The overall purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse interpersonal behaviour in career counselling sessions. The importance of the relationship in counselling for the outcome of sessions has been acknowledged in earlier research. How the actual interaction process between client and career counsellor looks like has been sparsely investigated. The present research explores expected, experienced behaviours and self-image of 15 adolescent clients’ and counsellors’ dyads in career counselling. The research was guided by interpersonal theory and the model of structural analysis of social behaviour (SASB) developed by Lorna Smith Benjamin. The research focuses on four different aspect of interpersonal behaviour. First, the significance of different behaviours by the clients and the career counsellors related to session evaluation. Second, the significance of expected and experienced similarity in perceptions of self and other behaviours related to session evaluation. Third, differences of perceived behaviours and possible influence by self-image over the course of sessions and fourth, comparing the influence of positive and negative self-image to expected and experienced behaviours, perceived important events during session and session evaluation session by clients’. Results indicate the importance for clients to become close to the career counsellor in session, while the career counsellors’ encouragement of clients’ independency during sessions showed to be of less importance for the clients’. This pattern imply a difficult balance act for career counsellors between providing a safe and close relationship and promoting independence and exploration for the clients. Further, it was found that career counsellors had difficulties in identifying their own contributions to a positive session evaluation, indicating a problem for the career counsellors’ to make conscious adjustments of behaviours. The degree to which client and career counsellor agreed of their behaviours only mattered for experiences of the career counsellors’ behaviour when related to their evaluation of session. Only minor tendencies of influence by the career counsellors’ self-image of clients’ perceived differences in behaviours were found. Self-image played a significant role in how the clients’ expected and experienced behaviours, perceived important events in session and in their session evaluation. Clients’ with positive self-image showed consistently more positive perceptions on each of the involved variables.

Abstract The purpose of this investigation is to find out how the pupils can discover and to feel joy in their creative art activity and also to believe in their own ability. The aim is to figure out if creative art activity is able to raise the pupil’s self-image. By literature, pedagogue interviews, and interviews with pupils at the age of ten years old and by action research is the way that I have searched for an answer for my question. The main result is that fantasy, creativity, courage and lust are important parts to develop in the job of raising the self-image. The literature and the result of the interviews are unit and points at the feeling to succeed are decisive. As a pedagogue you have to create an allowing environment, give the pupil praise that is concrete and to have an attitude that means to be confident in the subject to teach. Through joint discussion about the creative art activity is also contributing to raise the pupil’s self-image. My conclusion is that the pedagogue has a big responsibility in the job of raising the pupil’s self-image through creating the correct conditions. Keywords: self-image, creative art activity, creativity, expressio / Sammanfattning Syftet med denna undersökning är att utforska hur eleverna kan upptäcka och känna glädje i sitt bildskapande, och även tro på sin förmåga. Meningen är att ta reda på om bildskapande kan vara ett redskap för att stärka elevens självuppfattning. Genom utvald litteratur och intervju med pedagoger, intervju med elever i år 4 samt aktionsforskning i samband med elevintervjuerna har jag sökt svar på min frågeställning. Huvudresultatet i min undersökning är att fantasi, kreativitet, mod och lust är viktiga delar att locka fram, för att stärka elevers självuppfattning. Litteraturen och intervjuerna påtalar också enigt att känslan av att lyckas är avgörande. Som pedagog ska man skapa en tillåtande miljö, ge konkret uppmuntran och att ha en attityd som innebär bland annat att vara bekväm med det medium man undervisar i. Gemensam bearbetning av elevernas skapande stärker elevernas självuppfattning ytterligare. Slutsats är att pedagogen har ett stort ansvar i arbetet med att stärka elevernas självuppfattning, i att skapa rätt förutsättningar. Då kan redskapet absolut vara bildskapande. Nyckelord: Självuppfattning, bildskapande, kreativitet, uttryck

Den psykiska ohälsan bland unga kvinnor ökar i samhället idag.  Självskadebeteendet kan vara ett sätt för dem att lindra sin ångest. Tidigare forskning visar att sjuksköterskor upplever en vanmakt och osäkerhet inför denna patientgrupp. Syftet med denna studie är att, genom kvalitativ analys av fyra självbiografier, beskriva unga kvinnors upplevelser av självskadebeteende. Resultatet bygger på fyra huvudkategorier med vardera två subkategorier som illustreras och förtydligas med citat från författarna. Huvudkategorierna speglar fyra områden som har stor betydelse för utvecklingen av självskadebeteendet. Resultatet beskriver författarnas gemensamma erfarenheter av självförakt och utanförskap, samt deras olika uppväxtförhållanden och personligheter. Diskussionen betonar att vårdpersonalen bör närma sig lidandet bakom självskadebeteendet med förståelse och respekt, vilket kräver kunskap om patienter som skadar sig själva. / The mental unhealthiness amongst young women is increasing in society today. Self-harm behaviour can be a way for them to alleviate their anxiety. Previous research shows that nurses perceive powerlessness and uncertainty for this population. The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of self-harm behaviour in young women through qualitative analysis of four autobiographies. The result is based on four major categories, each with two subcategories, illustrated and clarified with quotations from the authors. The major categories reflect four areas of key importance to the development of self-harm behaviour. The result describes the authors' common experience of self contempt and alienation, and their different growing conditions and personalities. The discussion emphasizes that health care providers should approach the suffering behind self-harm behaviour with understanding and respect, which requires knowledge of patients harming themselves.

