This study aims to investigate the perception and experience of emotion self-regulation in a group of late adolescents. An exploratory, qualitative survey design was used to collect data from a group of 54 Afrikaans-speaking late adolescents by means of a semi structured emotion self-regulation questionnaire. Data were assessed by means of directed thematic content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). It was established that participants primarily have a positive perception of emotions, and that more participants display higher levels of emotion awareness. However, despite this, most participants experience emotions negatively. At most, therefore, a balance is struck between the constructive and unconstructive handling of emotions. Throughout it was endeavoured to relate the results to late adolescence as a developmental stage. Study conclusions include that emotion self-regulation in late adolescents is strongly influenced by uncertainty about the handling of emotions, self-consciousness with regard to emotions in a social context, and a lack of self-control. A few recommendations are made on the basis of these conclusions. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study aims to investigate the perception and experience of emotion self-regulation in a group of late adolescents. An exploratory, qualitative survey design was used to collect data from a group of 54 Afrikaans-speaking late adolescents by means of a semi structured emotion self-regulation questionnaire. Data were assessed by means of directed thematic content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). It was established that participants primarily have a positive perception of emotions, and that more participants display higher levels of emotion awareness. However, despite this, most participants experience emotions negatively. At most, therefore, a balance is struck between the constructive and unconstructive handling of emotions. Throughout it was endeavoured to relate the results to late adolescence as a developmental stage. Study conclusions include that emotion self-regulation in late adolescents is strongly influenced by uncertainty about the handling of emotions, self-consciousness with regard to emotions in a social context, and a lack of self-control. A few recommendations are made on the basis of these conclusions. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Experiencing the death of a loved one is often life changing, and learning ways to cope is an important part of the healing process. Such a change can be particularly difficult for late adolescents (individuals between 18 and 25 years of age) who are already going through significant life changes. Spirituality and mental health has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years, and the Association for Spirituality, Ethics, and Religious Values in Counseling has developed competencies for counselors to use when working with clients who wish to incorporate spirituality in their treatment. Despite increased interest in the field, there is little scholarly literature on the use of spirituality in counseling late adolescents who are experiencing grief and loss. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the meaning and role of spirituality and spiritual practices in the grieving processes of late adolescents. Existential theory provided the framework for the study. Participants were recruited from a local grief center, college, and university as well as CESnet and ASERVIC listservs. Seven late adolescents took part in semistructured interviews regarding their grieving process. Lindseth and Norberg's phenomenological hermeneutical method was used to analyze the data consisting of naïve reading, structural analysis, and comprehensive understanding. Themes included experiences with death, surviving the loss, and changes. Findings indicated that spiritual practices were beneficial in helping grieving late adolescents cope with the death of a loved one. Results may provide counselors with additional ways to work with this population during their grieving process.

Based on hypothesized relations advanced by Cummings and Davies (1995), the current study tests the hypothesis that parental availability and parental control, experienced during middle adolescence, relate to late adolescents' adjustment through influence on their emotional security. The study also examines the role of late adolescents' emotional intelligence and its relationship with parental behaviors, emotional security, and adolescents' adjustment. This study proposes a model of relationships where emotional security and emotional intelligence influence each other and mediate the relationship between parental behaviors and late adolescents' adjustment. Regression analyses show partial support for the hypotheses. / Ph. D.

Student engagement is a multifaceted construct gaining increased interest within the fields of psychology and education. Current literature suggests that student engagement is linked to important student outcomes including academic achievement, psychopathology, and mental wellness; however, there is a dearth of studies that have examined all components of student engagement simultaneously as they relate to the aforementioned outcomes. Additionally, past literature has found support for a decreasing trend in student engagement across the school years, but less attention has been paid to student engagement in the high school years. Among high school students, a particular subgroup has been virtually ignored: high-achieving students enrolled in college-level curricula such as International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP). Research questions answered in the current study pertain to: (a) differences in the components of student engagement among IB and AP students, (b) differences in the components of student engagement of IB and AP students across grade level, (c) the extent to which student engagement relates to academic achievement, and (d) the extent to which student engagement relates to mental health. To answer these questions, self-report surveys and school records data from 727 IB and AP high school students were analyzed. Several main effects for program type and grade level were found among the various dimensions of engagement, as well as two interactions between program type and grade level. Regarding predictive relationships, results indicate that the linear combination of all seven indicators of student engagement accounted for 19.56% of the variance in students' academic achievement, 17.47% of the variance in students' life satisfaction, and 6.17% of the variance in students' anxiety. Implications for school psychologists and future directions are discussed.

Late-adolescent African American students face unique difficulties on their journey to womanhood. As members of a double minority (i.e., African American and female) (Jean & Feagin, 1998), certain limiting stereotypes relevant to both race and gender pose challenges to these students. They must overcome these challenges in order to excel within the various and changing environments they move through on a daily basis (hooks, 1981, 1994). Within the context of social justice, this dissertation provides insight into the role that language and literacy practices play to help enable the positive and affirming development of self-hood of African American college freshmen. This research is qualitative and employs critical narrative inquiry to analyze data collected from six academically high-achieving African American female freshmen college students attending Ivy League, Historically Black Colleges, and private and state universities in the United States.

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The thesis titled “The theory of thwarted belongingness and its relation to youth violence” presents the findings of a qualitative study that focussed on late adolescents who have committed physical assault and who were referred to a diversion programme by a court. The study followed a grounded theory methodology approach for which convenience sampling, purposeful sampling and theoretical sampling were used to obtain participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data were analysed through constant comparative analysis. From the analysis the theory on thwarted belongingness emerged that explains how the adolescents attempt to negotiate a sense of belonging. The theory further explains how failed negotiations are dealt with and when one could expect violent behaviour to occur. In general, the current research study creates awareness of the psychological non-shared environment and its potential role in the development of behaviour. Future research should be focussed on the saturation of categories and dimensions that have not been fully saturated in the current study and to test the theory of thwarted belongingness since it is a newly generated theoretical stance that needs to be validated. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)