Relationship building with faith community provides support through fellowship, guidance, and the social interactions needed for emotional regulation. The support facilitates faith understanding, quest for faith exploration, meaning making, and character building. Although, past research informed on the quantitative measure of adolescent faith support, it is unable to capture the comprehensive information needed for understanding the meaning of faith support in adolescence. This study provides a new direction for understanding and describing the experience of faith support in three dimensions: understanding the meaning, process, and effect of the experience, and projects a conceptual framework for the rich descriptions of faith support experienced by Chinese Christian adolescents in Hong Kong. Apart from the objective of understanding the concept and meaning of faith support in adolescence, this study also reveals the variation in the participants' descriptions of the experience over time. The methodology utilized is on the dimensions of self, others, and outcome of faith experience in adolescence, with follow-up data collection and descriptive analysis on the perception, understanding, and meaning of faith support. Nineteen participants, with 11 females and 8 males, participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews between November 2014 and July 2015 (the first wave interviews). Ten of the participants (six males and four females) were interviewed between September and December 2016 (the second wave interviews), 18 months after the first wave interviews. The Chinese Christian adolescents (Catholic and Protestant) in Hong Kong were between 15 to 18 years of age. A few of the participants' faith supporters were also interviewed to examine the research questions from multiple perspectives. The essential descriptions of the participants' psychosocial experiences and meanings attributed to faith support are: 1) faith exploration through companionship; 2) feeling loved and secured; 3) trusted relationship and resilience; 4) and emotion regulation through faith application. Narrative and descriptive analyses of the longitudinal data on the effect of faith support show a moderate change in the areas of moral judgment and meaning construct of faith development, and significant change in faith identity over time. Findings show three possible determinants of the effectiveness of faith support: (a) experience, (b) changes in social environment, family problem, and academic pressure and (c) the presence of a strong youth leader or peer mentoring for faith accountability and exploration. Participants who faced academic related stressor, moved to a new environment, and had little faith mentorship, were susceptible to changes in faith development and identity. Importantly, descriptive narratives and numerical data from this study reveal that faith experience through personal involvement tend to have significant difference in stabilizing faith identity status longitudinally through faith support. This study draws on concrete evidence from the rich descriptions of the experience by the adolescents, their supporters, and provides knowledge for understanding the social learning process of adolescent faith support. Research implications are discussed and recommendations made for church/parish, Christian youth leaders, Christian teachers, institutions, including educational and social policy makers, on how to best support Christian adolescents' faith.

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Parent-adolescent connection is considered a core parenting component influencing adolescent psychosocial development. When the connection is poor, the adolescent has an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms and behavioral problems. Non-family socialization experiences increase in importance as the quality of family experiences decreases and may protect adolescents with low family connectedness from demonstrating depressive symptoms and behavioral problems. The school is one context that may provide socialization experiences to promote continued development for early adolescents. Stronger levels of connection to the school have been related to decreased prevalence of adolescent problem behaviors such as delinquency. The religious community represents another context in which early adolescents may develop important connections. This context is particularly important to study as over half of all adolescents in the U.S. report attending church services weekly and/or are involved in a church youth group and approximately 60% of adolescents report their faith is important to them. Research examining adolescent feelings of connection to their religious group and how this relates to delinquent behaviors and depressive symptoms, however, is lacking. The present study explored the cross-sectional contribution of adolescent connections to the family, school and religious contexts to the depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors of a sample of 167 middle school students. Three aspects of religious connectedness (i.e., youth leader, congregation member, and spiritual connectedness) were found to uniquely contribute to the occurrence of early adolescent outcomes. Specifically, youth leader and spiritual connectedness uniquely contributed to early adolescent engagement in more serious delinquent behaviors. Congregation member and spiritual connectedness contributed to the occurrence of early adolescent depressive symptoms. Additionally, all three types of religious connectedness buffered the relationship between family connectedness and more serious delinquent behaviors. That is, high levels of religious connectedness protected early adolescents from engaging in the problem behaviors. Unexpectedly, an exacerbating relationship was demonstrated between school connectedness and youth leader connectedness as well as spiritual connectedness on early adolescent less serious delinquent behaviors. Findings are discussed from the perspectives of Social Control Theory and Attachment Theory. / text

The present study investigates the contribution of religious community involvement to adolescent development, including the processes of identity formation and moral development. Three key areas are explored: 1) the precursors of faith community membership; 2) the process by which a belief system is chosen; and 3) the ways in which religious belief is supported by a faith community once it is joined. Of specific interest are the ways in which religious community integration nurtures the evolution of religious belief, including through intergenerational support, religious peer groups, and a connection to the ritual and history of a faith tradition. In particular, the influence of peers is examined, both for its role in the initial establishment of a religious identity as well as its role in the maintenance and growth of religious belief. The current study utilizes a phenomenological approach to the qualitative data analysis of adolescent interviews with subjects ranging in age from 12-21 years, from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith communities, representing a religiously and ethnically diverse sample. The narratives of participants have been analyzed to allow for the distillation of themes across contexts. This phenomenological analytic framework allows for exploratory hypothesis generating on dimensions of developmental support derived from religious community.

