Over half of all lifetime mental health disorders emerge during early adulthood and is associated with many adverse outcomes including: lower educational achievement, substance misuse and premature death. Despite the prevalence and burden of mental health problems, young adults with mental health needs are the least likely to seek professional help. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of help-seeking among young adults aged 18-25 and aimed to identify the factors that can delay or prevent access to mental health support. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected from young adults in the community using an anonymous online survey. The results of the study showed that approximately a third of participants did not seek any help for an emotional or mental health difficulty and of those who sought help the majority had accessed help from their friends or their GP. Intention to seek professional help was significantly association with satisfaction from services and perceived stigma, however psychological distress revealed a non-significant relationship. Thematic analysis revealed that stigmatising beliefs, perceiving the problem as not serious, a preference for self-reliance and difficulty in accessing help or communicating concerns were common barrier themes. Facilitator themes highlighted the importance of having a flexible and confidential service. The clinical implications of the results are discussed as well as consideration for future research.

This dissertation is a sociolinguistic investigation into the system of the speech act of complimenting among young Japanese. Sociolinguistic studies on complimenting have been rather extensively carried out in Western academic discourse since the 1980s. The rapid development of this field went hand in hand with the existing growing body of work on speech acts, linguistic politeness and language and gender studies, all fields which came to flourish during the 1960s-80s. The speech act of complimenting has so far been overwhelmingly regarded as one of the most obvious positive politeness strategies (Brown & Levinson 1987; Holmes 1995) and also as a feminised sociolinguistic practice (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2003; Herbert 1990). However, the sociolinguistic examination of complimenting in non- Western speech communities remains less well investigated. This dissertation challenges some traditional premises about the nature of this speech act and explores how sociolinguists should go about analysing this variable in the context of a non-Western speech community. In so doing, I highlight that applying localized cultural knowledge plays a crucial role in unfolding the social and linguistic systems of complimenting in a Japanese speech community. The analysis presented here draws on a corpus consisting of more than 40 hours of recordings with 67 young Japanese university students, collected through ethnographic techniques. Fieldwork was conducted for over a year in order to obtain these data in southern Japan (namely, Kumamoto and Oita prefectures). A total of 369 compliment utterances within 143 compliment sequences were extracted and transcribed from this corpus. To achieve a satisfying sociolinguistic understanding of this speech act, the data are analysed with a combination of both the qualitative methods of discourse analysis and the quantitative methods of variationist sociolinguistics. This dissertation brings much needed discussions of this variable situated within non-Western contexts and hence makes significant contribution to the field, by adding new perspectives and findings about complimenting behaviour. On the one hand, my work found some regularity in compliments which parallel the findings of previous studies. This itself is a new insight in the field of compliments studies, namely, that there are crossculturally (if not universally) pervasive properties of complimenting. On the other hand, this study highlighted some originality in this speech act among the young Japanese. The construction and application of compliments in the case of Japanese substantially manifest its complex and intricate sociolinguistic system, which my dissertation is dedicated to describing through the naturally occurring data of spoken Japanese.

Thesis advisor: Guerda Nicolas / Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / Recently theory has proposed that Belief in God plays a significant role in Identity development by facilitating identity exploration and the resolution of identity crises (King, 2003). The intersections of Identity development and Belief in God are particularly important to understand in young adults because (1) this is the developmental period when Identity development begins and (2) Belief in God is prevalent among college students. However, researchers have not empirically examined the theorized relationship between Belief in God and Identity. Therefore, this study sought to begin to understand and explain (through empirical research) the relationship between Belief in God and Identity development in young adults. A sample of 306 young adults enrolled in private, four-year post-secondary education institutions in New England completed questionnaires measuring their reasons for Belief in God and their current Identity Status. Findings from the study indicate that: (1) these young adults have average levels of Belief in God across each of the six reasons for Belief in God measured in this study, regardless of age or gender; (2) these young adults tend to function from a transition Diffuse-Foreclosure Identity status; (3) Belief in God has an impact on the Identity of these young adults; (4) Age and gender do not appear to impact the relationship between Belief in God and Identity; and (5) Comprehensive models explaining the relationships between Belief in God and each of the Identity statuses measured in this study, indicated that Belief in God is a significant predictor of both the Moratorium and Achieved Identity statuses. Overall, results from the study provide empirical support for the theoretical link between Belief in God and Identity development, and further suggest that Belief in God impacts Identity Development more by aiding in the resolution of Identity crises than by facilitating the exploration process. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Pamela J. Grace / Purpose/Specific Aims: Van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological method was used to design this study aimed at better understanding the meaning of day-to-day living with advanced breast cancer in young women. Rationale/Significance of Study: There is a gap in knowledge about the particular needs and daily life experiences of this cohort. Very little data specifically addresses this population. The limited literature that exists suggests that, due to the particular stage of life, their needs differ from those at other life stages as well as those coping with earlier stages of breast cancer. These women have described themselves as being invisible and having to live with the knowledge that their future is uncertain. Thus, this qualitative study is an important initial step in expanding our understanding of what daily life is like for this population. Sample and Recruitment: Women aged 25–39 with Stage III or IV breast cancer were purposively recruited via private FacebookTM groups specifically for women with breast cancer. The final sample consisted of 12 participants from across the U.S. Incidentally, all were parents. Data Analysis: Data were collected through two or more semistructured interviews and written journals. Analysis followed van Manen’s method of immersion, reading, and rereading, and using manual coding and NVivo software to develop themes to capture the participants’ lifeworlds. Findings: The meaning of their experiences is captured by the overarching theme: Wearing the mask of wellness in the presence of life-threatening illness. Five major themes were identified: Wanting to be known as the person I am, I’m still Mom, Living is more than surviving, Getting through it, and Being connected to others. Conclusions: Findings highlight that these young women are managing multiple roles and responsibilities despite the ongoing challenges of treatment and symptom management. They feel that their needs and struggles are not well understood because to outsiders they do not look ill. This study provides a base for further research and eventually interventions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

