To date, little research has documented the prevalence of anti-gay behaviours on Canadian university campuses or directly explored heterosexual mens and womens self-reported reasons for holding negative attitudes toward gay men and engaging in anti-gay behaviours. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to: (1) assess the prevalence of anti-gay attitudes and behaviours on a Canadian university campus using the Attitudes Toward Gay Men Scale (ATG) and the Self-Report Behaviour Scale Revised (SBS-R); (2) describe heterosexual mens and womens lived experiences as perpetrators of homonegativity; and (3) explore how heterosexuals find meaning in their homonegativity within personal and social contexts. A mixed-methods approach was used wherein a quantitative questionnaire was administered to 286 university students in the first phase of the study. The majority of the participants scored below the midpoint of the ATG and they most often reported engaging in subtle behaviours directed toward gay men. In the second, qualitative phase of the study, open-ended interviews were conducted with eight individuals (four men and four women) who held negative attitudes toward gay men and had engaged in anti-gay behaviours. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The participants lived experiences of homonegativity were primarily characterized by their feelings of discomfort upon observing gay men display affection and their perceptions that gay men are feminine. For the most part, participants used their religious beliefs, negative affective reactions toward homosexuality, and their beliefs that homosexuality is wrong and unnatural to understand their homonegativity. Further, the participants indicated that they had only engaged in subtle anti-gay behaviours, such as joke-telling, social distancing, or avoidance. Many of the participants were concerned about being perceived as prejudiced and, consequently, monitored the behaviours they directed toward gay men. Limitations of the study and directions for future research concerning anti-gay behaviours are also presented.

This thesis investigated the relationship between subjective uncertainty, threat, and psychological and behavioural acculturation from the perspective of well-educated Canadian women who emigrated from Asia. In the first study, 153 women completed a questionnaire. These women lived in Canada for an average of 17 years, and were proficient in English. In the second study, in-depth qualitative interviews with three women who scored high and three women who scored low on the cultural uncertainty scale in the first study illustrated how women describe uncertainty in their lives. Subjective uncertainty reduction theory (SURT) posits that higher uncertainty leads to stronger group identification. However, Study 1 and Study 2 contradicted SURT, in that higher certainty was related to stronger cultural and Canadian identities. Women in this research identified strongly with their cultural group and as Canadians, they reported low levels of uncertainty, and they did not feel very threatened. Womens stories from Study 2 illustrate these findings. Moreover, threat and uncertainty were not related, suggesting that they are two conceptually different constructs. In Study 1, uncertainty and threat significantly contributed to the prediction of womens strength of social identifications after controlling for background variables, providing support for social identity theory. As well, Study 1 and Study 2 found support for the bidimensional approach to acculturation, remooring of cultural identity, and the compatibility of womens cultural and Canadian identities. These findings are consistent with past research, and suggest that women had very secure cultural and Canadian identities. The six interviews demonstrated the breadth and idiosyncratic nature of womens experiences. However, several themes revealed that social identifications served three functions for women: enhanced self-esteem, ingroup cooperation and cohesion, and social interactions. Whether these motives are derivatives of subjective uncertainty needs further investigation. Taken together, these results suggest that SURT may be more applicable as a theory of adaptation, in that the initial adjustment period may induce high uncertainty and insecure social identifications. More broadly, the findings suggest continued application of theory to real-life settings is critical to the investigation of the motivational dynamics of identity choice and maintenance.

