Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2006 / The purpose of the research study is to investigate the relationship between body mass and self-concept among adolescent female university students. First year female students from three different Schools and Faculties at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus participated in the study. They were 75 in number. The study has both a quantitative and qualitative aspects. The qualitative was used to complement the quantitative aspect. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Measure was used to measure self-esteem. For the qualitative aspect, a topic guide was used for the focus group discussion prepared and used for the focus group discussion. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation were used to analyse the quantitative data. Results show that there is a relationship between body mass and self-concept and that overweight participants tend to have a low self-esteem. This low self-esteem was perceived to be aggravated by a number of factors like the attitude of the media and the society. Participants who are overweight also indicated that they are limited in certain areas of their lives (e.g., sports) as a result of their body mass. They expressed mixed feelings and frustration when it comes to such areas of like. Support groups, life-skills programmes and psychotherapy should be made available and attainable for overweight female adolescents.

The exploration of African American adolescents' career development has gained increasing attention in light of literature describing various barriers impacting their educational and career development and goals. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was used as a theoretical framework to help shed light on the contextual factors that influence their career development. This study examined the relationship between career decision self-efficacy, ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and achievement of African American high school students. The sample consisted of African American high school students enrolled in Upward Bound programs. Through quantitative methods, this study adds to the career development literature by including ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and achievement as combined factors that may impact the career development of African American adolescents. Specifically, the results of this study assists teachers, administrators, parents, and school counselors with understanding career decision self-efficacy as it relates to ethnic identity, academic self-concept, achievement, and demographic variables. This study also provides implications for career counseling interventions in schools designed to assist with career development.

Perceived self-efficacy has been shown to be an accurate predictor of one's performance capabilities (Zimmerman, 2000). Low levels of perceived self-efficacy have been found to correlate with negative performance outcomes; while high levels of perceived self-efficacy correlate with positive performance outcomes. This construct has also been found to influence an individual's motivation level, goal setting ability, and risk for depression (Resnick, 2002; Phillips & Gully, 1997; Blazer, 2002). Therefore, perceived levels of self-efficacy may predict and influence performance of individuals with aphasia during a treatment program. However, the influence of self-efficacy on treatment for aphasia has not been sufficiently studied. The present study examined the differences between Response Elaboration Training (Kearns, 1985) and a modified version of Response Elaboration Training, incorporating the four sources of self-efficacy. First, it was hypothesized that the individual's level of perceived self-efficacy would predict performance during treatment. Also, it was hypothesized that a treatment incorporating self-efficacy would result in increased levels of self-efficacy, thereby promoting more positive therapeutic outcomes. A single-subject, cross-over design was employed; two individuals with Broca type aphasia received both types of treatment at alternating intervals. A relationship between perceived self-efficacy levels and performance outcomes was suggested. Participant one, with a high level of perceived self-efficacy for communicative tasks, experienced a general trend of improvement for effective communication. Participant two's use of effective communication revealed minimal change throughout the study; he also reported low to moderate levels of perceived self-efficacy in all modalities of communication throughout the study. Participant two's performance revealed slight improvements in self-efficacy, however, as well as improvements on a standardized aphasia assessment; this finding may suggest a relationship between increased self-efficacy and increased performance on the assessment. Results suggest that a treatment incorporating the four sources of self-efficacy may promote more positive treatment outcomes for individuals with aphasia.

In two essays I investigate two antecedents of self-concept change in consumers: Threats to the self and the activated self-construal and its effect on goal conflict resolution. In the first essay, I explore identity strictly as consumers define themselves in terms of the possessions with which they associate. I argue that ironically the very effort to maintain self-consistency through living up to the value of materialism after facing a mortality salience threat can actually undermine consistency on the level of the extended self of highly materialistic consumers. Specifically, when faced with a mortality salience threat, the consistency of highly materialistic consumers self-concept is disrupted in which they not only detach from formerly intrinsic possessions, but also make formerly extrinsic possessions a more central part of the extended self-concept. I further argue that consumers can be protected from a disruption to self-concept consistency through the process of self-affirmation. In the second essay, I explore how the activated self-construal impacts whether consumers maximize pleasure or engage in self-presentational behavior after they have been invited to choose a gift for themselves. I demonstrate that consumers with an independent (interdependent) self-construal make more indulgent (modest) gift choices for themselves, and that this effect is driven by the activation of a goal to maximize pleasure (behave normatively appropriate). I also identify a boundary condition: When consumers are able to satisfy their activated goal before selecting a gift, the effects cease to exist. / Marketing

