The purpose of this study is to compare the drug abusing adolescent, along with his family, with a non-drug abusing adolescent and his family by (l) a comparison of the adolescents on measures of self esteem and perceived parental behavior, (2) a comparison of the parents of drug abusing adolescents with the parents of non-drug abusing adolescents on child-rearing attitudes and on distortion in perceived parental behavior, and (3) an identification of the salient factors contributing to the prediction of drug-using behavior in adolescents. The adolescent's self esteem, his perception of parental behavior, the ability of the parents to predict the child's parental perceptions, and the professed parental attitudes toward confidence and responsibility in child-rearing, all combine to suggest a set of factors differentiating the drug abusing adolescent from the non-drug abusing adolescent.

The overarching aim of this study was to examine female social workers’ (ie. drug counselors’ and members of treatment staff’s) perception of the sexuality of girls and boys. The results indicate that the IPs define female high risk sexual behavior differently than male high-risk sexual behavior. For females, the mere act of having sex with multiple men in combination with drug use was considered problematic, while for males, the question was whether he was having protected sex. A history of CSA was considered to affect the sexuality of both the female and male vignette characters, but in different ways: the male character was seen to punish himself through multiple sexual partners while the female was seen to be unable to make informed sexual decisions or even to enjoy sex. Finally, the concept of sexual exploitation was analyzed and found to be inconsistently used not only by the IPs, but also in the research literature. In the discussion, it is stressed that social services and treatment personnel need to be clear about what they mean by sexual exploitation of girls. Paying undue attention to a girl’s sex life will not help her in any significant way. Instead, social workers should help girls use their gifts and strengths to express their innermost being, helping them find their voice. / Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att undersöka kvinnliga socialarbetares (det vill säga drogbehandlares och behandlingspersonals) uppfattning om tonårsflickors och tonårspojkars sexualitet. Resultaten indikerar att intervjupersonerna definierar sexuellt högriskbeteende annorlunda hos flickor och pojkar. För flickor uppfattades det som problematiskt att ha sex med flera män i kombination med narkotikabruk, medan det för pojkar handlade om huruvida de hade skyddat sex. En historia av sexuella övergrepp i barndomen ansågs kunna påverka sexualiteten hos både kvinnliga och manliga vinjettkaraktärer men på olika sätt: den manliga karaktären ansågs bestraffa sig själv genom många sexuella partners medan den kvinnliga upplevdes oförmögen att fatta informerade sexuella beslut eller ens njuta av sex. Slutligen analyserades begreppet sexuellt utnyttjande och visade sig användas inkonsekvent inte bara av intervjupersonerna, men också i forskningslitteraturen. I diskussionen betonas att socialtjänst och behandlingspersonal måste klargöra vad de menar med sexuellt utnyttjande av flickor. Att ge otillbörlig uppmärksamhet åt en tonårsflickas sexliv hjälper henne inte på något väsentligt sätt. Istället bör socialarbetare hjälpa flickor att använda sina talanger och styrkor för att uttrycka sitt innersta väsen och därmed hjälpa dem finna sin röst.

The "Dancing with Change" Programme (DWCP) is an ecosystemically informed substance abuse intervention programme that was developed by the participants and myself with the aim of building resilience towards substance abuse among youth. The DWCP was conducted in the school setting, with ten volunteer Grade 7 learners over a ten-week period for an hour a week. The learners' parents participated in an initial needs assessment and in a feedback session at the end of DWCP, together with the life skills teacher and headmaster who observed and contributed to the process. An independent observer, present at each session, served to increase the dependability and confirmability of the evaluation findings. The DWCP appeared to have achieved its goals as defined by the participants. The evaluation findings are presented as a guide for people working in the field of adolescent substance abuse that synthesises best practice and lessons learnt in the field. / Psychology / M.A.(Clinical Psychology)

The "Dancing with Change" Programme (DWCP) is an ecosystemically informed substance abuse intervention programme that was developed by the participants and myself with the aim of building resilience towards substance abuse among youth. The DWCP was conducted in the school setting, with ten volunteer Grade 7 learners over a ten-week period for an hour a week. The learners' parents participated in an initial needs assessment and in a feedback session at the end of DWCP, together with the life skills teacher and headmaster who observed and contributed to the process. An independent observer, present at each session, served to increase the dependability and confirmability of the evaluation findings. The DWCP appeared to have achieved its goals as defined by the participants. The evaluation findings are presented as a guide for people working in the field of adolescent substance abuse that synthesises best practice and lessons learnt in the field. / Psychology / M.A.(Clinical Psychology)