To date, little research has documented the prevalence of anti-gay behaviours on Canadian university campuses or directly explored heterosexual mens and womens self-reported reasons for holding negative attitudes toward gay men and engaging in anti-gay behaviours. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to: (1) assess the prevalence of anti-gay attitudes and behaviours on a Canadian university campus using the Attitudes Toward Gay Men Scale (ATG) and the Self-Report Behaviour Scale Revised (SBS-R); (2) describe heterosexual mens and womens lived experiences as perpetrators of homonegativity; and (3) explore how heterosexuals find meaning in their homonegativity within personal and social contexts. A mixed-methods approach was used wherein a quantitative questionnaire was administered to 286 university students in the first phase of the study. The majority of the participants scored below the midpoint of the ATG and they most often reported engaging in subtle behaviours directed toward gay men. In the second, qualitative phase of the study, open-ended interviews were conducted with eight individuals (four men and four women) who held negative attitudes toward gay men and had engaged in anti-gay behaviours. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The participants lived experiences of homonegativity were primarily characterized by their feelings of discomfort upon observing gay men display affection and their perceptions that gay men are feminine. For the most part, participants used their religious beliefs, negative affective reactions toward homosexuality, and their beliefs that homosexuality is wrong and unnatural to understand their homonegativity. Further, the participants indicated that they had only engaged in subtle anti-gay behaviours, such as joke-telling, social distancing, or avoidance. Many of the participants were concerned about being perceived as prejudiced and, consequently, monitored the behaviours they directed toward gay men. Limitations of the study and directions for future research concerning anti-gay behaviours are also presented.

Aim: Whilst there is a wide range of research that explores ethics guidance and committee perspectives of research ethics processes, there is a lack of research into trainee experiences. The aim of this study was to explore Trainee Clinical Psychologists experience of the research ethics process and provide a platform to those voices. It was hoped that this research may be able to create a deeper understanding of applicants’ experiences, in which both positive and negative experiences of the application process can be shared and explored. This understanding could then potentially support ethics committees, training courses and applicants to work together and thus improve the application process and resulting research at a national level within the context of Clinical Psychology training. Method: This study adopted a qualitative approach in conducting semi-structured interviews with three Trainee and three Newly Qualified Clinical Psychologists who had applied for ethical approval for their Doctoral thesis. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in an attempt to illuminate the lived experience of applying for research ethical approval. Results: From the analytic procedure, three main themes emerged regarding the experience of research ethics processes from participants’ accounts: The emotional intensity and personal impact of the ethics process; Responses to and ways of managing the ethics process; and Challenges within the ethics process. Implications: This study highlights the importance of recognising the impact of the relationships between Trainee Clinical Psychologists, Clinical Psychology training courses and Research Ethics Committees upon trainees’ journey through the research ethics process. A ‘them and us’ dynamic is being maintained by misunderstandings about each other’s roles, uncertainty and stereotyping, amongst other factors. Potential ways to change this dynamic and improve the research ethics process during clinical Psychology Training has been explored.

The thesis presents the research on the experience of aliveness, planned on the basis of the theory of existential-phenomenological psychology and the conception of intersubjectivity. The critical analysis of literature has highlighted several inconsistencies within the concept of the experience of aliveness. The aims of the research were the following: a) to describe the phenomenological structure of the experience of aliveness; b) to reveal the regularities of the attribution of meanings to the experience of aliveness. With reference to the conception of intersubjectivity, six people aged 35-63 were selected to participate in the research, i.e. business managers and patients treated for depression. The unstructured interview method was employed and all research participants were asked the same initial question, “What does it mean for you to feel alive?” The research results were analysed with the help of the Interpretative Phenomenological analysis (IPA) method (according to Jonathan A. Smith). On the basis of the research findings, the following phenomenological definition has been developed: the experience of aliveness is a subjective status of emotional involvement of varying intensity, the main sources of which are the level of physical experience and interpersonal relations. The research has revealed that individual differences of the experience of aliveness are related to the following factors: emotional tension, the level of physical experience, interpersonal... [to full text] / Disertacijoje pristatytas gyvumo išgyvenimo tyrimas, suplanuotas remiantis egzistencine-fenomenologine psichologijos teorija ir intersubjektyvumo koncepcija. Kritinė literatūros analizė išryškino gyvumo išgyvenimo sampratos nenuoseklumus. Tyrimu siekta: a) aprašyti gyvumo išgyvenimo fenomenologinę struktūrą; b) atskleisti reikšmių gyvumo išgyvenimui priskyrimo dėsningumus. Remiantis intersubjektyvumo koncepcija, dalyvauti tyrime buvo atrinkti šeši 35-63 m. asmenys: verslo srityje dirbantys vadovai ir depresija sergantys ligoniai. Buvo atliktas nestruktūruotas interviu su visiems vienodu pradiniu klausimu: „Ką jums reiškia jaustis gyvam/ai?“. Tyrimo duomenys išanalizuoti pasitelkus interepretacinės fenomenologinės analizės metodą (pg. J.A.Smith). Remiantis tyrimo rezultatais buvo suformuluotas šis fenomenologinis apibrėžimas: gyvumo išgyvenimas – tai subjektyvi kintančio intensyvumo emocinio įsitraukimo būsena, kurios pagrindiniai šaltiniai – fizinis patyrimo lygmuo ir tarpasmeniniai santykiai. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad individualūs gyvumo išgyvenimo skirtumai yra susiję su šiais veiksniais: subjekto patiriama emocine įtampa, fiziniu patyrimo lygmeniu, tarpasmeniniais santykiais, laikiškumo išgyvenimu ir gebėjimu suteikti prasmę savo patyrimui. Apibendrinant tyrimo rezultatus, galima teigti, kad gyvumo išgyvenimas patiriamas optimalios fizinės, socialinės, psichologinės ir dvasinės stimuliacijos paieškos procese.

