[Truncated abstract] Despite significant scientific advances in tracking the complex physiological mechanisms that drive the asthma disease process, worldwide trends in childhood asthma continue to rise. This research sought to describe the relationships between psychosocial stress, psychosocial resources, asthma severity, and health-related outcomes from the standpoints of biopsychosocial and developmental theory. The research consisted of three studies based on a prospective study involving 2573 children from a community-based birth cohort. The cohort has been under active follow-up from birth and this thesis draws on data obtained at the 1, 2, 6, 10 and 13 year follow-ups . . . The final study undertook to describe the mediating influence of specific supportive behaviours provided by family members and peers to adolescents with asthma. Ninety-nine adolescents participating in the 13 year follow-up of the community cohort study completed a semi-structured interview adapted from the Diabetes Social Support Interview (La Greca et al., 1995) to assess supportive behaviours and the KINDL (Ravens-Sieberer & Bullinger, 1998) to assess QOL. It was predicted that illness-specific support would mediate the relationship between family dysfunction and quality of life. Qualitative analyses identified parents as important sources of tangible support, peers as important sources of companionship and emotional support, and siblings bridging the two, by providing tangible, companionship and emotional support to the adolescent. Mediator analyses found that specific parent behaviours perceived as unsupportive by the adolescent mediated the relationship between family dysfunction and self-oriented quality of life. Clinical implications support the integration of medical and psychological expertise in the treatment of asthma. Future research directions are also discussed.

Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is recognised as a difficult behaviour to work/deal with and Community Support Workers (CSW‟s) who work with this behaviour may not have any formal training in the field of SIB. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the needs of CSW‟s working in the field of self-injurious behaviour amongst adolescents. A qualitative approach was used, the study was of an explorative nature and the researcher made use of purposive non-probability sampling to select respondents who were willing to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the researcher. This data was then analysed by the researcher making use of Creswell‟s spiral of analysis. The data collected was sorted into themes, sub-themes and categories and interpreted according to literature. The study identified that there are specific needs amongst CSW‟s who work with adolescent SIB in the specific areas of support and education/training. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is recognised as a difficult behaviour to work/deal with and Community Support Workers (CSW‟s) who work with this behaviour may not have any formal training in the field of SIB. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the needs of CSW‟s working in the field of self-injurious behaviour amongst adolescents. A qualitative approach was used, the study was of an explorative nature and the researcher made use of purposive non-probability sampling to select respondents who were willing to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the researcher. This data was then analysed by the researcher making use of Creswell‟s spiral of analysis. The data collected was sorted into themes, sub-themes and categories and interpreted according to literature. The study identified that there are specific needs amongst CSW‟s who work with adolescent SIB in the specific areas of support and education/training. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

People's psychological experience of their body can impact on their lives. Some theories hold that the media creates an impossible physical ideal. The demands of trying to achieve this ideal may lead to normative discontent and psychopathology. Girls are experiencing this pressure at a younger age and the onset of puberty can exacerbate this experience. The present study used case studies and thematic content analysis to explore the issue of body image in twelve preadolescent girls. The research found that hair and the ability of the body to do need to be encompassed in the definition of body image. While the participants appeared to have a positive perception of their body, there also appeared to be negative feelings. This suggested that the participants experienced confusion and ambiguous feelings about their body. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

This study examined the relationship between executive and psychosocial functioning in 45 children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years who had been treated for a brain tumor. Executive functioning deficits can profoundly impact an adult's ability to function successfully in life. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential impact of executive functioning deficits on the day-to-day functioning in a pediatric population. The domains of executive functioning assessed included cognitive flexibility, conceptual thinking, sustained attention, and response inhibition. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using both parent and child report. Several significant relationships were found for adolescents ages 15 and older, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. In particular, cognitive flexibility and conceptual thinking were significantly related to parent report of depression and adaptive functioning. Fewer significant relationships with smaller effect sizes were found for younger children. The results may reflect the developmental emergence of executive functioning abilities and late effects of executive functioning deficits upon psychosocial functioning. The correlational design of this study precludes definitive statements regarding the temporal nature of the relationship. Additional research, including longitudinal research and replicatory studies, will be needed to further investigate the developmental consequences of executive functioning impairment.

