The purpose of this study was to adapt a measure for coping in outdoor adventure activities that reliable and valid inferences could be made. To do this, the constructs were clearly defined; relevant items were written representing the constructs. An expert panel reviewed the items for content validity, and the instrument was administered to subjects to gather evidence supporting the reliability and validity of inferences. The instrument adapted will provide a foundation for future research and understanding related to outdoor adventure coping skills. In addition, evidence supporting the reliability and validity of inferences of the assessment serve to measure outcomes in adventure and wilderness therapy programs.

Student Number : 9604621R - MEd (Ed Psyc) research report - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / The Adolescent Stress Identification Inventory (ASII) was developed specifically to identify stress in South African adolescents. It consists of structured questions in response to which the subject is required to rate a statement according to a given scale. The purpose of this research was to assess the usefulness of the ASII as a structured inventory for identifying stress in adolescent girls who attend a private high school in Johannesburg. The sample of adolescents used in this research comprised only of English speaking girls but with the added dimension of the different race groupings namely White, Black, Chinese, Indian and Coloured. This allowed the researcher to compare the stressors identified by Kruger (1992) with the comparative female age cohort selected in this sample and identify and compare the stressors amongst the different racial groups. Understanding what types of things adolescents find stressful in relation to their stage of development is important in helping the adolescent cope with their “daily hassles” and assists teachers, parents and psychologists in treating and preventing the symptoms of stress. Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development is used as a basis for understanding the complex interaction and integration of physical, psychological and social factors that characterize adolescence as a period of development. The findings from this research suggest that the stressors identified by grade 10 and grade 11 girls, can be viewed in terms of the factors associated with the ASII, namely societal demands, self-concept, future expectations, relations and positive experience. The ASII was able to identify stressors and detect the similarities and differences of the types of concerns that the adolescents from the different race groups perceived as stressful. It is recommended that the ASII is used in conjunction with a qualitative means of acquiring more information about the respondents stress experience.

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Adolescence is a stressful time for many children. Changes in their environment or changes in social situations are some typical stressors that an adolescent child might encounter. Interactions with parents can also be a stressor for a child. Previous research has shown that a risk factor for a parent using harsh parenting techniques is perceived control. Parents who have low perceived control are at a higher risk to engage in physical parenting techniques or child abuse. This study included 198 middle school students and their female parent or guardian pairs (296 total participants), with the adolescent participants ranging in age from 10-year-old to 14-years-old. The adult participants were evaluated for their level of perceived control and the adolescent participants were evaluated for their level of perceived stress. The results showed that parents who perceived themselves as have a low amount of control over their child's behavior (low ACF), regardless of the level of control the parents perceived the child to have over their own behavior (CCF), were linked with their child have a high level of perceived stress, F (1, 182) = 5.14, p = .025. This effect was found only for the 14-year-old participants, t (30) = 2.774, p = .009. Implications of thesis results and areas of further research are suggested. It is possible that as a child gets older and enters puberty, the parent of the child feels as if they are losing control over their child and, as a result, resort to more forceful parenting techniques to regain control.

Many risk factors have been put forward to account for the significant increase in adolescent male suicide over the last 20 years, and the pronounced sex difference in suicide statistics. In particular, hopelessness has been shown to be a strong indicator of suicidality. This study investigated the relationship of gender role, stress, and coping to hopelessness in a normal adolescent population. It was hypothesized that stress, coping and a masculine gender role would contribute to hopelessness. 288 adolescent students between the ages of 15 and 18 were surveyed using the Adolescent Stress Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Australian Sex Role Scale, and the Adolescent Coping Scale. Contrary to expectation, having a masculine gender role was not related to hopelessness; students with an undifferentiated gender role had higher levels of hopelessness than androgynous, masculine, and feminine students. However, the majority of students who had an undifferentiated gender role were male. Hopelessness was also associated with high levels of stress and the use of avoidance coping strategies. The results are discussed within the transactional stress model and the stress-diathesis model.