Wilderness therapy is emerging as a promising approach in helping adolescents (Higgens, 1999), even though many questions about this mode of therapy remain unanswered. Although there is a substantial body of research examining wilderness therapy on a range of different participants, very few studies investigate the effects of these programmes on participants from more traditional (i.e. African or Eastern) cultures and contexts. A number of wilderness experience programmes (WEPs) are currently being run throughout South Africa, targeting various groups. This study aims to examine the outcomes of one such programme on a group of young South Africans. A quantitative, quasi-experimental approach was taken in the research design, data collection and analysis. Data was collected from two nonrandomised groups (an experimental and a control group). The experimental group attended a two-night, three-day WEP, while the control group attended an adjusted school programme. Data collection occurred on three occasions. There was an initial pre-test before the WEP and two post-tests subsequent to it. This study supports some positive outcomes to a WEP. Specifically, there was a significant increase in psychological adjustment and resilience initially after the WEP; however this effect was only sustained at the two month follow-up test for the former. No significant differences were observed in the control group. It is evident from the literature review that there is an immense healing potential in wilderness environments, and that there are apparent benefits to wilderness therapy. The difficulties arise when attempting to investigate, identify and understand these effects. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Adolescent development and adjustment are matters of serious concern not only for parents but also to those involved in education and in the welfare of young people as well as in the progress of our society. Youth represent the energy of the present and hope for the future. However, very little is known about the needs, attitudes, interests and growth potentials of black adolescents in South Africa due to the scarcity of research done in this field. The broad aim of the present study, was to identify and gain understanding of the social sources of influence on adolescent cognitive development as reflected in their value system, their reported role models and anti-models; and. their sources of information about these models. The sample consisted of 409 std 9 female (N = 218) and male (N = 196) pupils selected from two High Schools in Umlazi (N = 203), one High School in KwaMashu (N = 88) and two high schools in KwaNgwanase (N = 118). Subjects from Umlazi and KwaMashu constituted the urban sample (N = 291) and subjects from KwaNgwanase constituted the rural sample (N = 118). Subjects responses to a questionaire were content analysed and the following prominent values were discernible : Educational, Occupational, Altruistic and to a lesser extent Material. The most salient models and antimodels reported were people between the ages of 26 to 35 years, non-relatives, who were known to subjects though Personal Contact. Models were admired mostly for their Social Attributes. The anti-models were rejected because of their negative Social Characteristics. Admired models belonged mostly to the category of Service or Other professions. Antimodels belonged mostly to the category of the unemployed. Sex differences in subjects' responses were observed. Minor differences in the responses of subjects from different geographical, parental educational and occupational backgrounds also appeared to exist. The work presented in this study represents the present researcher's original input.However, quotations and other theoretical information from literature have been used and acknowledged to highlight and clarify major concepts persued by the researcher. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.