Uppsatsen handlar om hur de som intervjuats ser på mat och ätande. Viktiga avsnitt är, vad som är mat och inte mat. Här tar jag bland annat upp vad som är mat enligt informanterna men också vad som inte är mat. Jag skriver om måltider och deras betydelse. Tid och tidsaspekter som rör mat avhandlas också. Kött och potatis och hur husmanskosten är normerande bearbetas i uppsatsen. Andra ämnen jag tar upp är god mat och mat som ogillas. Till sist beskriver jag det sociala runt mat och idealbilder av mat. / This paper is about five Swedish informants and their views on food. Important parts are what food is and what is not. The meaning of meals and their importance. Time and aspects of time surrounding food is also studied. I write about meat and potatoes and the normative values of the Swedish “husmanskost”. Other subjects are good food, disliked food, social aspects of food and ideal images of food.

Our purpose with this study was to investigate whether there was any difference between high and low performing students from selected aspects such as choice of studies, achievement, self-image, motivation, confidence and career choices. A training professional in today's schools requires knowledge of how young people think about their lives for us to help students develop both high-and low-performing students. Students have different conditions, but no matter good or bad conditions, each individual pupil must be allowed to develop. The concepts used in the study are of study, self-image, motivation, achievement in the future and career choices. In the background, describes these concepts through literature study. The method we have used was semi-structured interviews. Which means a fixed structure, but with room for follow-up questions. The results of our study indicate that there were clear differences between high-and low-performing students. The differences suggest that the high-performing students were more conscious about their study options than low-performing students. Differences were also in the students' views of themselves,where the high-performance had a lower self- image than the low-performing students had. High performance compared each other more often with other people and was more unsure of themselves, however, the motivation was significantly higher among the high-performance students, performance showed the same results. The high-performing students had a clearer vision of the future and that they had a clearer picture of their career choice than the low-performing students. Discussion on how we as educators can strengthen each student based on their individual needs have been based on results of the study.

The aim of this qualitative study is to gain a deeper understanding of how young people whoare unemployed or have experienced unemployment, experience the situation and how theyapprehend themselves in relation to unemployment. I performed semi-structured interviewswith five young women and men. Three theoretical perspectives have been used for myanalysis, Marie Jahoda’s deprivation theory, Mikael Nordenmark´s PEN-model and HansBerglund’s action theory.The results show that the majority of the respondents perceive the situation as unemployed asdifficult and stressful. Four out of five have more or less felt depressed or sad. The depressionis described as a recurrent, not a permanent condition. Furthermore, the results show that thetime of unemployment is relevant to how the situation is perceived. Study findings alsosuggest that those who value work the most suffer most from not having a job. The result alsoindicates that several of the youths feel like the unemployment had a negative impact on theirconfidence and self-image. Four out of five respondents spent most of their time looking forjobs. Those who were actively looking for work were also relatively optimistic about theirchances of getting a job.

Syftet med den här kvalitativa studien är att studera självbilden hos före detta missbrukare. För att undersöka syftet delas det in i tre frågeställningar: Vad har påverkat före detta missbrukare i utveckling av självbilden? Vilken betydelse har uppväxt och relationer haft för utveckling av självbilden? Hur har missbruket påverkat hur individerna definierar sig själva? För att besvara dessa frågor utfördes en intervjustudie av sex vuxna i Stockholm med en bakgrund i missbruk. Materialet bearbetas genom tematisering för att undersöka specifika kategorier som i analysen delas in i övergripande teman. Intervjumaterialet analyseras genom teorier om självbild, identitetsutveckling, socialt arv och individens påverkan av utanförskap och erkännande. Studien visar på att missbruket varit betydande men inte i den grad som de sociala faktorerna. En slutsats är att händelser och relationer har varit av stor betydelse för individernas självbild. Resultatet överensstämmer med tidigare forskning som visar på att uppväxt, relationer och avgörande händelser påverkar självbilden. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the self-image of former addicts. The purpose is divided into three research questions: What has influenced former drug addicts in the development of the self-image? What significance has the childhood and relationships had for developing the self-image? What impact has the addiction had on the way these individuals define themselves? To answer these questions the authors conducted six semi-structured interviews, with individuals who have had a former addiction. The empirical material was thematically structured and examined out of specific categories and divided into themes in the analysis.The material is analyzed by theories about self-image, identity development, social inheritance and the impact of alienation and recognition. The study shows that the abuse itself had significant meaning for the self-image of these individuals, but not to the extent of the social factors. One conclusion is that critical events and relationships have been of great importance for developing the self-image. The results are consistent with previous research showing that childhood, relationships and essential events in life may affect the development of the self-image.