Autism-spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that are becoming increasingly more prevalent. A diagnostic criterion for autism is the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviours (RRBs), one of which is the intense fascinations for virtually any topic: circumscribed interests (CIs). CIs have the potential to be used for motivational purposes. This study employed semi-structured interviews using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) with individuals with ASDs and their parents. In total, 11 families participated in this study, comprising 33 individuals (16 parents and 17 individuals with ASDs). This study found five themes: He's Very Unique; They Don't Realize that Not Everyone Lives and Thinks the Same Thing All the Time; We Couldn't even Pronounce the Names of These Dinosaurs, and Jason was Telling Us; You Can't Change Them, You Can Only Love Them; and So I Can Do My Job at the Same Time and Observe the Weather at the Same Time.

No description available.

Drug abuse as well as risky sexual behaviours has been identified, globally as well as in South Africa, as social problems with dire consequences. Research suggests that crystal methamphetamine use leads to risky sexual behaviours such having unprotected sex, which can lead to unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STI's) including HIV infection. Adolescents as well as females have been identified as risk populations for both sexual risk behaviours and drug abuse. Furthermore, the Western Cape showed high rates of crystal methamphetamine addiction, especially in the under 20 age category, and the highest increase in the incidence of HIV infections in South Africa. This may be indicative of the magnitude of the problem of risky sexual behaviours in the context of crystal methamphetamine use in the Western Cape.

