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Background: According to the existing evidence base, the experience of ending therapy, from the perspectives of adolescents who are looked after, is substantially under researched. Moreover, the ending of therapy is highlighted as an important phase of the therapy process and previous research into ending therapy indicates this as a valuable area of research. The available literature indicates that those with a history of loss may find the ending phase particularly challenging. It was hoped that the research findings may assist Clinical Psychologists and other therapists to make sense of how young people experience ending therapy, and may also highlight ways in which therapists can support looked after young people through this transition. Aims: The study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the way in which young people who are looked after make sense of ending psychological therapy. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six looked after adolescents who had recently ended psychological therapy. The transcripts of the interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Four master themes emerged from analysis: inextricable link between therapy and therapy relationship, ambivalence, means of coping and moving on from therapy. Implications and Conclusion: This study highlights the need for careful and on going consideration of the ending phase of therapy with this population. It also gives further support to the significance of the therapeutic relationship and consideration of this at the end of therapy. Areas for future research are highlighted, notably the value of conducting further research with looked after young people, to explore factors such as culture and gender on the experience of ending therapy.

The purpose of this study was to examine psychosomaticsymptomsissuesamongst children and adolescents between the ages of 0-18 years and to clarify the underlying factors.Method: Literature study based on 10 scientific articles.Results: Psychosomatic issues amongst children and adolescents, due to stress, were common in Europe and Scandinavia. The symptoms varied between gender and age. The underlying factors were mainly school environmental issues, home conditions, socio-economic situations and disputes with teachers and peers. The symptoms varied from headache, gastro intestinal problems and insomnia to eating disorders, depression and pounding heart.               Conclusion: The future of children’s psychosomatic health depends on interventions on all levels of society since they are affected by everything from school environment and home conditions to unemployment and recession. / Syftet med denna studie var att belysa psykosomatiska symptom hos barn och ungdomar i åldrarna 0-18 år samt tydliggöra bakomliggande orsaker.Metod: Litteraturstudie baserat på 10 stycken vetenskapliga artiklar.Resultat: Barn i Europa, främst Skandinavien, upplevde olika psykosomatiska symptom till följd av stressande händelser och dessa symptom varierade även mellan ålder och kön. Skolmiljön var en stor utlösande faktor, likväl som hemförhållanden, socioekonomisk situation och osämja med lärare, jämnåriga och familjemedlemmar. Symptomen var allt från huvudvärk, mag- tarmproblem och sömnsvårigheter till nedstämdhet, ätstörningar och hjärtklappning.Slutsats: Barns framtida psykosomatiska hälsa är beroende av insatser på alla nivåer i samhället, då de påverkas av allt från skolmiljöerna de befinner sig i och hemförhållanden, till arbetslöshet och lågkonjunktur.

Introduction: This thesis had two primary aims. The first aim was to systematically review the literature investigating trauma symptoms in children and adolescents aged five to eighteen years who had been exposed to domestic abuse. The second aim was to complete an empirical study investigating predictors of trauma symptoms and the relational nature of trauma in women and children aged five to eighteen years who had been exposed to domestic abuse. Method: For the first aim, a systematic literature search identified eligible studies that met predefined inclusion criteria. Following data extraction, the studies were rated against methodological quality criteria. For the second aim, using a quantitative, cross-sectional design, 84 women self-reported on experiences of domestic abuse, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and trauma and their child’s trauma symptoms. Analyses investigated the relationship between exposure to domestic abuse and trauma symptoms, predictors of trauma symptoms and whether maternal trauma symptoms moderated the relationship between exposure to domestic abuse and child trauma symptoms. Results: The systematic review identified 14 studies that were eligible for inclusion. Two studies were rated as high quality, ten as acceptable quality and two as low quality. A consistent relationship between exposure to DA and trauma symptoms in children and adolescents was reported, regardless of study quality. The empirical study found a significant relationship between exposure to physical and psychological abuse and trauma symptoms in children aged five to eighteen years. Maternal trauma symptoms were both significantly correlated with and a significant predictor of child trauma symptoms supporting the relational nature of trauma in this population. The interaction was not significant, indicating that maternal trauma symptoms was not a moderator, and the relationship between domestic abuse and child trauma symptoms was present at low, medium and high levels of maternal trauma symptom severity. Conclusion: Across included studies the systematic review found a consistent but variable prevalence of PTSD and trauma symptoms in children and adolescents exposed to domestic abuse, highlighting the importance of assessment and evidence based intervention in this population. Results should be interpreted whilst taking into account the strengths and limitations of individual studies and the overall review. The majority of children in the research study were experiencing trauma symptom severity within the range of clinical concern. The relational nature of trauma was supported in mothers and children exposed to domestic abuse highlighting that treatment should be family based and delivered concurrently to mothers and their children. Results are discussed and should be interpreted whilst considering the limitations discussed.

