Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104).

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Health and social policies identify empowerment as a guiding ideal for health promotion, yet there is little theoretical understanding of youth empowerment. The need for theory to guide practice and research in working with youth in a health promotion context led to this grounded theory study to develop a theory of youth empowerment. A community health nurse acting on BC Ministry of Health's adaptation of the World Health Organisation's Healthy Cities Initiative initiated a community organising project in an inner city community of Vancouver, which merged with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Blueprint for Youth Services policy. The study was based on 32 months of participant observation where the researcher was a co-facilitator of a community organising effort aimed at engaging youth in identifying their quality-of-life issues, and developing and implementing their solutions. Of the ,123 youth entering the process, 66 attended at least three meetings of which 18 demonstrated ongoing commitment to the community action process. Partnering between adults and youth as the process of empowering youth emerged as the core category in the analysis, comprised of two sub-processes, Creating an Empowering Environment for Youth and Becoming Empowered. An empowering environment allowed youth to take responsibility in a welcoming social climate with enabling support from adults. The adults demonstrated their belief in the capacity of youth to act in the community, expected youth to take responsibility, cared for youth, and offered encouragement through acting-with interactions with young people. Youth felt welcome and participated in the process, taking responsibility for voicing, decision making and action on their qualityof- life issues. The adults transferred the power to youth by giving up their responsibility for voicing, decision making and taking action. By taking responsibility and acting in the community with enabling support, the youth became empowered by controlling the process and incrementally developing their competence, self-esteem, confidence and understanding, which cultivated their belonging to the community. Participating in an empowering process enhanced their development and set in motion a social change process that raised the consciousness of adults and influenced organisational practice. The theory identifies youth empowerment as an ecological construct and a capacity-building process. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a relationship exists between parenting styles, adolescent self-esteem, and health risk behaviors. The sample consisted of 343 middle school students from Harrisonburg, Virginia who completed a questionnaire consisting of three major components: parenting styles, self-esteem, and health risk behaviors. The health risk behaviors component contained questions concerning alcohol use, drug use, sexual activity, and eating behaviors. The parenting styles section of the questionnaire classified the participants into one of four types of parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and neglectful. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale divided the participants into one of three levels of self esteem: low, average, and high. The risky behaviors component of the questionnaire classified the participants as being low risk-takers, experimenters, or high risk-takers, with the exception of the eating behaviors component, which classified participants as being either high or low risk takers. In general, no relationship was found between parenting styles, self-esteem, and health risk behaviors. / Master of Science