Thesis (M. Th.)--University of South Africa, 2000.

Thesis (MDiv (Theology. Divinity))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / There is a possible connection between congregation-members’ participation in church ministries and the level of their spiritual experience in their specific congregations. Youth ministry should be able to increase the ongoing participation of adolescents by creating a more ‘fertile space’ for experiencing a connection with God. This assignment investigates the nature of such a ‘fertile space’ by analyzing the concept of Spirituality Types, which in this case refer to the different attitudes and activities which is characteristic of a person’s attempting to connect with God.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a difficult life stage to navigate, and having to face a significant life crisis, such as the divorce of one’s parents, intensifies the already heavy burden of adolescence. Divorce, moreover, may have lasting detrimental ramifications for the individual. As a result, the individual seeks mechanisms and ways of coping with life’s stressors. Adaptive coping mechanisms, such as religiousness and spirituality, have positive effects on the individual, especially with regard to his/her psychological well-being (Wills, Yaeger, & Sandy, 2003). Against this background, the present study investigated the psychological well-being, religiousness and spirituality of adolescents from intact families and adolescents from divorced families. The aim was to determine whether there were differences in psychological well-being, religiousness and spirituality between these two groups of adolescents, and also to explore qualitatively how adolescents from divorced families utilise their religiousness and spirituality to cope with the divorce of their parents. The life span theory (Newman & Newman, 2009), pillars of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989), faith development theory (Fowler, 1981) and Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory (1979) all contributed to the theoretical framework for this study. A mixed-methods research design was employed. The Ryff Psychological Well-Being scale (Ryff, 1989) was used to measure psychological well-being, and the Assessment of Spiritual and Religious Sentiments scale (Piedmont, 2005) was used to measure religiousness and spirituality. An open-ended question was utilised to explore significant life crises that the participants had faced, whether the participants believed that their religiousness and/or spirituality aided them during the crisis, and how they employed their religiousness and/or spirituality to cope with the significant life crisis. A total of ninety adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years from three schools in the Helderberg basin in the Western Cape participated in this study. The results show that there were some significant differences between genders with regard to specific dimensions of psychological well-being, religiousness and spirituality. These dimensions were personal growth, religiosity, prayer fulfilment and universality, and females tended to score higher on all of these dimensions. There were no significant differences with regard to type of household (intact or divorced) on psychological well-being, religiousness or spirituality. The qualitative results show that religiousness is a definite coping mechanism that participants use to navigate the crisis of divorce. This thesis contributes to research on adolescents, religiousness and spirituality, and the effects of divorce. Recommendations are made for future research into religiousness and spirituality. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Adolessensie is ‘n moeilike lewensfase om te navigeer, en om ‘n groot lewenskrisis, soos die egskeiding van jou ouers, die hoof te bied, vergroot die reeds swaar las van adolessensie. Egskeiding kan ook blywende en nadelige gevolge vir die individu inhou. Gevolglik poog die individu om meganismes en maniere te soek om die bykomende lewenstressors te hanteer. Gesonde hanteringsmeganismes, soos godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit, het ‘n positiewe uitwerking op die individu, veral met betrekking tot sy/haar sielkundige welstand (Wills, Yaeger, & Sandy, 2003). Na aanleiding hiervan is hierdie tesis gerig op die ondersoek van verskille in sielkundige welstand, godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit in adolessente uit getroude gesinne en adolessente uit geskeide gesinne. Hierdie tesis is daarop gemik om te bepaal of daar verskille in sielkundige welstand, godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit is tussen hierdie twee groepe adolessente, en ook om kwalitatief te bepaal presies hoe adolessente uit geskeide gesinne hulle godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit gebruik om die egskeiding van hulle ouers te hanteer. Die lewenspanteorie (Newman & Newman, 2009), pilare van sielkundige welstand (Ryff, 1989), faith development theory (Fowler, 1981) en Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese teorie (1979) is as teoretiese raamwerke vir hierdie navorsing gebruik. ‘n Gemengde metode navorsingsontwerp is gebruik. Sielkundige welstand is met die Ryff Psychological Well-Being skaal (Ryff, 1989) gemeet, terwyl godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit met die Assessment of Spiritual and Religious Sentiments (Piedmont, 2005) skaal gemeet is. 'n Oopeinde-vraag is ontwerp om die groot lewenskrisisse te verken wat die deelnemers ervaar het, om uit te vind of die deelnemers glo dat hulle godsdienstigheid en/of spiritualiteit hulle tydens die krisis gehelp het, en hoe hulle hul godsdienstigheid en/of spiritualiteit tydens die verwerking van die groot lewenskrisis gebruik het. ‘n Totaal van negentig adolessente tussen die ouderdomme van 15 en 18 jaar van drie skole in die Helderbergkom in die Wes-Kaap het aan hierdie navorsing deelgeneem. Die resultate het getoon dat daar 'n paar beduidende verskille tussen geslagte is met betrekking tot die spesifieke dimensies van sielkundige welstand, godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit. Hierdie dimensies was persoonlike groei, religiositeit gebedsvervulling en universaliteit. Vroulike deelnemers was geneig om hoër tellings te behaal vir al vier hierdie dimensies. Daar was geen beduidende verskille met betrekking tot die tipe huishouding (getroud of geskei) op sielkundige welstand, godsdienstigheid of spiritualiteit nie. Die kwalitatiewe resultate het getoon dat godsdienstigheid 'n definitiewe behartigingsmeganisme is wat deelnemers gebruik om die krisis van hulle ouers se egskeiding te hanteer. Hierdie tesis dra by tot navorsing oor adolessente, godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit, en die gevolge van egskeiding. Aanbevelings word gemaak vir toekomstige navorsing oor godsdienstigheid en spiritualiteit.