Adolescence is generally regarded as a time of developmental change in all aspects: physical, emotional and psychological. This change is difficult and stressful for the adolescent to comprehend and assimilate into their way of being. During these times of developmental change and stress the manner in which the adolescent chooses to or learns to cope with the various stressors they face can be a signifier of things to come. In other words, coping strategies that an individual chooses to use, be they functional or maladaptive, may inform their future. This study’s focus is the relationship between an individual’s ability to cope and his level of suicidal ideation, and explores whether these two variables are related. In South Africa, and throughout the world, there is a trend of a greater number of younger people engaging in suicidal behaviour than previously and research into any and all aspects of this phenomenon is thus valuable. Many hypotheses have been proposed and there are many related factors that need to be considered. A quantitative approach was used to examine the relationship between coping strategies and suicidal ideation. The Coping Across Situations Questionnaire and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire were administered to a sample of adolescent males at a co-educational high school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The results determined that there is a significant, positive relationship between maladaptive coping strategies and high levels of suicidal ideation, that demographic variables such as grade and race seem to have some impact on this relationship and that further investigation is necessary into the relationship between adaptive coping skills and low levels of suicidal ideation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The increasing levels and more frequent use of alcohol among females especially those in younger age groups has been noted with concern worldwide. However qualitative data on this problem is limited. This study therefore aimed to explore qualitatively factors contributing to female adolescents' alcohol use and abuse, their knowledge regarding risks associated with alcohol use and abuse and to understand the contextual and environmental factors that render female adolescents vulnerable to engage in drinking behaviours. This study was guided by the Prototype / Willingness model. The data was collected using two (2) focus groups and five (5) individual semi-structured interviews with Grade 9 female high school learners. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis. The findings of the study indicated that there are various individual, social as well as contextual factors contributing to alcohol use among female learners. These factors include age onset, low self-esteem, influence of significant others e.g. parents, peers, celebrities, media alcohol adverts especially through Television, easy availability and accessibility of alcohol as well as lack of law enforcement on selling of alcohol to minors. Protective factors emerged from the findings and these include parental monitoring, high self-esteem and good mother-daughter attachment. The study also indicated various positive perceptions why female adolescents use alcohol. These included perceiving alcohol use as fun, “cool” and glamorous, as a coping mechanism as well as a symbol of adult status and being “Western”. Although female adolescents have knowledge of most of the health and social consequences of alcohol most of them believe that they cannot be affected and they still continue to plan to use alcohol. Several recommendations are also presented. These could assist female learners, parents (and other caregivers), community members, policy makers, researchers, program developers especially those interested in adolescent health as well as other stakeholders e.g. South African Police Services (SAPS) and Department of Education etc. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This study examined eighth grade students' perceived degree of mattering in their private school environments. Mattering, as defined by Rosenberg and McCullough (1981), is a person's sense that he is the object of interest and importance to others, he is wanted or serves as an ego-extension for others, and others depend on him. The study included 167 students from three urban private schools in the lower mainland. Students completed The Ways of Mattering Questionnaire (Individual and Group Forms), and a one page questionnaire, providing information about students' academic self-concept (Bachman's scale), student involvement in extracurricular school activities, and selected demographic variables. Step-wise multiple regression revealed that gender and grade point average were statistically significant predictive variables on the Group Mattering Scale in student to teacher relationships, and only grade point average was a significant predictive variable on the Individual Mattering Scale (student to peer relationships). Recommendations are provided for further study into students' feelings of mattering in the school environment.

For the last few decades, youth behavioral problems have been constantly increasing. As an outcome of the complex interactions of multiple factors, these problems seriously challenge families, the educational system and society. The author presents a multiple case study, with three levels of analysis. Through a qualitative method, subjective data are collected through semi-structured interviews. An individual vertical analysis and a collective horizontal analysis give access to the subjective perspectives of participants (the parent, child and teacher) and the sociocultural context. The results show pattern of life marked by ruptures and conflicts, the need for relation, recognition and guidance. Furthermore, there is a marked absence of communication between the implicated people and spiritual beliefs surrounding this problematic are considered. Intervention avenues are suggested.

No description available.

<p>Participation in recreational and formal sports can play a vital role in enhancing adolescents&rsquo / wellbeing. Research indicates that involvement in different forms of recreation and physical activities offer beneficial effects on the physical and mental health status of individuals. Sports participation has also been associated with lowered obesity, multiple risk behaviours, smoking and substance abuse. In South Africa rural and urban areas are increasingly affected by violence and a range of psychosocial problems such as youth crime, substance abuse and alcohol abuse. The aim of this research project was to explore the perceptions of community leaders of the role of sports participation in dealing with psychosocial problems amongst adolescents in a rural area. A qualitative approach was adopted to explore the perceptions of community leaders. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants according to the criteria set by researcher. The data was collected through the process of 10 indepth, semi-structured interviews with Afrikaans speaking community leaders, male and female from the two rural towns in the Cederberg region namely, Lamberts Bay and Clanwilliam. The semi-structured interview schedule consisted of five open-ended questions. A thematic content analysis was used to interpret the information. The study revealed that community leaders perceived sports participation as a protective factor against psychosocial problems within the community. They discussed sports benefits under three broad themes namely, health benefits, societal benefits and emotional benefits. The study further revealed poor financial resources, transport and poor facilities to be the major constraints for sports participation in their area. Future studies which explore the role of sports participation should include more information from a female&rsquo / s perspective, to enrich and understand the benefits of sports participation amongst females in the community.</p>

