Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are ailments that have a social and political impact in the U.S. Since their discovery more than three decades ago, there has been an intense focus on eradicating these deadly diseases. Although there has been a lot of progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, there are communities still disproportionately affected by it. Based on data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one such community is young adults age 20 to 24 (CDC, 2016a). These young adults are at the focal center of the HIV/AIDS epidemic for various reasons; yet, this group is often overlooked in HIV literature and prevention/intervention strategies. Additionally, this community is known for inconsistent condom use, although there have been countless public service announcements (PSAs) and interventions promoting the use of condoms as a means of preventing not only unwanted pregnancy but the contraction of sexual transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS. The aim of the current study was to test a comprehensive moderated mediation model and assess factors associated with condom use among early young adults age 18 to 24 above and beyond known variables such as age, gender, and ethnicity/race. These variables included participants’ age of sexual debut, number of lifetime sexual partners, perceived threat of contracting STIs and HIV/AIDS, and exposure to cues to action as predictors of condom use. The decision to expand the study to assess condom use among early young adults (18 -24) as opposed to focusing exclusively on young adults (20 -24) was based on early young adults being less likely to be tested for HIV compared to other age groups (CDC, 2008). For the moderated mediation model, I drew on the health belief model (HBM) and tested whether 1) the relationship between sexual debut and condom use was mediated by number of lifetime sexual partnerships, and 2) the relationships between sexual debut and the mediator were moderated by perceived threat, and whether the relationships between the mediator and condom use was moderated by perceived threat and cues to action. The full model was not supported. The implication of this study is that more current research is needed to understand early young adults and their condom use, as they are a community that is most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and a key component in the fight against this disease.

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is an important outcomes measure in cancer and there are specific issues depending on the site, stage, treatment and patient age. Although numerous instruments are available for cancer HRQOL, most are designed for adults, some for children, but none for adolescents and young adults (AYA) who have special age-specific concerns and poor improvement in survival compared with other age groups. An existing HRQOL instrument was modified to ensure its suitability for AYA, its validity, reliability and sensitivity were tested in Australians aged 16 to 25 years old diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder. Varni’s PedsQLTM Measurement Model (13-18 year olds) was selected, modified then administered to families recruited from haematology/oncology clinics and wards at three Sydney Metropolitan Hospitals in person or by telephone. The Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale was used to categorise participants into groups reflecting sensitivity of symptom severity (slight, moderate and severe). The instruments demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability, making them suitable for both group and individual comparisons. Clinical validity, construct validity, and discriminant validity were demonstrated by “known-groups” analysis, exploratory factor analysis and correlations, respectively. These new versions of the PedsQL Generic Core and Cancer Module are reliable, valid and sensitive measures of HRQOL in patients aged 16-25 years diagnosed with cancer or a blood disorder. The measures will soon be available for use as outcome measures in clinical trials and clinical practice with this age cohort in Australasia and internationally.

In the last thirty years there have been many research studies which have examined the reasons why adolescents and young adults engage in sexual behaviours. Most of these studies have lacked a theoretical basis, Consequently there are many links made between variables, but no consistency across studies, or attempts to develop an underlying theory to explain the results. However, there have been theoretical models developed to explain adolescents’ and young adults’ sexual decision making. Unfortunately, many of these models have not been empirically validated. This thesis attempts to address these deficiencies in the literature by utilising a theory of behaviour and applying it to adolescent and young adult sexual decision making. This theory is the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Two longitudinal studies were conducted to examine the utility of an adaptation of the TPB to sexual decision making among adolescents and young adults. In the first study 58 adolescent males, aged between 14 years and 18 years participated in a longitudinal study using a questionnaire adapted from the Depth of Sexual Involvement Scale. In the second study, 194 young adults (156 female, 38 male) aged between 18 years and 21 years participated in a similar study. The first study found that intention to engage in behaviour was well predicted, although some of the variables in the model, did not in fact, contribute significantly to the prediction. The prediction of behaviour was less strong than that of intention. Study two found that intention to engage in behaviours was well predicted by the model. However, the degree to which intention led to behaviour was not well predicted. Overall, the results of these studies suggest that the TPB is a good theoretical basis from which to launch a systematic and theoretically informed explanation of adolescent and young adult sexual decision making. However, other factors may need to be added to the model to fully describe the decision making process and accurately predict behaviour. Suggestions are made for future research, as well as interventions that may arise as more knowledge is gathered using this paradigm.