The roll-out of Anti-retroviral Therapy in South Africa has enabled perinatally HIV infected children to reach the adolescent phase. It is important to acknowledge that the psycho-social experiences of perinatally HIV infected children differ from other adolescents. This study explored the psychosocial experiences of perinatally HIV infected adolescents residing in Child and Youth Care Centres in Pretoria. Using qualitative interpretive-descriptive methodology, the sample consisted of eight perinatally HIV infected adolescents, two social workers and ten child and youth care workers from two Child and Youth Care Centres. Data was collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with perinatally HIV positive adolescents and two focus groups were held with child and youth care workers and social workers. The use of these two data collection methods enhanced the reliability and trustworthiness of the data. Using social constructionism as the key conceptual framework, there were four key themes and subthemes that distilled from the interviews and focus groups. The results revealed that perinatally HIV infected adolescents have difficulties discussing their status and that they used blocking as a coping strategy to avoid the subject. Disclosure was difficult for the adolescents as they were acutely aware of stigma and discrimination. With regards to adherence to medication there was lack of self-efficacy as the adolescents relied mostly on Child and Youth care workers and social workers. Finally in both Child and Youth Care centres, lack of on-going disclosure and discussion about HIV hindered the availability of psychosocial support services. This study concludes that child and youth care centres should develop programs which focus on support topics such as sexuality, disclosure and self-esteem. The Department of Social development should implement psychosocial support training specifically for Child and Youth care workers and Social workers working with perinatally HIV positive children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

People's psychological experience of their body can impact on their lives. Some theories hold that the media creates an impossible physical ideal. The demands of trying to achieve this ideal may lead to normative discontent and psychopathology. Girls are experiencing this pressure at a younger age and the onset of puberty can exacerbate this experience. The present study used case studies and thematic content analysis to explore the issue of body image in twelve preadolescent girls. The research found that hair and the ability of the body to do need to be encompassed in the definition of body image. While the participants appeared to have a positive perception of their body, there also appeared to be negative feelings. This suggested that the participants experienced confusion and ambiguous feelings about their body. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Nos dias de hoje, a obesidade se caracteriza como uma doença de causas múltiplas, sendo uma enfermidade grave e com alta incidência em países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento. Dessa maneira, é possível considerar que a obesidade pode ser analisada por vários aspectos multifatoriais como os genéticos, sociais e afetivos. Nesse sentido, esta dissertação aborda alguns aspectos afetivos presentes na problemática da obesidade e sobrepeso em adolescentes mulheres, procurando verificar possíveis falhas na relação afetiva mãe e filha, nos estágios precoces do desenvolvimento da menina. Este estudo está fundamentado em concepções teóricas de Winnicott (1983; 2000; 2005; 2006), Levisky (1995), Barbosa Silva (2005), Bruno (2011) e Cardoso (2008). Foi utilizada como procedimento metodológico a abordagem qualitativa da História Oral de Vida que privilegia as narrativas do sujeito como compreensão de suas vivências afetivas. Desse modo, foram feitas entrevistas gravadas com as adolescentes obesas ou com sobrepeso de 13 a 18 anos que fazem parte da triagem ou estão em tratamento nutricional na Clínica-Escola de Nutrição da Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde do Centro Universitário (Cesmac) em Maceió, Alagoas. Diante disso, as narrativas das adolescentes entrevistadas teceram sua história de vida, apresentando dados significativos como a relação com a mãe, o contexto familiar, o próprio ato de adolescer e o lidar com os conflitos existentes no dia a dia como aspectos importantes e como hipóteses possíveis de ocasionar o aparecimento da obesidade e do sobrepeso nessas adolescentes mulheres. Cada contexto estudado, revela singularidades da relação mãe e filha e se destaca como fundamental para o desenvolvimento