Introduction: Tobacco smoking continues to raise serious concerns for health promotion practitioners and health bodies globally. It has been tagged the single largest cause of all premature deaths globally. Efforts at discouraging tobacco use especially among the youth are not only aimed at reducing smoking prevalence in the short term but at disrupting the chain of supply for the tobacco marketers who see the youth population as their source of replacement smokers. Measures to curb smoking prevalence currently rely heavily on policy regulation but there is need to have a holistic approach towards finding out what influences the youth to smoke in order to have relevant context-specific interventions to further tobacco control efforts. This study is aimed at ascertaining the risk influences for smoking behaviour amongst the youth in Southern Nigeria with specific focus on cultural/environmental, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors serving to increase smoking initiation and perpetuation as guided by the Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI). Method: Exploratory mixed methods research design was employed in carrying out this study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 persons in 24 individual interviews (comprising of 18 young smokers aged 18 to 24 years, 4 political analysts and 2 community leaders) and 1 focus group discussion with 3 community leaders. A total of 550 youth aged between 18 and 24 years participated in the survey (quantitative) phase of this research. Non-probability sampling was used in recruiting participants for this study. Purposive sampling was used for the qualitative phase while multi-staged convenience sampling was used in the survey phase. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) with the aid of the software Nvivo 9 was used in analyzing the qualitative data while the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19 was used in the analysis of the quantitative data. Results: Qualitative and survey results show that there are an array of factors at various levels influencing the youth in southern Nigeria to view cigarettes as attractive and less harmful. At the cultural environmental level, there exist traditional practices in some parts of Southern Nigeria that make cigarettes easily accessible to the youth. Contact with cigarettes as a minor was found to be the best predictor of smoking among other cultural factors involving tobacco use while exposure to second hand smoke was the best predictor of smoking. With an absence of a functional national tobacco control law presently, cigarette is cheap, easily accessible to young people and tobacco manufacturers and marketers still promote their businesses in many ways which target the youth. At the interpersonal level, youth were influenced majorly by their peers to initiate smoking but indirectly by parents, older sibling and role models who smoke. At the intrapersonal level, youth were found to smoke for a variety of reasons ranging from wading off depression, coping with social stress and wanting to live up to the expectations of friends. Youth’s knowledge about the effect of smoking on health and well-being did not translate to a desire to quit smoking. Conclusion/recommendations: The Nigerian government needs to take urgent steps to address the tobacco question in the country through policy formulation and implementation. There is need to raise more awareness in the population on the dangers of smoking. Cessation clinics are also needed to help those who desire to quit smoking. Cultural activities involving the use of cigarettes and other tobacco products need to be properly addressed through the right channel to ensure this practice is stopped. A theoretical model explaining the risk influences for smoking among the youth is presented and suggestions are made with regards to a re-categorization of constructs in the theory of triadic influence which guided this study. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

Attachment theories emphasize the importance of a secure attachment at all stages in life. In secure attachment relationships, individuals are confident that during times of real or perceived distress they can rely on the attachment figure to provide desired security. Conversely, individuals with insecure attachments feel they cannot rely on their attachment figures and thus will not be comforted in times of need. Lack of secure attachments can lead to psychological and behavioral difficulties. In the present study, maternal and peer attachments were investigated and related to levels of self-reported delinquency among 84 First Nations adolescent students, ages 11 to 17 from a reserve in a remote geographic location. The results from the present study appear to be congruent with the literature which reports that insecure attachments in youths lead to higher rates of delinquent behaviors. High levels of secure attachments in the participants resulted in low levels of reported delinquency, however the relationship between attachment and delinquency in adolescent participants was found to be dependent on the grade in school and gender interaction.