<p>Sverige är ett mångkulturellt land och forskningsområdet kring hur det är att leva med två kulturer är viktig att belysa. Denna studies fokus riktas mot hur unga vuxna upplever kopplingen mellan den personliga och etniska identiteten. En kvalitativ undersökning genomfördes med 16 intervjuer. Respondenterna levde i den svenska samt en utomeuropeisk kultur. Resultatet visade att deltagarna upplever sig som en blandning av de två erfarna kulturerna och att den etniska identiteten upplevs som stark. Svårigheter hos deltagarna låg i den personliga identiteten som påverkas av att ha en etnisk identitet. Den personliga identiteten var vacklande bland annat på grund av en svår anpassningsprocess till båda kulturer. Studien bidrar framförallt med fördjupade kunskaper om den personliga identiteten.</p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate what effect, if any, an outdoor orientation program conducted at a comprehensive public institution in the Northwest school had on first-year students' self-efficacy relative to success in their first year of college, measured as academic and social integration. A random sample of students who registered for the raft/hike option of the FOOTsteps program and a random sample of students not registered for FOOTsteps or for the university's orientation class were sent surveys through campus mail. These surveys asked them to rate their confidence in completing tasks associated with academic and social integration into the college setting. While no statistically significant difference between the groups was found, time was a significant factor in increasing efficacy expectations for both groups. Additionally, the study looked to see if there were any differential effects of the treatment program on participants' self-efficacy depending on the participants' prior outdoor adventure experience. Again, no statistically significant differences were found. Despite these insignificant statistical results, it was found through focus groups and participant journals that the outdoor orientation program aided in the participants ability to develop social connections and make friends, thus moderating the anxiety of the beginning of college. / Graduation date: 2003

The purpose of this research was to analyze the periodical collections of public libraries in the Triangle region of North Carolina in terms of young adult titles. Research questions targeted how public librarians provide their young adult patrons with access to periodical collections, address acess to periodicals available through the Internet and develop periodical collections in response to research findings on young adult reading. Collections were evaluated in terms of collection policies, placement, reference to other collections, and content. While the research revealed that collections varied in terms of responses to several of the research concerns, the collections showed some consistency in terms of collection policy and response to research findings.

Sverige är ett mångkulturellt land och forskningsområdet kring hur det är att leva med två kulturer är viktig att belysa. Denna studies fokus riktas mot hur unga vuxna upplever kopplingen mellan den personliga och etniska identiteten. En kvalitativ undersökning genomfördes med 16 intervjuer. Respondenterna levde i den svenska samt en utomeuropeisk kultur. Resultatet visade att deltagarna upplever sig som en blandning av de två erfarna kulturerna och att den etniska identiteten upplevs som stark. Svårigheter hos deltagarna låg i den personliga identiteten som påverkas av att ha en etnisk identitet. Den personliga identiteten var vacklande bland annat på grund av en svår anpassningsprocess till båda kulturer. Studien bidrar framförallt med fördjupade kunskaper om den personliga identiteten.

En allergisk person påverkas på fysisk, psykisk och social nivå. Unga vuxna allergiska personers erfarenheter och upplevelser av allergi är relativt outforskat. Syftet med studien är att förstå hur unga vuxna personer med allergi upplever att allergin påverkar deras vardag och hur de förhåller sig till ett liv anpassat efter allergin. En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes med 10 deltagare i åldrarna 18-22 år som hade olika former av allergier. Resultatet visade att allergi har en betydande roll för allergiska personers identitetsskapande och många beskriver en strävan efter att passa in socialt trots sina besvär. I denna strävan görs en avvägning mellan de risker som det innebär och värdet av den aktuella situationen. Intervjupersonerna upplevde att förståelsen av allergiers konsekvenser är bristfällig vilket kan försvåra för en allergisk person i dess vardag. Resultatet visade att deltagarnas livskvalitet påverkades negativt på grund av allergin, samtidigt beskrevs livskvaliteten på ett motsägelsefullt sätt av deltagarna.