e a construção do amadurecimento da menina na infância e, principalmente, na adolescência. / Nowadays, obesity is characterized as a disease of multiple causes, its a serious illness and with high incidence in developed and developing countries. This way, it is possible to consider that obesity can be analyzed by various multifactorial features as genetic, social, and affective. In this sense, this dissertation says some affective aspects in obesity and overweights problematic in adolescent women, seeking to verify possible failures in affective relation mother and daughter, in the early stages of development of the girl. This study, is based on theoretical conceptions of Winnicott (1983, 2000, 2005, 2006), Levinsky (1995), Barbosa Silva (2005), Bruno (2011) and Cardoso (2008). It was used as methodological procedure the qualitative approach of Oral Life History that privileges the narratives of the subject as knowledge their affective experiences. Thus, they have been recorded interviews with obese adolescents or overweight 13 to 18 years who are part of the screening or are in the nutritional treatment Clinic-School of Nutrition of Biological Sciences and Health College (Cesmac) in Maceió, Alagoas. In this way, the narratives of the interviewed adolescents wove their life story, they are presenting significant data such as the relationship with the mother, the family context, the own act of adolescent and the dealing with conflicts in daily life as important aspects and as possible hypotheses to bring on the onset of obesity and overweight in these adolescent women. Each studied context, reveals singularities mother and daughter relationship and it stands as fundamental to the development and the construction girls maturing in childhood, and mainly, in youth.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo problematizar os posicionamentos de adolescentes quanto às questões de sexualidade e gênero emergentes no contexto de uma escola da rede particular de ensino da cidade de João Pessoa. Foram analisados o contexto escolar e seus mecanismos de disciplinarização e regulação dos corpos adolescentes; os sentidos atribuídos ao corpo por esses adolescentes e suas relações com os regimes de verdade; os sentidos e significados que atribuem à sexualidade e a percepção das diferenças entre os gêneros e suas relações com as práticas sexuais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, usando o método etnográfico, que supõe a inserção do/da pesquisador/a no ambiente da investigação. Conforme a modalidade etnográfica, utilizou-se como instrumento a Observação Participante com registros no Diário de Campo, associado ao Grupo Focal, técnica que favorece o debate, trocas de experiências, e possibilita intervenções entre os/as participantes; e um Questionário Sociodemográfico. Tomou-se como participantes que compuseram a rede enunciativa da investigação, todos aqueles que foram alvo das observações, uma vez que produziram dados; nessa perspectiva, a própria pesquisadora foi incluída como produtora de dados, além dos alunos que compuseram os grupos focais, professores e demais funcionários da instituição, que foram observados. A técnica do Grupo Focal foi aplicada em dois grupos de alunos/as. O primeiro, composto por sete alunos/as, sendo um do sexo masculino e seis do sexo feminino, com idade entre quatorze e quinze anos. O segundo grupo foi composto por nove alunas, com idade entre quinze e dezesseis anos. A apreciação dos dados produzidos se deu a partir de uma análise do discurso numa perspectiva foucaultiana. Os resultados mostraram que os mecanismos de disciplinarização utilizados no contexto escolar, baseados prioritariamente na vigilância constante e no controle sobre as condutas dos alunos/as, atuam de modo a classificá-los/as e normatizá-los/as. Os discursos apontaram para uma necessidade de conformação corporal aos padrões de beleza vigentes sob a égide de um corpo saudável. A sexualidade foi associada aos discursos sobre a iniciação sexual, prevenção e gravidez na adolescência. Observou-se, também, que a apreensão das diferenças entre os sexos é marcada por um assujeitamento do feminino como algo já dado, isto é, naturalizado. Concluímos que os discursos dos/das adolescentes expressaram o predomínio de um posicionamento moralmente aceito, porém permeado de contradições e rupturas.