This thesis explores: (1) how young women make decisions about Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and (2) how they negotiate and evaluate public health discourses that work to promote a responsible female subjectivity to manage the risks of HPV. Public health professionals have promoted HPV vaccination as a responsible and informed choice for young women, whose sexual practices are considered to put them and their sexual partners “at risk” of HPV. I conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen young women between the ages of 21 and 28. My interviews with women and the public health literature on HPV vaccination reflect cultural and moral priorities regarding the “right” kinds of female sexuality and individual responsibility to manage sexual and reproductive health risks. Many of the women I interviewed were critical of the identification of their sexual practices as putting them and others “at risk” of HPV and maintained that their “safe” sex practices mitigated these risks. All of the women I interviewed prioritized concerns about protecting their reproductive health from cervical cancer over the risks of HPV when discussing their responsibility to be vaccinated. Based on these interviews, I argue that women‟s decisions about HPV vaccination are practices of self-making, through which they strive to enact identities as responsible young women, who endeavour to protect themselves, their bodies and health from harm. These decisions are complex, dynamic and reflect their ability to make competent, informed decisions that are inextricably bound to their social and material circumstances. / Graduate

Bakgrund: Antalet utförda hjärttransplantationer i Sverige ökar och uppgår nu till omkring femtio transplantationer per år. Främsta orsaken till en hjärttransplantation är grav hjärtsvikt. Att drabbas av hjärtsvikt som ung är ovanligt och mycket påfrestande. Om hjärttransplantation blir aktuellt sätts patienten upp på väntelista där medianväntetiden är tre månader. Tidigare forskning visar att sjuksköterskan har en viktig roll i patientens upplevelse under denna tid. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att analysera och beskriva unga kvinnors upplevelser inför en hjärttransplantation. Metod: Kvalitativ innehållsanalys används som analysmetod. Data består av fem bloggar publicerade på internet. Resultat: Unga kvinnor som väntar på en hjärttransplantation upplever fysiska begränsningar i vardagen. Närstående, sjukvårdspersonal och omgivningen är viktiga för att ge stöd och fungera som drivkraft i situationen. Den ovissa väntan präglas av oro och rädsla för den egna döden. Väntan innebär att unga kvinnor får en ny syn på livet. Slutsats: Unga kvinnors livsvärld förändras drastiskt i väntan på hjärttransplantation och det är av stor vikt att sjuksköterskan uppmärksammar denna förändring och utformar omvårdnaden därefter. / Background: The number of performed heart transplants in Sweden is increasing and is now about fifty transplants per year. The primary reason for a heart transplant is severe heart failure. To suffer from heart failure as young is rare and trying. If heart transplantation becomes necessary the patient is placed on a waiting list where the median waiting time is three months. Previous research shows that nurses have an important role in the patient's experience during this time. Aim: The study aims to analyze and describe the experiences of young women facing a heart transplant.  Method: Qualitative content analysis is used as analytical method. Data consists of five blogs published on the Internet. Results: Young women waiting for a heart transplant experience physical limitations in daily life. Relatives, professionals and the environment are important to provide support and act as motivation in the situation. The uncertain waiting is incused by anxiety and fear of their own death. The waiting means that young women will have a new outlook on life. Conclusion: The lifeworld of young women drastically changed awaiting heart transplantation and it´s important for the nurse to recognize this change and frame the care thereafter.