Social support has been recognized to impact positive health behaviours, including exercise participation. In the exercise domain, one conceptual framework that has been employed to examine social support is Weisss (1974) Model of Social Provisions. The main purpose of the present study was to utilize Weisss (1974) model to examine how the social provisions relate to university students energy expenditure while exercising with others. Specifically, this study was concerned with participants perceptions about the availability of social provisions, their preferences for the provisions in the exercise setting, and the congruence between social provision perceptions and preferences as they related to energy expenditure. Participants who had performed exercise with others in the past 4 weeks (N=201) completed the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire (MAQ; Kriska et al., 1990) to assess energy expenditure, as well as modified versions of the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987) to assess social provision perceptions and preferences. Results from exploratory factor analyses revealed separate five-factor models for both the perceived provisions (i.e., attachment, reliable alliance, social integration, opportunity for nurturance, and reassurance of worth) and the preferred provisions (i.e., guidance, social integration, reliable alliance, reassurance of worth, and opportunity for nurturance). Discriminant function analyses were used to assess the unique contribution of these perceived and preferred provisions to participants energy expenditure. The results from the analyses indicated that none of the perceived provisions and none of the preferred provisions predicted high versus low expenditure, nor did the congruence relationship between the perceived and preferred variants of each provision predict high versus low energy expenditure. Potential explanations for the non-significant findings were highlighted with respect to study methodology. Directions for future research were also discussed.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether tenth grade adolescents can exhibit the three goals of bibliotherapy, identification, catharsis, and insight, thus achieving self-discovery, through reading contemporary adolescent novels and discussing them with their English teacher on an individualistic basis. Six subjects, four girls and two boys, were selected from two tenth grade English classes at Anderson High School, Anderson, Indiana. The students were given two literary attitude surveys: "Questionnaire: Responses to Feminine Characters in Literature" and "Literary Transfer and Interest in Reading Literature," as pre-tests and post-tests. The six subjects, selected on the basis of average or better grades as well as demonstrated maturity and responsibility, read' Confessions of a Teenage Baboon by Paul Zindel, Don't Look and it Won't Hurt by Richard Peck, The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katharine Paterson, My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel, The Pistachio Prescription by Paula Danziger, and That Was Then, This Is Now by S. E. Hinton. The students discussed each book in a specific order in a private, tape-recorded session with their English teacher, the researcher, who asked predetermined questions over each book. After the tape-recorded discussions were transcribed, the responses were identified as examples of identification (ID), catharsis (C), and insight (IN).Findings1. Identification with fictional characters can lead to insights by adolescents not only about the characters but also about their own personal lives.2. The number of insights did not increase as more books were read.3. In this study the girls appeared to achieve more identification and to gain more insights than the boys.4. Catharsis is the one goal of bibliotherapy less frequently experienced, but the more an adolescent becomes emotionally involved in a book, the more likely he is to experience catharsis.5. Adolescents can achieve self-discovery if they are given the opportunity to discuss fictional characters and situations as related to their own concerns with teachers who can take the time to do so.Conclusions1. Bibliotherapy on an individual basis with adolescent novels not only has emotional and personal benefits but also academic value in that students will respond more readily and responsibly to literature within the realm of their own experience than to the traditional literature of classroom anthologies.2. Emotional maturity and self-discovery can occur if educators are willing to individualize and humanize education.3. Bibliotherapy with adolescent novels can engender feelings of mutual trust and respect between teachers and their students, who need the opportunity to discuss their feelings and problems with adults whom they perceive care about them.4. The individualized approach to bibliotherapy can provide more thorough and genuine responses, leading to significant conclusions.