Thesis (MCur)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Research and in certain instances the lack of research as well as extensive experience of the researcher in this field of study convinced the researcher that a scientific study / exploration is critical on the different aspects of adolescent sexual health. A study, based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (triangulation), was conducted to identify and describe the factors playing a role in adolescents’ experiencing problems in maintaining their sexual health. Adolescents are at risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases including HIV/AIDS because of their sexual behaviour. Initiation of early sexual relations contributing to possible multiple sexual partners and failure to consistently use condoms contribute to this risk. Failure to continuously use a reliable contraceptive method also enhances the risk of unintended pregnancies and consequent exposure to the risks involved in termination of pregnancy or the psychological effects of giving the baby up for adoption, the hardship of raising the baby as a single parent or being forced to marry at a young age. Thus the physical-, emotional-, and social well being of the adolescent is at risk when they are not equipped to maintain their sexual health.The study concludes that adolescents that are sexually active and have multiple sexual partners have a higher probability of not maintaining their sexual health. Based on the outcome of this study the researcher feels strongly that the following needs to be addressed in order to promote the maintenance of adolescent sexual health: • Professional nurses need to be trained and sensitized to guide and manage adolescents seeking sexual or reproductive advice; • Sexuality programmes need to be integrated into school curricula; • Positive use of the mass media to promote healthy lifestyles; and • Training programmes for parents and adolescents. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsing en in sekere gevalle die gebrek daaraan sowel as ekstensiewe ondervinding van die navorser in die studieveld, het die navorser oortuig dat ‘n wetenskaplike studie / eksplorasie oor die veskillende aspekte van adolessente seksuele gesondheid krities was. ‘n Studie, gebaseer op ‘n kombinasie van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes (triangulasie), was uitgevoer om die faktore wat ‘n rol speel in adolessente se vermoëns om hul seksuele gesondheid te handhaaf, te identifiseer en te bepreek. Adolessente se risiko is hoog om Seksueel Oordraagbare siektes, insluitend MIV/VIGS, op te doen weens hul seksuele gedrag. Die aanvang van vroeë seksuele verhoudings dra by tot moontlike meervoudige seksmaats en die gebrek aan konsekwente gebruik van kondome verhoog die risiko. Gebrek aan die aaneenlopende gebruik van ‘n betroubare kontraseptiewe metode verhoog ook die risiko van ‘n ongewensde swangerskap en gevolglike blootstelling aan die risiko’s verbonde aan terminasie van swangerskap of die psigologiese effekte wat gepaard gaan met aanneming, enkel ouerskap en geforseerde trou op ‘n vroeë ouderdom. Derhalwe word die fisiese-, emosionele- en sosiale welsyn van die adolessent bedreig as hulle nie toegerus is om hul seksuele gesondheid te handhaaf nie.Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat adolessente wat seksueel aktief is en meervoudige seksmaats het, ‘n hoër waarskynlikheid het om nie hul seksuele gesondheid te handhaaf nie. Gebaseer op die uitkoms van die studie is die navorser van mening dat die volgende aangespreek moet word ten einde die handhawing van adolessente seksuele gesondheid te bevorder: • Geregistreerde vepleegkundiges moet opgelei en gesensitiseer word om adolessente te hanteer en van leiding te voorsien; • Seksualitiet programme moet in die skool kurrikulum integreer word; • Positiewe gebruik van die massa media om gesonde lewenstyle te bevorder; en • Opleidingsprogramme vir ouers en adolessente.

Over the past 30 years, obesity has increased rapidly as an epidemic and major public health concern in the United Stated, particularly among Native American children and adolescents. Native American adolescents have the highest prevalence rates of obesity of all ethnic groups in the United States. Although there has been an increasing effort to develop and evaluate obesity prevention programs for children and adolescents, very little attention has been devoted to understanding culturally effective approaches for ethnic populations. There is a significant gap in the research literature regarding effective obesity intervention and prevention studies for Native American children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a culturally based talking circle approach, KCTC-O, for the prevention of obesity among early adolescent Native American (Keetoowah-Cherokee) and to examine the relationships between Cherokee self-reliance; perceived stress levels; and obesity knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. A 7-week intervention in which a 2-condition quasi-experimental design was implemented to compare the KCTC-O experimental condition with a standard school health education (SE) control condition on three outcome variables (Cherokee self-reliance; perceived stress levels; and obesity knowledge, attitudes, and behavior at pre- and post-intervention. A total sample of 100 participants were recruited for this study, 50 participants per condition. The participants were distributed almost evenly in terms of gender: 55 females compared to 45 males for both groups combined. Participants ranged in ages from 10 to 13, with a mean age of 11.5 years of age, and ranged in grades from 4 through 7, with Grade 6 being the most frequently reported grade in school. The results of this study revealed the effectiveness of the KCTC-O condition was not significantly greater than the SE condition. However, although not statistically significant, the results of this study provided some evidence that a culturally based intervention was slightly more effective for the prevention of obesity than a non-culturally based intervention for Native American early adolescents. This study helps to validate the need for more robust obesity prevention programs from a cultural perspective among Native American early adolescents. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2007. / "December 2007." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: B, page: 7226. Adviser: Anna V. Wilkinson. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health)--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0028 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis--University of Helsinki, 1990. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.