A cross-sectional quantitative causal research design was employed to explore the relationship between adolescent digital aggression, cyberbully behavior and moral disengagement. A survey was created and electronically administered to 1077 high school students in Grades 9-12 in a selected school district in Texas. High school students were chosen because research has shown a decrease in traditional bullying and an increase of digital aggression and cyberbullying at this developmental level. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the survey was conducted to determine latent constructs. The results of the PCA revealed 6 latent variables, which included moral disengagement, school climate and culture, social relationships, spirituality, family systems, and mood (anger). Moral disengagement was the dependent variable in the current study, while the remaining latent constructs were treated as independent variables. In addition to the latent constructs, student demographics and self-identification as a cyberbully or cybervictim were included as independent variables in the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression models. An ANOVA of the survey items where the participants self-identified as a cyberobserver, a cybervictim or a cyberbully was initially conducted. Participants who identified as a cyberobserver explained less than 1.0% of the variance in moral disengagement. Additionally, participants who identified as a cybervictim also explained less than 1.0% of the variance in moral disengagement. However, participants identified as a cyberbully accounted for 7.28% of the variance in moral disengagement. Results of the multiple regression analyses indicated that gender, age, school climate and culture, social relationships, academic success, ethnicity, family systems, spirituality, and mood (anger) significantly impacted a student’s willingness to morally disengage and participate in digital aggression. Among these variables, the variance explained in moral disengagement ranged from 0.8% (Social Relationships) to 16.8% (Mood-Anger). The variables of socio-economic status and grade in school were not statistically significant predictors of moral disengagement. The results of this study are relevant for school administrators, counselors and teachers as digital aggression and cyberbully behaviors appear to be growing as ‘smart phone’ and other ‘always on’ technology trend to younger populations nationwide. The results of this study further underscore the importance of creating a school climate and culture that promotes a safe and secure learning environment for all students. This may be accomplished by incorporating adolescent aggression and bully prevention programs in school curriculums to address both traditional and digital aggressive behaviors. Recommendations are presented and future research is discussed.

M.Cur / The country and education system is after apartheid in a process of renewal and transformation. Adolescents in secondary schools are increasingly in interaction with adolescents who have different values. The media reports that violence and conflict in secondary schools is common. Adolescents find themselves already in a developmental period characterised by physical, emotional, social and intellectual change (Vermaak, 1993: i). It is apparent that today' s adolescent in South Africa is confronted with more than love disappointments and exam stress. This research tells the story of a group of adolescents within a specific public secondary school in Gauteng in an attempt to give the adolescent a voice. The objectives for this research are: 1. To explore and describe the adolescents' experience of interaction between adolescents with different values in a specific public secondary school in Gauteng. 2. To describe guidelines for the advanced psychiatric nurse practitioner to mobilise resources for facilitating interaction between these adolescents in order to promote their mental health. The Theory for Health Promotion in Nursing as applied by the Nursing Department of the Rand Afrikaans University forms the basis of this research. From this perspective, the human is seen as holistically in interaction with the environment in an integrated manner, and are the four central components of this theory, namely the human, nursing, environment and health defined. The purpose of this theory is aimed at enhancing individual, family, group and community health (Rand Afrikaans University; Department of nursing, 2000: 4) and in this case, mental health. A Functional approach to nursing (Botes, 1991: 19-23) is followed, which implies that the research in nursing is mainly applied research that addresses recent health problems of the South-African community and provide solutions to these problems. It is clear that this research addresses a recent problem/trend in the South African school going adolescent community, namely the interaction between adolescents with different values in schools. The research in nursing, as developed by Botes (1995: 1-21), applies. A qualitative (Cresswell, 1994: 162), explorative (Mouton, 1996: 103), descriptive (Mouton, 1996: 102) and contextual (Mouton, 1996: 133) research design was used, and data was gathered through means ofthree focus groups (Folch-Lyon & Trost, 1981: 443; Krueger, 1994: 14,19 ,29) consisting of adolescents who complied with the sampling criteria. The researcher took field notes during and after the focus groups (Wilson, 1989: 434 ). The Gauteng Department of Education, the schools principal, the parents/guardians of the adolescents and the participating adolescents themselves gave their consent for the conducting of the research. The researcher did analyse the data using Tech's (in Cresswell, 1994: 155) descriptive method and did open coding. An independent coder analysed the data with the researcher and they held consensus discussions (Poggenpoel, 1998: 245). After the data was analysed, a literature control was conducted in order to recontextualise the data (Morse & Field, 1996: 106) and to indicate differences and similarities with other research. In phase one of the research, the researcher concluded that the adolescents experienced that certain practises and incidents in the school contribute to the deconstructive atmosphere in the school. These incidents and practises entail aspects related to discipline, respect, disempowerment, communication, expectations relating to academic issues and the confirmation of certain practises. The practises related to the deconstructive atmosphere contribute to the experiencing of emotions like frustration, anxiety, fear of rejection and victimisation, powerlessness, sadness and disappointment, uncertainty and fury. Discipline, caring and support, friendship and taking responsibility for choices made by the adolescent were practises identified that relate to a constructive atmosphere. Guidelines in phase two describe to the advanced psychiatric nurse practitioner how to facilitate interaction between these adolescents in the specific secondary school in order to contribute to the promotion of their mental health. The researcher generated and describes guidelines, within the survey list as suggested by Dickoff, James & Wiedenbach (1968: 423), for a multicultural empowerment program. The researcher discussed conclusions, limitations and practical problems of the research and made suggestions for the nursing practise, education and research.