In this essay, I have interviewed six young women about their views on body image and how their views are affected by their surroundings, massmedia and social media. Also the relationship between body image and eating disorders is relevant in this context and has a part in the study. The purpose of this study is to build an understanding of how young women relate to the body ideal that exists around them. Theoretical auxiliary tools used are George Herbert Mead's theory of the generalized other, Erving Goffman's theory of dramaturgical perspective and impression management, and Du Bois's theory of double consciousness. I have also used two scientific articles to get a deeper understanding of the subject. I will discuss the theoretical concepts and previous research by pending between these and the empirical material. Using a qualitative approach, I have been able to show that all the respondents' views on the ideal body is affected by the massmedia, social media and the respondents’ surroundings. The respondents also re2port that they find it difficult to fit into society if they do not live up to the current body ideals. This puts a lot of pressure on the respondents and several of them report recurring eating disorder behaviour. There are also positive aspects of the current body ideals, for example when they affect the respondents to eat healthier food, exercise and live healthier lives in general. The ethnicity of the respondents affects their body ideals and it is common that the respondents seek certain traits in the opposite ethnicity, for example women with foreign origin seeking blond hair and blue eyes. The most prominent finding in my study is the enormous pressure that my respondents experience, when trying to live up to the body ideals, and how this pressure is enhanced by massmedia, social media and the respondents’ surroundings. / I denna uppsats har jag intervjuat sex unga kvinnor om deras syn på kroppsideal och hur dessa kvinnor påverkas av deras omgivning, massmedia och sociala medier. Även relationen mellan kroppsideal och ätstörningar är relevant i sammanhanget och ingår i studien. Syftet med undersökningen är att utifrån mina respondenters svar skapa en förståelse för hur unga kvinnor förhåller sig till det kroppsideal som finns i deras vardag. Teoretiska hjälpverktyg som använts är George Herbert Meads (2007) teori om den generaliserade andre, Erving Goffmans teori om dramaturgisk perspektiv- och intryckstyrning samt Du Bois teori om det dubbla medvetandet. Jag har också använt två vetenskapliga artiklar, Elefant i nylonstrumpor – om kvinnlighet, kropp och hunger (Johansson, 1999) samt Vacker och lycklig? – om identitet, konsumtion och risk (Larsson, 2012) för att skapa en djupare förståelse kring kroppsideal. Jag kommer att redovisa de teoretiska begreppen och tidigare forskning och använda dessa som hjälpverktyg i min analys av det empiriska materialet. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod har jag kunnat påvisa att alla respondenters syn på kroppsideal påverkas av massmedia, sociala medier och respondenternas omgivning. Respondenterna upplever också att det är svårt att passa in i samhället om de inte lever upp till de rådande kroppsidealen. Den press som detta skapar gör att flera av respondenterna uppvisar tendenser till ätstörningar och liknande beteenden. Det finns även positiva aspekter med de rådande kroppsidealen, till exempel att vissa av respondenterna har blivit påverkade till att äta nyttigare, träna sina kroppar och leva hälsosammare liv. Respondenternas etnicitet påverkar i viss mån deras kroppsideal och det är vanligt att respondenterna eftersträvar vissa drag hos den motsatta etniciteten, till exempel att kvinnor med utländsk bakgrund eftersträvar blont hår och blåa ögon. Det mest framträdande i studien är den stora press, kopplad till att försöka leva upp till kroppsidealet, som respondenterna upplever och ofta mår dåligt av – och hur denna press förstärks av massmedia, sociala medier och respondenternas omgivning.

While young women from relatively affluent backgrounds tend to abort their pregnancies, young women from relatively deprived backgrounds tend to keep theirs. It has been suggested that this socio-economic-pregnancy outcome relationship is due to some form of subcultural acceptance of teenage motherhood existing among disadvantaged groups. The aim of this thesis was to assess how young, never pregnant women from diverse social and economic backgrounds perceive teenage pregnancy and early motherhood, and to consider whether these perceptions could, at least in part, explain this relationship. 248 women (mean age 15.6) completed a questionnaire which requested information on their lives, experiences, expectations about their futures, and their views of teenage pregnancy and early motherhood. Six discussion groups were then held with selected sub-groups of these women to explore their views in greater detail. As the thesis had an additional aim of exploring the process embarked upon by women following the confirmation of a teenage pregnancy, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight women who were currently pregnant, had recently entered motherhood, or had an abortion. It was evident that young women from relatively deprived backgrounds may be more likely than their relatively affluent peers to predict they would keep a teenage pregnancy, and may anticipate early motherhood as having fewer implications for their current situation and futures. It was also evident that young women may view this role as beneficial and plan their pregnancies. However, it was clear that young women from diverse backgrounds may view early motherhood in a predominately negative light, and a range of factors may influence the outcome of a teenage pregnancy. Thus, whilst there was evidence to support the subcultural acceptance hypothesis, it did appear that this acceptance is one which would maintain a young woman on the pathway to motherhood rather than encouraging her to enter this role.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 216-231.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2009. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-109).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-193). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-142). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-193). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Purdue University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [70]-80). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.