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:08:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 roberta_caldas_domingues_meneses.pdf: 1522161 bytes, checksum: b06eb4485fcb80a803281caef7ea82b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-23 / The present study is aimed to problematize teenager's stand in regard to gender and sexuality emerged from the context of a private school located at the city of João Pessoa. Many aspects were analyzed such as school context and its mechanisms of adolescent's body discipline; the meanings given to the body by these teenagers and their relations with Regimes of truth; the meanings and significance given to sexuality and it's perceptions of gender differences in relation with sexual practices. Research was a qualitative one and it used the ethnographic method where the researcher is supposed to be inserted in the environment investigated. According to the ethnographic method, the instrument utilized was the Field Diary, associated with the Focus Group, technique which favors debate, exchange of experiences, and allows interventions among participants; and, a social-demographic list of questions. Were considered as participants on this network of enunciation, all of those observed, since all of them produced data. In this perspective, even the researcher was considered a source of data, along with the students who composed the Focal Groups, teachers and all school staff observed. The students participants composed two Focal Groups. The first was composed by seven students, one male and six females, all aged between fourteen and fifteen. The second group was composed by nine female students aged between fifteen and sixteen. The analysis of the data produced looked for analyzing speech from a foulcauldian perspective. Results have shown that discipline mechanisms utilized in school context, primarily based on constant vigilance and behavior control of the students, lead to their classification and standardization. The speeches pointed to a necessity of adaptation of the figure to beauty standards featured in a healthy body. Sexuality was associated to speeches about sexual initiation, precautions and adolescent pregnancy. It was also observed that understanding of differences among gender is marked by female subjection as a given state, that is, naturalized. We conclude that the adolescent's speech expressed the predominance of a morally accepted stand, filled, however, with rupture and contradiction. / O presente estudo teve como objetivo problematizar os posicionamentos de adolescentes quanto às questões de sexualidade e gênero emergentes no contexto de uma escola da rede particular de ensino da cidade de João Pessoa. Foram analisados o contexto escolar e seus mecanismos de disciplinarização e regulação dos corpos adolescentes; os sentidos atribuídos ao corpo por esses adolescentes e suas relações com os regimes de verdade; os sentidos e significados que atribuem à sexualidade e a percepção das diferenças entre os gêneros e suas relações com as práticas sexuais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, usando o método etnográfico, que supõe a inserção do/da pesquisador/a no ambiente da investigação. Conforme a modalidade etnográfica, utilizou-se como instrumento a Observação Participante com registros no Diário de Campo, associado ao Grupo Focal, técnica que favorece o debate, trocas de experiências, e possibilita intervenções entre os/as participantes; e um Questionário Sociodemográfico. Tomou-se como participantes que compuseram a rede enunciativa da investigação, todos aqueles que foram alvo das observações, uma vez que produziram dados; nessa perspectiva, a própria pesquisadora foi incluída como produtora de dados, além dos alunos que compuseram os grupos focais, professores e demais funcionários da instituição, que foram observados. A técnica do Grupo Focal foi aplicada em dois grupos de alunos/as. O primeiro, composto por sete alunos/as, sendo um do sexo masculino e seis do sexo feminino, com idade entre quatorze e quinze anos. O segundo grupo foi composto por nove alunas, com idade entre quinze e dezesseis anos. A apreciação dos dados produzidos se deu a partir de uma análise do discurso numa perspectiva foucaultiana. Os resultados mostraram que os mecanismos de disciplinarização utilizados no contexto escolar, baseados prioritariamente na vigilância constante e no controle sobre as condutas dos alunos/as, atuam de modo a classificá-los/as e normatizá-los/as. Os discursos apontaram para uma necessidade de conformação corporal aos padrões de beleza vigentes sob a égide de um corpo saudável. A sexualidade foi associada aos discursos sobre a iniciação sexual, prevenção e gravidez na adolescência. Observou-se, também, que a apreensão das diferenças entre os sexos é marcada por um assujeitamento do feminino como algo já dado, isto é, naturalizado. Concluímos que os discursos dos/das adolescentes expressaram o predomínio de um posicionamento moralmente aceito, porém permeado de contradições e rupturas.