Adolescents are coming to high school counselors to talk about sexuality for various reasons and the purpose of this study is to gain an enhanced understanding of how adolescents in high school talk regarding sexuality and LGBTQ. The empirical material is assembled on eight narrative interviews with high school counselors. The school counselors have through their experiences in meeting adolescents, submitted stories about the adolescents´ conversations regarding sexuality to us. The empirical data were analyzed by a standard critical perspective and with the help of heteronormativity it made norms about what is normal and abnormal visible and problematized. The result demonstrates that adolescents are influenced by norms of society, the media, family and friends. The main discussion areas of sexuality and LGBTQ, as seen in this study, are the media, social context plus norms and values. Adolescents express themselves in various ways and they are generally described as up-front, in case of discussing sexuality. To get a deeper insight into the empirical material we have used a narrative analysis that contributed reconstructions based on specific themes of the school counselors stories. The study's main findings is that adolescents surroundings, self-identity and self-esteem are the underlying factors of why adolescents talk with school counselors about sexuality. These three factors influence how adolescents talk about sexuality and what the conversations with the school counselors contains. / Ungdomar vänder sig till gymnasiekuratorn av olika anledningar för att prata om sexualitet och studiens syfte är att få en ökad förståelse för hur gymnasieungdomar samtalar om sexualitet och HBTQ med kuratorer. Det empiriska materialet grundar sig på åtta narrativa intervjuer med gymnasiekuratorer. Kuratorerna har genom sina erfarenheter av att möta ungdomar, berättat för oss om ungdomars samtal gällande sexualitet. Empirin har analyserats genom ett normkritiskt perspektiv och med hjälp av heteronormativitet har vi synliggjort och problematiserat normer om vad som anses normalt och avvikande. Resultatet visar att ungdomar påverkas av normer från samhället, media, familj och vänner. De främsta samtalsområdena inom sexualitet och HBTQ är media, social kontext och normer samt värderingar. Ungdomar uttrycker sig på olika sätt vid samtalen och de är överlag öppna kring att samtala om sexualitet. För att få en fördjupad insikt i det empiriska materialet har vi använt en narrativ analys som bidragit till rekonstruktioner av kuratorernas berättelser utifrån särskilda teman. Studiens viktigaste resultat är att ungdomars omgivning, självidentitet och självkänsla är bakomliggande faktorer till varför ungdomar samtalar med gymnasiekuratorer om sexualitet. Dessa tre faktorer påverkar hur ungdomar pratar om sexualitet och vad samtalen med kuratorn handlar om.

Master of Science/Doctor of Clinical Psychology / Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that over 40% of all Australian children moved at least one time in the census period from 1996 to 2001 (ABS, 2001). The literature varies in the impact that this has on children. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between residential relocation, resilience and the emotional, behavioural and academic adjustment of children 8-12 years of age who had moved. Risk factors as identified in the literature as well as the relative impact of resilience were examined. By studying how adjustment occurs in the context of resilience, possible areas for prevention and intervention may be developed for the large numbers of children who move. Results showed that the sample population was in the normal range in academic and behavioural terms. The sample was found to have repeated more grades than average; however the children did not exhibit significant behavioural or emotional consequences. A number of demographic factors have been indicated in the literature as affecting adjustment after residential relocations, yet these were generally not found to be significantly associated with adjustment for this study population. Socioeconomic status was the only factor other than resilience to have been significantly associated with adjustment. Possibly due to the developmental stage of the participants, only the resilience subscales of interpersonal strength and school functioning were found to be significant in their positive association with adjustment, leading to fewer behavioural and academic problems. While the children in this study have all had the potential stress of moving house, the demographic characteristics of this sample would suggest that they might not have had to encounter multiple life challenges or adversities. This conclusion may help explain the lack of significant effects of demographic factors on the adjustment of the children in this sample. Results highlight the importance of good schooling and that the core business of schools in building and enhancing the intellectual functioning of children, is a vital component in the development of resilience. These findings suggest that different aspects of resilience may be important for different developmental stages and different life stressors. The distinction between cause and effect when examining resilience factors is discussed and it is suggested that outcomes in one context may be treated as influences upon outcomes in another context.

Master of Science/Doctor of Clinical Psychology / Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that over 40% of all Australian children moved at least one time in the census period from 1996 to 2001 (ABS, 2001). The literature varies in the impact that this has on children. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between residential relocation, resilience and the emotional, behavioural and academic adjustment of children 8-12 years of age who had moved. Risk factors as identified in the literature as well as the relative impact of resilience were examined. By studying how adjustment occurs in the context of resilience, possible areas for prevention and intervention may be developed for the large numbers of children who move. Results showed that the sample population was in the normal range in academic and behavioural terms. The sample was found to have repeated more grades than average; however the children did not exhibit significant behavioural or emotional consequences. A number of demographic factors have been indicated in the literature as affecting adjustment after residential relocations, yet these were generally not found to be significantly associated with adjustment for this study population. Socioeconomic status was the only factor other than resilience to have been significantly associated with adjustment. Possibly due to the developmental stage of the participants, only the resilience subscales of interpersonal strength and school functioning were found to be significant in their positive association with adjustment, leading to fewer behavioural and academic problems. While the children in this study have all had the potential stress of moving house, the demographic characteristics of this sample would suggest that they might not have had to encounter multiple life challenges or adversities. This conclusion may help explain the lack of significant effects of demographic factors on the adjustment of the children in this sample. Results highlight the importance of good schooling and that the core business of schools in building and enhancing the intellectual functioning of children, is a vital component in the development of resilience. These findings suggest that different aspects of resilience may be important for different developmental stages and different life stressors. The distinction between cause and effect when examining resilience factors is discussed and it is suggested that outcomes in one context may be treated as influences upon outcomes in another context.

Although researchers studying adolescent aggression have proposed a conceptual distinction between physical and relational aggression, there is contradictory evidence regarding the degree to which they differ in their trajectories and relations to other outcomes. This study explored the importance of differentiating between these two forms of aggression based on comparisons of their trajectories, relation with each other, impact on delinquency and substance use, and gender differences. Data were collected as part of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project, conducted at 19 middle schools from four sites with a predominantly low-income, minority sample of students (N = 2,822). Growth curves showed significant linear increases and quadratic trends for physical and relational aggression. Boys and girls had similar shaped trajectories, but boys reported significantly higher levels of physical aggression than girls. Bivariate latent growth curve models and autoregressive models suggested that physical aggression was a stronger predictor of externalizing difficulties than relational aggression.