The objective of the study is to examine whether the experience from language courses abroad has had any impact on the career choices for four individuals. Based on a qualitative research methodology, four semi-structured interviews have been executed. The two research questions have been answered by letting four people recount their experiences from language courses abroad linked to their self-images and career choices. The outcome is that the experiences from the language courses contributed to a more or less altered self-image. Most of all, the interpersonal abilities were fostered, which led to the formation of a self-image characterized by improved confidence in social settings. The four individuals’ self-images have then impacted their career choices, however in different ways. The perceptions of their own abilities have played an important role in their choices of career paths. / Studiens syfte är att undersöka om fyra individers upplevelser av språkresan har haft betydelse för deras karriärval. Utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod har fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Genom att låta fyra personer berätta om sina upplevelser av språkresan kopplade till deras självbilder och karriärval har studiens två forskningsfrågor kunnat besvaras. Resultatet visar att upplevelserna av språkresan bidrog till en mer eller mindre förändrad självbild hos dessa personer. Framför allt främjades den sociala utvecklingen, vilken medförde att en självbild kännetecknad av högre tilltro till sig själv i sociala sammanhang formades. De fyra personernas självbilder har i sin tur påverkat deras karriärval, om än på olika sätt. Bilden om den egna förmågan har spelat en viktig roll i val av karriärbana.

Vi måste spegla oss och få bekräftelse av andra för att utvecklas. Tidigare forskning och litteratur inom socialpsykologi och pedagogik visar att genom att bli sedda med andras ögon får vi syn på oss själva. Hur vi speglas eller bekräftas påverkar den bild vi har av oss själva. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka vad lärare anser att bekräftelse innebär samt vad deras erfarenheter av bekräftelsens betydelse för elevers självbild är. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och studiens empiri utgörs av fyra enskilda intervjuer med lärare verksamma i klasser med elever i åldrarna sex till tretton år. I studiens resultat framkom att bekräftelse innebär att synliggöra elever. Lärarna arbetar aktivt med bekräftelse som ett verktyg för att bland annat lyfta elever, för att stärka tilltron till den egna förmågan och för att ge eleverna svar på vad som kan vara rätt och fel. Bekräftelse kan uttryckas verbalt, skriftligt och med kroppsspråk. Resultatet visar även att de motiv lärarna uppger sig ha för att bekräfta elever leder till att elevernas självbilder stärks. Slutsatsen är att lärare har en betydande roll i elevens utveckling. När lärare ger positiv bekräftelse, påverkas elevens självbild vilket i sin tur främjar elevens personlighetsutveckling. / We require reflection and affirmation from others to develop. Both litterature and previous researches within socialpsyhology and pedagogy makes clear, that we get sight of ourselves by seeing ourselves through the eyes of others. The way we are reflected or are affirmed has an effect on which image we have of ourselves. The purpose of this study was to examine what teachers consider affirmation is and also their experience of what impact affirmation has on a pupils' self-image. This study has a qualitative approach and the material of the study is the result of four individual interviews. The interviewees are teachers working in classes with pupils between the age of six and thirteen. This study's result showed that giving affirmation is to take notice to the pupils. The teachers are actively working with affirmation as a tool. The teachers use affirmation for exampel to raise pupils, to reinforce confidence in pupils' own ability and to give pupils answers of what can be right and wrong. Affirmation is expressed verbally, written or by bodylanguage. The result of this study also shows that the reasons the teachers are giving on why they affirm pupils, do lead to strengthening the pupils' self-image. The conclusion of this study is that teachers' role are of great importance in pupils development. When teachers affirm pupils, the pupil’s self-image are effected, which means that pupils personalitydevelopment is promoted.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse the consequences of being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome during adulthood. My ambition was to investigate the participants’ perspective on how the diagnosis affected their lives and relationships with their partners. To answer the purpose three questions were formulated: (1) How did the participants experience being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome? (2) What have the diagnosis meant to the participants’ self-image and self understanding? (3) Have the diagnosis influenced the participants’ understanding of their partners and have the diagnosis influenced the partners’ understanding of the participants? The study is based on qualitative interviews with two men and two women living in Stockholm, Sweden. The theoretical framework is Symbolic interactionism and Goffmans Stigma concept. The results show that the participants found the diagnosis positive because it provided an explanation and understanding of the difficulties they had experienced. In extension, the majority of the participants experienced a more positive self-image and a better understanding between themselves and their partners. Negative experiences were reported as well, mainly chock, bitterness and grief.