The purpose of this study was to determine adolescents' level of interest and engagement in risk behaviours as it relates to adolescents' and parents' perceptions of the parenting variables, demandingness and responsiveness. Data were collected from both adolescents and parents. The sample was obtained from two schools: (a) 44 Grade 8 students (28 girls, 16 boys) from a local junior high school and their parents (44 mothers, 37 fathers) ; and (b) 33 Grade 8 students (10 girls, 23 boys) from a second local junior high school. In order to examine perceptions of parenting, participants were asked to complete a 33 item questionnaire adapted from Lamborn et al.'s (1991) parenting measure and Greenberg's (1991) Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Adolescents were also asked to report on their level of engagement in 26 risk behaviours, adapted from Lavery et al.'s (1993) 23-item Risk Involvement and Perception Scale. Results indicate adolescents' interest in becoming involved in risk behaviours although a relatively low incidence of actual engagement in risk behaviours is evidenced at this time. Adolescents from one school report significantly higher interest in risk behaviours than those from the other (F₃,₇₃ = 4.98, p<.03). However, the relationships between adolescents' ratings of risk behaviours and the two parenting variables were similar at the two schools. Findings were, therefore, reported for the combined group of adolescents (N = 77) . Adolescents' perceptions of parental demandingness and responsiveness were relatively positive overall. Relationships between adolescents' perceptions of parental demandingness and responsiveness, particularly with regard to mothers, were inversely related to interest in risk behaviours (ranging from r = -.62 to r = -.35 for Total Risk Behaviour). Multiple regression analyses indicated that mothers' demandingness, as perceived by adolescents, is the most significant predictor (Standard beta = -.56, p.001) of teens' interest propensity for engagement in risk behaviours. Adolescents' perceptions of parenting are more strongly related to their interest in risk behaviours than are parents' perceptions of their own parenting. Discrepancy scores between perceptions of demandingness and responsiveness indicate that parents typically rated themselves higher on the parenting variables than did their teens. However, the absolute magnitude of discrepancy in parental demandingness was found to be only moderately associated with adolescents' ratings of risk behaviours (r = .32) and no relationship was found for discrepant perceptions of parental responsiveness. Four parenting style groups (Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive Indulgent, and Permissive Indifferent), based on Baumrind's conceptual framework, were formed on the basis of adolescents' ratings of their parents' demandingness and responsiveness. Adolescents parented Authoritatively (scores above the median on both variables) reported the lowest level of interest in risk behaviours, whereas teens from Permissive Indifferent families report the highest (F₃,₄₅ = 8.03, p < . 001) . A qualitative study was conducted by examining adolescents' use of leisure time. Eight adolescents, a male and a female chosen from each of the four parenting groups, completed a four-day Activity Log describing what they did, where, and with whom in out-of-school time. Those who were parented Authoritatively reported the fewest risk factors and the lowest level of interest in risk behaviours. Further investigation of adolescents' interest or engagement in risk behaviours, using the Activity Log in conjunction with comprehensive interviews, is warranted. This study contributes to knowledge in this area in several ways: (a) a wide range of risk behaviours was examined in relation to the parenting variables, demandingness and responsiveness; (b) in addition to adolescents' data, both fathers' and mothers' data were examined in relation to adolescents' interest and engagement in risk behaviour; and, (c) new measures, some derived from others' work and one newly created, were employed. / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to find the relationship between adolescent premarital sexual activity and involvement in the family, school, and church. The sample was composed of 192 adolescents. The data were analyzed for significant relationships by using chi square test of independence. The study found that there were significant relationships between adolescent premarital sexual activity and family structure, family mobility, parental employment, grade level achievement, and parental attendance at school functions. Since the findings of a study of this nature are pertinent to society, further research needs to be done using a more heterogeneous sample and a more refined, limited instrument. The instrument should be further tested for reliability and validity.

Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / My thesis was designed to shed light on the numerous ways in which a small group of forty three orphaned Holocaust survivors adapted to their new lives in Australia, whilst keeping their preferred Jewish practices. I have attempted to explain the reasons for their choices in doing so. The majority abandoned their belief in the existence of God but felt obliged to keep, preserve and manifest a Jewish identity. This was achieved by celebrating some Jewish traditions. A few retained both belief in God and Jewish practices. All interviewees were born between 1927 and 1932. They originated from seven European countries and came from homes where the degree of Jewish observance varied. They survived the Holocaust whether incarcerated, in hiding or rescued by early Kindertransporte. The education and schooling of all the interviewees had been disrupted as a consequence of the Holocaust. A few continued their studies and completed tertiary education at university or technical college. The remainder embarked on acquiring various skills, which eventually assisted them in their occupation. My research demonstrates that the level of education or professional skills bear no correlation to the level of religiosity. The interviewees who came from acculturated backgrounds, continued with corresponding Jewish practices in their adult years. Belief in God had played no major role in the lives of their parents. However, practice of certain rituals had been integrated into their Jewish identity. Transporting these rhythms to Australia caused no difficulty for these interviewees in their post-war lives. A considerable transformation of Jewish rites and rituals occurred amongst the interviewees, who came from shtetls. Their previous unswerving belief in God had been challenged, so that it was either weakened or, in many cases, vanished. The adherence to Jewish traditions and laws had diminished. Many relinquished observation of the laws of kashrut. The Sabbath was no longer observed and revered as it had been in the pre-war years. The contrast of such entrenched Jewish traditions from shtetl lives to suburban life in Australia in the 1950s was too great. A significant difference emerged within the group of six interviewees, who kept their belief in God. Their backgrounds were Modern Orthodox. They came from larger towns or cities in three countries. Education had played a crucial part in their early life. Learning, in conjunction with adherence to religious traditions and laws had shaped their childhood and upbringing. The retention of faith and Orthodox traditions correlated with their love of learning. Modern Orthodox practices could be more easily maintained than the traditions followed in shtetls. All forty three interviewees kept their Jewish identity in one form or another. As Jewish identity can be explained in terms of religiosity, ethnicity, culture and nationalism, this continuity was possible. Survivors, who lost their belief in God, were able to continue with Jewish rituals, traditions and life cycle events as part of their ethnicity or culture. There is no doubt that for the large majority of the interviewees, the Holocaust affected their religious life. Losing their parents and siblings as a result of the Holocaust shattered their beliefs and resulted in an abandonment of their previously held beliefs and trust in God. As a consequence, changes occurred in their Jewish identity. They considered themselves as Jews, without adhering to any religious form. However, they were not prepared to relinquish all traces of Jewish identity. The memories of their lost families proved too treasured to allow them to abandon all Jewish ties. It is my conclusion that the rhythms of Jewish life constituted a defining factor in the re-building of their shattered lives after the Holocaust. They provided a framework which allowed and maintained the continuity of Jewish existence, their belief in God and Jewish rites and rituals. For those interviewees who abandoned their belief in God, Jewish rites and rituals served to provide identification with Jewish peoplehood and culture. However, many of the teenage survivors practised these rhythms and rituals in a secular/cultural manner, rather than emanating from a belief in God. These reactions reflect the complexity of Jewish identity in the modern and post modern world.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 44 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) provide disadvantaged youth jobs and employment experiences. These federally funded programs meet a practical need to help adolescents earn money and have positive summer activities. In addition, federal administrators have implemented program requirements designed to give youth relevant training for future employment. One federal requirement for SYEPs is that all youth are to be screened to determine their basic reading and math skills. In addition to a job, local programs are to provide remedial instruction to youth who fail to meet minimum standards for reading and math. In 1994, SYEPs were also mandated to provide "educational enrichment" for at least half of all participating youth. This study was an evaluation of a SYEP in a Northwestern State and its implementation of different models of employment, remediation, and educational enrichment. Each model was operated in conjunction with a job. For youth who qualified for academic remediation, the two programs were a remedial class or on-the-job remedial enrichment. For youth who did not require remediation, the two models were a job alone or a job with educational enrichment. Outcomes evaluated included self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), self-mastery with the Mastery Scale (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978), and intellectual responsibility using the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale (Crandall & Crandall, 1965). Job-related reading and math skills were screened at program intake with the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) (1988) and as a post-test for youth receiving remediation. For remedial youth, all significant findings favored youth in enrichment projects rather than in remedial classes. For non-remedial youth, those in a job alone, rather than in a job with enrichment, had the most positive outcomes. The study suggests research to change the motivational patterns of adolescents in local programs is needed before additional program interventions are mandated. Missing data and non-random assignment of youth and staff to program groups were problematic. / Graduation date: 1995

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI. Also available in an electronic version.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-136). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.