to conceptualise data, and when synthesised with other sympathetic conceptual frameworks, links disparate literature to allow for a better understanding of the role of knowledge in the transitions, identities and lifestyles of young people. This focus influenced my choice of method: the ethnographic techniques of participant observation and in-depth interviewing were employed to access participants' experiences and knowledge of becoming a c1ubber. The findings suggest that the process of becoming a clubber is a gendered, dialectical and transformational process: informed by the social heritage and locally situated experiences of clubbing participants. It is a process that manifests itself through embodied practices involving cultural knowledge and taste. Participants place one another on the basis of their participation in and identification with a clubbing lifestyle. These placements appear embedded in the social order: they call not only on old social markers but also on the increasing hierarchies of difference within and across social groups. Social competence, cultural knowledge and consumer activities are all implicated in the placement of others, and the construction of boundaries that clubbing collectives engage in. These are young people who can afford materially and socially to extend both their structural and cultural transitions. The social confidence and adept skills of exchange that 'proper' clubbers develop are resources that help them develop and create social and cultural capital of their own. Becoming a clubber requires competency, skills and dispositions: it is a process that transmits privilege and disadvantage.

In this study, the supportive nature of the parent-child relationship was examined for how it relates to young adults' romantic development, as measured by indicators of attachment relationship importance and romantic involvement. Attachment and social support theories suggest that parents continue to play an important role as their young adult children form romantic relationships. Prior research has indicated that perceived support from parents is positively related to young adults' expressing attachment relationship importance, as evidenced by attachment motivation and engaging in exploration about romantic relationship topics. Furthermore, support from parents has been negatively related to romantic and sexual involvement. Therefore, it was believed that support in the parent-child relationship would predict both the indicators of attachment relationship importance and the indicators of romantic involvement in the present study. Additionally, an interaction of parental support and participants' gender was expected for the indicators of attachment relationship importance but not romantic involvement. A sample of 157 women and 144 men, ages 18-22 completed questionnaires. These measures assessed the supportive quality of relationships with each parent and indicators of the young adults' romantic development. For the indicators of attachment relationship importance, results indicated that exploration was predicted by gender and a conflictual relationship with father while motivation was predicted by a supportive relationship with father. Regarding the indicators of romantic involvement, sexual involvement was predicted by gender. Given these unexpected results, the role of parental support in young adults' romantic development continues to appear important, though the nature of its influence needs further research. Theoretical and methodological issues were discussed in light of these findings.

Chronic illness affects nearly half of all American adults, yet this experience is often regarded as socially normative for older adults. In this study, I examined chronic illness onset early in the life course and its effects on mastery, a person’s self-perception as capable of coping with and managing life’s circumstances, and depressive symptoms as informed by the life course perspective and the stress process model. Using multilevel modeling of American Changing Lives Survey (ACLS) data, I examined the following questions: What is the relationship between early onset chronic illness and mastery? Second, what is the relationship between early onset chronic illness and depressive symptoms? Does mastery mediate the relationship between early onset chronic illness and depressive symptoms? Is early onset chronic illness (24-35) more strongly associated with decreased mastery and increased depressive symptoms than illness onset at the more socially normative life stages of mid-life (36-64) and late-life (65 years and older)? Lastly, does mastery mediate or moderate the relationship between timing of illness onset and depressive symptoms? Through this study, I aim to contribute to sociological knowledge of whether and how chronic illness impacts mastery and depression among young adults. I argue that ill-timed chronic illness impacts young adults’ sense of control over their lives, which has enduring psychological and social consequences. Findings support that healthy and chronically ill young adults do not significantly differ on mastery, but ill young adults report significantly higher depressive symptoms than healthy same age peers. Mastery moderates the effects of timing of illness onset on depressive symptoms with older adults reaping greater benefit from mastery against depressive symptoms than young adults with early onset illness. These findings suggest that early onset chronic illness positions people at greater risk for poor mental health outcomes and that the chronic illness experience and its effects are not uniform across the life course. Consequently, work in this area must consider age as an important context in which the life event of chronic illness onset occurs.