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Research into bullying has been mainly quantitative, and of the few existing qualitative studies, fewer still have explored the perspectives of identified bullies. This study employs a mixed method design within a personal construct psychology perspective. The main research questions were: how do young people who bully others construe themselves and those whom they bully and what problems does bullying behaviour solve for those who bully. This was achieved by carrying out in-depth repertory grid analysis, content analysis of grid constructs and construct poles from self-characterisations. Participants were recruited from educational support centres, and were identified as individuals who display bullying behaviours. This study revealed that the participants tended to construe themselves in quite concrete terms, and as actively socially interactive. Participants construed themselves when bullying in terms of low tenderness, high forcefulness and emotional arousal. They construed typical victims in terms of high tenderness, low forcefulness and low status. The element „self when bullying‟ was found to be more elaborated and meaningful to the group than the element „self when not bullying‟. This might suggest that the participants have a more elaborated construct system in this area because it is causing them particular difficulties. Implicative dilemmas were identified for all the participants as potential barriers to change. For two participants this seemed directly relevant to understanding why their bullying behaviours may be difficult to change. Potential interventions drawing on personal construct psychology methods are discussed. One of this study‟s limitations was its small sample size, however the study shows support for using repertory grid methods to investigate bullying among young people and further research is recommended.

Creativity has received significant interest in variety of fields and disciplines with a major focus on individual level creativity. As more and more achievements started originating from groups, researchers turned their attention to creativity on group level. Current thesis explores the group creativity as well as flow experience in collaboration. It explores the group creativity phenomena and its correlates in different contexts, age groups and cultures. The overarching aim of the thesis is to extend our knowledge on group creativity and contribute to open questions in the field such as - How does (group) creativity develop? Which interpersonal and motivational processes play a role in group creativity? How can we measure group creativity? In four studies, the present research found that (social) flow can be explained by empathy and motivation of group members as well as domain of performance. To build on these results, the role of interpersonal processes in group creativity was explored with adults. While closeness was found to benefit group creativity, combination of closeness with perspective taking was harmful on creative performance. Moreover, with an aim to understand how group creativity develops, this thesis explored group creativity in children and adolescents from England and Turkey. Across these two samples, group creativity performance developed with age and advances in social perspective coordination was one mechanism explaining that development. Additionally, study conducted with Turkish children found task cohesion as a facilitator of group creativity. Major similarities in findings obtained from two samples implicated cultural universality in development of group creativity, however, slight differences in results pointed to the possibility of culture-specific differences in processes underlying group creativity. Finally, the current thesis contributed to literature by adopting and validating a collaborative story writing method as a promising measurement of group creativity. Overall, the studies presented in this thesis illustrate the role that interpersonal and motivational process play in group creativity practices of different age groups and cultures. Findings lead us to the next steps on the adventurous discovery of group creativity.