The purpose of this online cross-sectional study was to identify cannabis user profiles by administration method and examine how differential cannabis policies influence intentions among young adults. Participants were assigned randomly to one of three hypothetical cannabis policy conditions (recreationally legal; medically legal; illegal). Within conditions, participants completed measures regarding cannabis use, including administration methods, cannabis attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, and intentions. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to determine sub-groups of past 30-day cannabis users by administration method followed by sub-group comparisons. Condition effects on intentions and associated variables were examined using ANCOVA. Four classes (Low-Blunt, Low-Bong, Mod-Poly, High-Poly) differing in demographics and tobacco use were identified. Recreationally and medically legal policy conditions resulted in more favorable cannabis attitudes, higher selfefficacy, and higher intentions to use compared to the illegal policy condition. Results inform cannabis intervention efforts and longitudinal research on the effects of cannabis policy changes.

Previous research has shown that social media impacts people's identities as well as their online communication as they maintain their online friendships. This study strives to further examine the relationship between daily Instagram usage in young adults’ life and its effect on their friendships and identities. The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how young Instagram users' friendships function today, in order to achieve an understanding about the nature of the friendships as well as create an appreciation on whether Instagram usage influences a person's identity. The study is conducted through in-depth interviews with six young adults aged between 18-22 years. We analyze our respondents’ friendships through the application of Hartmut Rosa's framework, which describes the accelerating society (2014) and Sherry Turkle’s (2017) discussion on how friendships are affected by social media and not least the significant use of mobile phones. We found in our study that young Instagram users both have pure relationships as described by Anthony Giddens (1999) as well as superficial relationships. We also found that the character of the relationship depends on whether it occurs in real life or online through Instagram. Our study suggests that Instagram usage does not prohibit pure relationships but rather supplement them with superficial relationships that occur via Instagram. In addition, Instagram is utilized to present a desired identity (Goffman 2011). The users are to different degrees aware of whether this is their “true” identity or just a way of making an “impression”. Goffman (2011) is implying that the everyday presentation effect the self-image in different ways. / Tidigare forskning har visat att sociala medier påverkar människors identitet och deras online kommunikation, då de bibehåller sina vänskapsrelationer där. I denna studie fortsätter vi på denna forskningslinje och studerar unga vuxna som använder Instagram dagligen, för att se hur Instagram eventuellt påverkar deras vänskapsrelationer och identitet. Syftet med denna studie blir därmed att skapa förståelse för hur unga instagramanvändares vänskapsrelationer ser ut idag, detta för att studera vänskapsrelationernas karaktär samt om eventuellt identitetsskapande sker via användningen av Instagram. Vi undersöker detta genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex unga vuxna i åldrarna 18–22. För att analysera detta använde vi oss av Hartmut Rosas teori om det accelererande samhället (2014) samt Sherry Turkles (2017) diskussion om hur vänskapsrelationer påverkas av sociala medier och inte minst mobilanvändningen. Resultatet av vår studie är att unga instagramanvändare har både rena relationer som Anthony Giddens (1999) beskriver samt ytliga. Relationernas karaktär är beroende av om de äger rum i verkligheten eller online via Instagram. Vi föreslår därför att instagramanvändningen inte utesluter rena relationer, men att de kompletteras med ytliga relationer som utspelar sig och bibehålls online. Resultatet gällande identiteten visar att individer tydligt skapar sina identiteter via instagram, dock är de olika medvetna om det, vilket är något som vi analyserar genom Goffmans (2011) teori om presentationen av jaget.

This qualitative study was designed to gain an insight into the ways in which adolescents and young adults managed ?self? in their day - to - day diabetes management. It also examined the effect that illness self representations had on that management. A grounded theory approach using a symbolic interactionist framework was adopted based on 27 in- depth semi structured interviews with adolescents and young adults with diabetes. Respondents described the effects of diabetes management on the physical, emotional, social and related selves. They also described their various illness self representations. It often took an inordinate amount of work for the respondents to manage their diabetes. This ?management? work could be related to problems with their physiological control, emotional stressors, the need to be socially interactive, differing priorities or relational issues. Certainly even the most resilient respondents experienced periods of vulnerability and needed to nurture the ?self? The study generates new knowledge which builds upon the existing body of knowledge relating to the management of self in adolescents and young adults in the context of T1DM. The study established that whilst some health professionals are sensitive and cognizant of the needs of adolescents and young adults with diabetes, there is room for improvement in the way in which health professionals understand the complexities involved in diabetes management for adolescents and young adults / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M.D.S.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Psychology Department, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.