The aim of this dissertation is to increase understanding of being a pupil in a remedial class. The thesis is based on interviews, questionnaires, and observations and includes parents, teachers, and pupils in ten remedial classes. Fifty-five percent of the studied pupils had no specific diagnosis. The thesis is based on five articles emanating from the interdisciplinary BASTA project (Basic skills, social interaction and training of the working memory). Article I focuses on self-concept, with a rating scale completed by the children. In Article II ethical issues related to the methodology of interviewing children are stressed. Article III focuses on teaching children in remedial classes, and is based on questionnaires completed by teachers and parents. Article IV is based on interviews with pupils. Article V is based on interviews with teachers and on classroom observations, and highlights the classroom climate. The theoretical approach used is a sociocultural perspective. From this perspective, learning is seen as becoming involved in different discourses, where interaction is seen as part of learning and development. The results of the thesis show that the pupils become bearers of the school’s perspective and blame the referral to remedial class on shortcomings in themselves. In transferring to the remedial class the pupils can lose their friends. Factors that reinforce this construction are the structured teaching and organisation of the classroom. These may hinder the pupils both in terms of friendship and of learning of subject knowledge. The main result is, however, that what the pupils in remedial classes primarily learn is to be pupils in remedial classes.

This thesis presents several studies of normative development in adolescence, focusing specifically on internalized perceptions of parents’ early behavior and how these perceptions affect the self-concept and social functioning during. Questions of possible age and gender differences in relation to perceptions of self-concept and early parental behavior are addressed. The patterns found in a normal adolescent group are compared with those in a group of adolescents with antisocial problems. Two hundred seventy-seven normal adolescents aged 12 to18 and 30 adolescents with antisocial problems aged 13-19 were investigated. The following self-administered instruments were used: self-concept assessments, the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) introject questionnaire, perception of early parental behavior assessment, the SASB mother/father questionnaires, and the EMBU (A Swedish acronym for “own memories of upbringing”). The Youth Self Report checklist (YSR) was used to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. Studies I and II showed that the normal adolescent self-concept and perception of early parental behavior were positive and that there were no age or gender differences. The antisocial group of adolescents, and particularly the antisocial girls, showed a more autonomous and negative self-concept and more negative perceptions of early parental behaviors. Study III showed that a positive self-concept was related to a positive perception of parent’s early behavior. Study IV showed that an adolescent’s positive self-concept was influenced by a mix of mother acting positively and father acting with control. Adolescent self-control was indirectly influenced by parental control behavior mediated through self-affiliation. Study V showed that a positive self-concept was important for adjustment. A negative self-concept combined with female gender was a risk factor for internalizing problems. Self-control had only a small effect on social adjustment in adolescence. The relationship between a negative self-concept and externalizing problem behavior was stronger for adolescents aged 15 to 16 than for younger or older adolescents. Internalizing problem behavior influenced externalizing problems. The results presented in this thesis support a modified “storm-and-stress” view of adolescence and highlight the importance of promoting a positive self-concept in every adolescent in various psychosocial contexts.

Background: In a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world, the issue of mental health and well-being among adolescents is one of the important research topics. However, there have been few studies amongst Japanese adolescents that have been published in international journals. Objectives: (I) to make a comparison in selfconcept between healthy adolescents in Japan and Sweden, (II) to address the influence of perceived parental rearing on self-concept and mental health problems among Japanese adolescents, (III) to investigate contributions of attachment and self-concept to mental health problems reported by Japanese adolescents, (IV) to address a comparison of mental health problems and self reported competence in adolescents from Greece, Japan, Russia, and Sweden. Methods: The following self-report instruments were used: Self- Description Questionnaire II (Marsh, 1992), Actual-Ideal Questionnaire (Nishikawa, 2003), Self-Description Questionnaire IIShort (Marsh, Ellis, Parada, Richards, & Heubeck, 2005), Youth Self- Report (Achenbach, 1991), Attachment Questionnaire- for Children (Sharpe et al., 1998), and Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (my memories of child upbringing) for Children (Muris, Meesters, & van Brakel, 2003). The participants for Paper I were adolescents aged 14 and 15 from Japan (n=144) and Sweden (n=96). One hundred ninety three Japanese students between the ages of 15-19 participated in Paper II and 228 students for Paper III. The participants for Paper IV were 812 healthy adolescents between 15 and 17 years of age from Greece (n=152), Japan (n=219), Russia (n=159), and Sweden (n=282).  Results: Paper I showed that Japanese students reported less positive self-concept compared to the Swedish counterparts. The results were discussed in terms of different response style and modesty in Japanese culture. Paper II showed that dysfunctional parental rearing and insecure peer attachment were associated with negative self-concept and more mental health problems. A unique influence on mental health problems from parent-adolescent relationships depending on the gender of parents and adolescents was also found. Paper III showed a mediating role of self-concept in influencing the relationships between attachment style and Internalizing Problems. Paper IV indicated rather small differences across countries in the syndrome scales. Japanese and Swedish adolescents tended to score lower than Russian and Greek counterparts. Some cultural specific syndromes were found. Conclusion: These results reported in this thesis present a general view of Japanese adolescents’ self-concept and the influence of interpersonal relationships in mental health problems assessed by Western self-report instruments. When being compared with other countries, cultural background and response style must be taken into account.

