M.A. / The aim of this study was to form an understanding of the adolescent within the context of family rituals. When the development of the adolescent is being studied, greater emphasis is placed on the significant role of the family in the development of the adolescent. When experiencing problems such as functioning in and adjusting to this phase, adolescents’ problems can be placed parallel to the problems experienced within the family system to fulfill the unmet needs of the adolescent. The purpose of the comparative study was to compare the perceptions of adolescent boys from two church groups regarding family rituals. The perceptions of the adolescent boys regarding family rituals were compared over three areas; denomination, language and age groups. For the purposes of the study an adolescent boy is seen as someone within the age group of 13 -18 years. Two groups of adolescent boys from two different church groups, a Dutch Reformed church group and a Methodist church group, were approached for the study. Out of a 100 experimental subjects the information of 72 adolescent boys was used for the purposes of the study of which 51 were Dutch Reformed adolescent boys and 21 were Methodist adolescent boys. A total of 53 participants were Afrikaans and 19 were English. Most of the adolescent boys were between the ages of 13 – 15 years. By means of a biographical questionnaire, the experimental subjects were divided according to their parent’s marital status. Participants were asked to complete the Family Ritual Questionnaire (FRQ). This FRQ assesses family rituals across several settings ranging from dinnertime to religious celebrations and across various dimensions ranging from roles to symbolic significance. Adequate internal consistency and construct validity was established for the FRQ. The results were statistically evaluated and interpreted. General findings revealed that the two groups differed in their perceptions of family rituals across denominations, language and age groups. Discussions focus on family rituals as a vehicle in the renegotiation of family relationships during the adolescent developmental phase. Certain recommendations are made to further research and the application of the results in practice.

Family and school contexts have always been pivotal for shaping children’s behavioural conduct. They are associated with a laboratory where children are expected to learn about freedom, safety, socialisation and good behaviour. A family context lacking the provision of safety, security, love and happiness is tantamount to encouraging negative behaviour to children. The researcher utilized a qualitative research approach and gathered data by conducting face to face interviews with participants likely to inform the study. The researcher also utilized the purposive sampling technique to assemble a sample. Eight steps for qualitative data analysis as proposed by Tesch in Creswell (2009:186) were utilized for data analysis. Criteria for developing the trustworthiness of a qualitative inquiry as outlined by Lincoln and Guba (in Polit & Beck, 2008:539) were also used. The findings reveal that teacher-learner relationships in schools seem to play an important role in the development of behavioural conduct among learners. Learners who have close relationship with teachers appear to demonstrate social and academic competence at school in comparison with learners with distant relationship with teachers. Furthermore, strong family relationships were found to protect children from poor behavioural outcomes, whereas conflictual parentchild relationships and sibling rivalry interfered with children’s social relationships. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)