Burnout is a psychological concept that have got much attention since it was first defined in the middle of the 1970s. Although the definition of burnout differ there is consensus about exhaustion as the most important part of the concept. Burnout have also been in focus in sport psychology research. Mostly athletes have been studied but interest the coach profession have also been of interest. Research on coach burnout have mostly been directed towards demographic variables, organizational issues, behaviors and emotions and more holistic perspectives covering larger models or theories. The aims with this thesis was to try to fill some of the knowledge gaps from earlier coach burnout research with three studies. Study 1 aimed to study subjective experiences associated with perceived causes and symptoms of burnout and the subsequent recovery process. Eight elite soccer coaches who previously had been troubled with high scores of the exhaustion was interviewed. We found two burnout profiles that matched the coaches’ perceived causes of burnout. The first was associatedwith problems in handling the performance culture itself and the second had to do with the overall situation, including workload, family and health. Our findings describe coach burnout as stemming from a combination of issues, related to both home and work. When combined with work overload, coaches who have problems handling the performance culture in elite sports, and who lack the tools to enhance recovery, are particularly vulnerable to burnout. Study 2 focused on evaluating three self-report burnout measures that are available for researchers to use. Our analysis included Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and Coach Burnout Questionnaire (CBQ). The main findings were that there are psychometric problems with all three measures and that MBI and OLBI cover similar definitions of burnout and CBQ cover somewhat different dimensions. Of the three methods that were tested CBQ seem to be most suitable for the coaching context. However, CBQ also have several problems and other burnout measures need to be evaluated in the coach context. Study 3 focused on the associations between workaholic tendencies and combining coaching job with having a family or a spouse, which can be a stressor since the work situation and family situation can be hard to combine. The main findings were that work seem to interfere more with family life than family life interfere with working live. Further workaholic tendencies and exhaustion was not associated. When interpreting the aggregated results from the thesis there are two main findings. First, the way coach burnout has been measured until now is unsatisfying. Although the development of a coach specific measure (CBQ) is promising, further development is needed, both when it comes to the theoretical aspects of the burnout construct and psychometric issues. Second, the symptoms and perceived causes in coach burnout is highly individual and makes burnout a very personal experience. Future research should focus on both the origins as well as the measurement of thisdetrimental concept. / Utbrändhet är ett psykologiskt begrepp som har fått mycket uppmärksamhet sedan den först introducerades i mitten av 1970-talet. Även om synen på vad utbrändhet är skiljer sig åt finns en enighet om att utmattning är huvudsymptomet. Utbrändhet har studerats inom idrottspsykologisk forskning sedan början av 1980-talet. Mestadels har intresset legat på idrottare men intresse har också riktats mot tränaryrket. Forskning om tränares utbrändhet har främst intresserat sig för demografiska variabler, organisationens påverkan, beteenden och känslor samt mer övergripande modeller eller teorier som täcker flera områden. Syftet med denna avhandling var att försöka fylla en del av de kunskapsluckor som funnits i tidigare forskning med tre studier. Studie 1 syftade till att studera tränares subjektiva upplevelser av utmattning kopplat till upplevda orsaker och symptom av utbrändhet samt vägen tillbaka från utbrändhet. Åtta elitfotbollstränare som tidigare hade haft problem med utmattning intervjuades. Huvudresultatet i studien var att det fanns två sätt att uppfatta utbrändhetsprocessen. Antingen såg man miljön runt elitfotbollen som den stora orsaken eller så upplevdes hela livssituationen med små stressande händelser kopplade till arbetsbelastning, familj och hälsa som problematiska. Studie 2 fokuserade på att utvärdera tre frågeformulär som är lämpliga i en tränarkontext. I analysen ingår Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), som oftast använts, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) och Coach Burnout Questionnaire (CBQ). De viktigaste resultaten var att det dels finns problem med alla tre samt att MBI och OLBI täcker liknande definitioner av utbrändhet medan CBQ mäter lite andra aspekter. Slutsatsen från studien är att CBQ verkar passa bäst för den kontext där idrottstränare arbetar även om CBQ också har en del problematiska inslag. Studie 3 fokuserade på arbetsnarkomani och att kombinera tränarjobb med familjeliv har ett samband med utmattning. Huvudresultaten i studie 3 var att det framförallt verkar vara arbetet som störa familjelivet än familjelivet som stör arbetslivet. Ytterligare fanns inget statistiskt stöd att arbetsnarkomani skulle ha ett samband med utmattning. När det sammanlagda resultatet från hela avhandlingen tolkas utifrån vilken ny kunskap denna avhandling tillför finns två huvudbidrag. Det första är att problemen med de frågeformulär som hittills använts för att mäta utbrändhet har lyfts upp. Även om det är lovande att det utvecklats ett idrottsspecifikt formulär finns tillgängligt så finns det både teoretiska och mättekniska aspekter som behöver utvecklas. Det andra bidraget är att de symptom som ingår i upplevelsen av utbrändhet verkar vara olika för olika individer. Framtida forskning bör fokusera både på hur teoretiska och mättekninska aspekter av utbrändhetsbegreppet.

Christian Science is one of several religious groups with doctrines that suggest that medical use hinders spiritual development and/or is ineffective. Because of the beliefs, Christian Science has faced controversy in both Canada and the United States, and experiences difficulty maintaining a committed following. In some cases, Scientists who choose to rely on Christian Science risk increased pain or death for themselves or their children. This study seeks to identify the influences that Scientists face when deciding upon a healthcare option for themselves and their children. I applied interpretative phenomenological analysis to eleven interviews with current Canadian Scientists and one interview with a former Scientist. In addition, I analyzed biographies, church policies and doctrines, Canadian laws, and relevant court cases to contextualize my data. I concluded that Scientists use diverse forms of healthcare (some of which may be risky).