In schools today, we expect student performances and achievements to be exceptional. Having good reading and writing skills are essential if students want to excel at their school assignments. Students with reading and writing difficulties have to work much harder than their other classmates. Their having to work harder coupled with being teenagers and facing all the uncertainties which are present at that age, these students face the difficult task of trying to find out who they are and who they want to be. In other words, they try to create their own individual identities. This study investigates the experiences of students with reading and writing difficulties in their interactions with other students and school personnel, in different situations. The collection of data has been done through group interviews. Thirteen, 15 year old students participated in these interviews. Some of the factors which characterise a hermeneutic approach have helped to form the basis on which the study lies. A hermeneutic approach suggests that the data collected is sorted and analysed to enable the identification of differences and patterns. These patterns are arranged to give results that are subjective and which also show an interpretation of the data collected. The results show that students are more comfortable with their identities, when they are diagnosed or made aware that their performances in school are directly affected by their reading and writing difficulties. The study also shows that having reading and writing difficulties tells the students who they are but, at the same time, plays an important role in their interactions with other classmates and adults. The outcomes of these interactions greatly affect the formation of their identities. The way in which school personnel treat students is also shown to be of great importance.

The purpose of this study was to explore the junior high school students' online gaming experiences and its relationship with self-concept, life adaptation and well-being. The data was collected by means of questionnaires, and the participants were junior high school students in Kaohsiung area. The employed instruments were to reorganize questionnaires of other people. A questionnaire including basic data, scale of online game experiences, scale of online game participation motive, scale of self-concept, scale of life adaptation, and scale of well-being was implied to the studnets of 10 junior high schools in Kaohsiung area and 887 effecitve paritcipants were obtained. Finally, the data was analyzed with the methods of Chi-square test, Independent t-test, MANOVA, Multiple Regression Analysis. The results of this study were as following: 1. At present, 68.5% of junior high students participate in online games. Among them, most students choose to play free online games at home. 2. In the online gaming participation rate, player experiences, everyday average time of playing online games and participation motive, boys are significantly higher than girls. 3. Parents don¡¦t restrict children to play online games, and then children spend longer time playing online games and the motive in playing online games is stronger. 4. Compared with the non-experience, students who have online gaming experiences have poor ¡§family self¡¨, but have better ¡§physical self¡¨. 5. Compared with students of having online gaming experiences, students who don¡¦t have online gaming experience have better ¡§life adaptation¡¨. 6. ¡§Self-assurance¡¨ dimensions, ¡§social interaction¡¨ dimensions and ¡§recreation amusement ¡§ dimensions of the online gaming participation motive toward self-concept, life adaptation and well-being are low explanation. That shows other important factors need exploring. Finally, some practical suggestions based on the results of this study were provided to those related education organizations, teachers, parents, and researchers as the references in the future.

In the present study, mediating effects of parenting dimensions between parent values and parent-child value similarity were examined along with the relationships between values, value priorities, parent-child value similarity, and self-evaluations. In the first study, Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz, et al., 2001) was adapted to Turkish in a university sample, and its construct validity was investigated together with its psychometric qualities. In the second study, in both high-school and university samples, hypothesized relationships and mediation models were tested in, in which the mothers, fathers, and students served as the participants. Results indicated that value priorities of parents were systematically related to parenting dimensions. Parental acceptance mediated the relationship between parents&rsquo / Self- Transcendence values and parent-child value similarity, and parental control mediated the relationship between parents&rsquo / Self-Enhancement values and parentchild value similarity in both samples. Moderations effects were obtained in the university sample. Mothers&rsquo / socialization goals moderated the relationship between maternal control and mother-child value similarity in the Conservation domain. In addition, perceived importance of Self-Transcendence and Conservation values moderated the relationships between fathers&rsquo / parenting dimensions and father-child value similarity within the same domains. Value priorities were also found to be systematically related to self-esteem in the university sample per se, whereas relationships between parental congruence on value priorities, self-concept clarity and self-esteem were not significant. Results were discussed with reference to relevant literature together with implications and the limitations of the study. Contributions to current socialization research were elaborated and future research directions were highlighted.