Introduction: Puberty is a crucial period for rapid changes in bone mineral, size, geometry, and microarchitecture. The mechanostat theory postulates that increased mechanical loading will affect bone phenotype and strength during development and in later life. Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis and fragility fractures in young adulthood, which may be caused by poor growth. The aim was to investigate whether sex and disease status modified the relationship between: 1) puberty and bone, and 2) muscle and bone. This would contribute to the understanding of how sex (males vs. females) and disease group (CF vs.controls) alters the relationship between bone and muscle in children and adolescents as they transition through puberty and who, on a population level, differ in the prevalence of osteoporosis and risk of fracture in later life. Methods and Analyses: This observational study used novel imaging and muscle assessment techniques to measure bone and muscle parameters in White Caucasian children and adolescents, aged 8 to 16 years, living in the UK, with children with CF (n=65) and controls (n=151). Anthropometry and pubertal status were assessed. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT), high-resolution pQCT, and jumping mechanography were used to measure bone and muscle outcomes. ANCOVA with Scheffé post hoc and multiple linear regression tests were performed. Data were adjusted according to the research aims and included covariates; sex, disease group, pubertal stage, age, quadratic age, height, weight, maximum force (Fmax), and maximum power (Pmax). Data are presented as beta-coefficient (%) and p-value, with the significance level set to p < 0.05. Results: In height adjusted analyses, among healthy participants, females had smaller bones and lower bone density compared to males. With pubertal maturation, females had lower apparent gains in the distal and proximal total area (Tt.Ar and CSA), distal cortical porosity (Ct.Po) and proximal bone strength (SSI) but higher apparent gains in distal and proximal cortical bone density(Ct.BMD, Ct.TMD, vBMD). Females had consistently lower distal total area (total CSA) and density (total vBMD), distal trabecular density(BV/TV) and number(Tb.N), and proximal cortical area(CSA) compared to males, across all stages of puberty. With increasing muscle force (Fmax), females had higher apparent gains in total body less head bone mineral (TBLH BMC) and bone area(BA), distal total and trabecular density (total and trab vBMD) compared to males. In contrast, with increasing muscle power (Pmax), females had higher apparent gains in distal total and cortical densities (D100, Ct.BMD and Ct.TMD), and distal trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and proximal cortical density (cortical vBMD) but lower apparent gains in distal cortical porosity (Ct.Po) and trabecular number (Tb.N) compared to males. In height adjusted analyses, participants with CF had smaller bones and lower bone density compared to controls. With increasing pubertal maturation, participants with CF had lower apparent gains in total body less head bone mineral and bone area, and in distal trabecular density, cortical porosity, and trabecular thickness compared to controls. Participants with CF had consistently lower distal total and cortical area, distal total and trabecular densities and proximal bone strength compared to controls, across all stages of puberty. With increasing muscle force, participants with CF had lower apparent gains in total body less head bone mineral and bone area, distal total density, trabecular density, and trabecular number. In contrast, with increasing muscle power (Pmax), participants with CF had higher apparent gains in distal trabecular density (BV/TV) and trabecular number (Tb.N) compared to controls. Conclusion: These findings suggests that sex and disease status do modify the relationships between puberty and bone, and between muscle function and bone. Skeletal adaptation to muscle differs between sexes and in populations with chronic disease, which may explain sex and disease group differences in risks of osteoporosis and fracture. Bone adaptation to muscle in children with CF is altered, which may lead to narrow, under-mineralised bones, with lower bone strength in later life. Understanding better impairments in muscle functions may provide targets for intervention to improve skeletal health in later life.

Concerns relating to the management of externalising and internalising behaviour are prevalent within UK educational policy and practice and represent a key domain for Educational Psychologist (EP) support. EP practice has been subject to change over time, following shifts in legislative approaches to managing behaviour in schools and changes to the contexts and systems within which EPs work, such as increased service trading. A systematic literature review (SLR) sought to represent EP behaviour practices within the existing literature. 12 papers, published between 2000-2017 were identified using a PRISMA framework and evaluated for methodological quality, appropriateness and relevance of focus. An empirical investigation, utilising the Research and Development in Organisations (RADIO) model within a single-case design, was also conducted within a north-west local authority educational psychology service. A focus group with 5 EPs and the Principal EP (PEP), and an interview with the PEP, were carried out and thematically analysed. The SLR identified a range of behavioural practices at individual, group and organisational levels, exemplifying the core functions of the EP role. Single and integrated psychological paradigms were applied, within relational and social constructionist approaches. The empirical investigation identified a range of behavioural practices, and underlying psychological paradigms, alongside ideas for future developments in behaviour service delivery and the possible facilitators and barriers to achieving this were considered. Reflections on the utility and experience of EP involvement in action research were also facilitated, with content analysis findings presented. Links to theory and practice, and implications for future research are considered, including empirical investigation of EP practice within local contexts. The application of psychology within local contexts and service development processes, are also considered. Finally, following an exploration of the concepts of evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence, and their implications for practitioner psychologists, a dissemination strategy for sharing findings with participants and the wider EP community is proposed.