The purpose of this study was to examine the claim that 70 to 90% of youth ministry participants abandon the church after high school graduation. Chapter 1 examines the current statistics related to the church retention of young adults. The research questions used to guide the study are introduced. In order to accomplish the goal of the study, Shields' Youth Ministry Retention Questionnaire (YMRQ) was used to compare the youth ministry commitment of Christian high school graduates with their current levels of church involvement. Chapter 2 reviews the critical literature to this study. The issues of the role of church and the calling for Christians to be together, understanding who is defined as a young adult, and Protestant schooling in America are explored. Chapter 3 describes the process by which the data for this study was gathered. Graduates from the four types of Christian high schools (covenantal independent, covenantal church-related, open-admission independent, and open-admission church-related) were invited to participate in the YMRQ survey. All of the respondents were graduates of ACSI member schools. Chapter 4 reports the analysis of the data from the completed surveys. The data was analyzed using Chi-Square tests and ANOVA tests to determine the statistical significance between the two variables. For all levels of youth ministry commitment, these young adults maintained a low to high level of involvement with a church after graduating high school. Bridging the language of statistics and the language of the practice of youth ministry, a clearer retention rate of Christian school graduates is 82.9%. This percentage represents those students in the moderate and high levels of church engagement as young adults. The final chapter presents the conclusions based on the findings of this study. Any variances in the data and the reasons for their existence are also explored. Based on the results of the research, applications are made for Christian schooling and local church youth ministry.

The purpose of the study was to find the relationship between adolescent premarital sexual activity and involvement in the family, school, and church. The sample was composed of 192 adolescents. The data were analyzed for significant relationships by using chi square test of independence. The study found that there were significant relationships between adolescent premarital sexual activity and family structure, family mobility, parental employment, grade level achievement, and parental attendance at school functions. Since the findings of a study of this nature are pertinent to society, further research needs to be done using a more heterogeneous sample and a more refined, limited instrument. The instrument should be further tested for reliability and validity.

The assumption of the current study is that ongoing church attendance is a foundational component of the quest for genuine discipleship in young people. Chapter 1 examines the problem of the exodus of youth from the church and defines the critical terms for this study. The research questions used to guide the study are introduced. The purpose of this study was to use Wesley Black's Lasting Faith Scale (LFS) to compare the lasting faith tendency of youth (reflected by their LFS scores) with what their youth ministers believed would be their groups' LFS scores. LFS responses were also evaluated for the effects on scores of the four domains of influence. Chapter 2 reviews existing literature pertinent to this study. The issues that have been explored are the biblical basis for church attendance, the period of adolescence, spiritual influences of adolescents and young adults, and youth ministry models proposed to better address the issue of genuine discipleship. Chapter 3 describes the process by which data for this study was gathered. All full-time youth ministers in Southern Baptist Convention churches in Kentucky and South Carolina were invited to participate in the LFS survey and to elicit the involvement of their students. Chapter 4 reports on the analysis of the data from the completed surveys. Results were analyzed concerning the significance on scores of the four domains of influence (discipleship and spiritual depth; family influence; mentoring and intergenerational influences; and peer influences). Youth ministers' scores (predictive of their students' scores) and student scores were compared. Finally, the effects of significant demographic items relating to students' family life and their identification with Jesus Christ were examined. The final chapter presents the researcher's conclusions based on the findings of this study. All four of the domains of influence had a strongly significant relationship with students' lasting faith tendency. Youth ministers scored significantly lower on the LFS than the students. The possible reasons for this variance are explored. The strong variance shown in student responses according to the significant demographic groupings are also examined. Based on the results of this research, applications are made for the practice of youth ministry in local churches. Suggestions for further research are offered. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.