M.Ed. (Education) / During the last two decades there has been a definite lowering of moral standards among the children of the West. This also pertains to the youth in South Africa. Among the many influences the child experiences in society, rock music, with its themes of sex, drugs, satanism, rebellion, materialism, secular humanism, suicide, nihilism, hedonism, blasphemy and profanity is possibly the most negative. Add to the above-mentioned, subliminal mind control and backward masking and it becomes clear why the Christian educator and the Christian parent must address the problem of rock and roll. Furthermore, rock music has directly or indirectly been responsible for much of the anti-social behaviour of present day youth. Tragically, modern day society is responsible for promoting the rock culture (with the help of modern technology), by making available to the youth of today records, videos and magazines, without realising the spiritual and moral damage they are causing. The modern day music entrepreneur has motives that are not honourable and not Christian as it is m?ney that makes the music go around. A very extensive literature study confirmed the above. As norms and values differ from culture to culture, the Christian norm was chosen as the irrevocable absolute norm rooted in the Word of God, to judge the morals upheld by the propagators of rock and roll. On the basis of the literature study done, an empirical investigation, formulating items obtained from the study for inclusion in the questionnaire, was conducted. The sample consisted of English speaking boys and girls in standard 7 and standard 9 from four high schools on the near East Rand. Cluster sampling was done by randomly selecting a class group from each of the standard 7 and standard 9 class groups of the four high schools concerned...

M.A. (Philosophy) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / The problem of youth has been a key issue in South Africa since 1994, with youth seen as needing extra guidance and leadership if they are to bring about the country that many hope for. The interest in youth is also spurred on by recent studies that claim that once adolescents establish certain behavioural patterns that it becomes difficult to modify these patterns. Little research exists that describes the ordinary sociological experiences of youth, especially on sensitive issues that attract a lot of public attention- such as teenage sex and pregnancies, and what is perceived as the ‘slipping of youth morals’. There is great concern that youth are experimenting with sex at too early an age in their social and political development (Frimpong 2010: 27). In my thesis I focus on the thinking, choices and decisions that learners at one high school in Cape Town seem to make with regard to sex and sexuality, and how their choices seem to be influenced by a variety of discourses attached to the provision of a sex education programme at the school; discourses that organise their everyday thinking and actions in very concrete ways. A key goal of the study was to disarticulate and re-articulate the deficit mentality that shapes discourses of sexuality in South Africa, and to develop ‘sexual’ stories and strategies of story-telling that allow the voices of learners to be heard (Pillow 2004). My focus in this study is mainly to explore how the sex education programme reconstitutes youth’s sexual identity. In my qualitative study I challenge the tendency to view youth participation in teen sex using mainly an abstinence-only discourse, and suggest that sex education programmes ‘contaminate’ and ‘mutilate’ youth understandings of sex and sexuality in quite complex ways.