The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the phenomenon of role models for younger girls. Girls aged 5 to 12 years were asked who they chose to look up to, how significant their role models were to them, why they had chosen them and if they thought they thought that they could achieve their chosen model‟s achievements. Socio-cultural framework provides a useful perspective for understanding the significance of role models as they act as powerful transmitters and reinforcers of the tenets of socialization. In Social Cognitive Theory, it is claimed that children largely learn through modelling, observing and imitating significant others. Interview and task sessions including a field-mapping activity and the sorting of peer-generated photographs were conducted with 12 girls aged from 5 to 12 years from one urban school. In analysis of the interview data, it was found that family members or family substitutes were the most significant people that these girls chose and, despite the alleged pressure from popular culture, young girls in this study were able to make discerning judgements about the „hollowness‟ of characters of popular culture. They identified skills or attributes that their role models demonstrated rather than physical attractiveness, their popularity or the amount of money their fame had brought them. This study is a valid representation of what mattered to a group of young girls at one specific point in time and could indicate the value of further investigation of how to maximize the benefits of role models for young girls.

This study elucidates the feelings and the experiences by working with the complex of problems of self-injurious behaviour, of six professionals. The purpose with this study has been to examine the feelings and the experiences of the professionals, coming up when they meet and treat young girls with self-injurious behaviour. The empirical basis of this study is built on interviews of six female professionals, working in the County of Kalmar. The statements of the informants were analyzed out of Goffman’s Role Theory and the norm perspective on social behaviour. Through the interviews we saw that the professionals act out of the rolls that they are expected to. There are expectations from the colleagues, from the clients and from the community that every professional handles in an individual manner. The way they handle the problematic situations varies between persons and depends on the character of the circumstances. The result shows that the work of the professionals arouses many feelings. It varies what kind of feelings they experiences but they do feel fear, powerlessness, sadness, happiness and most of all frustration. They handle their feelings through tutorial, support from the co-workers and through reflection.

<p>This study elucidates the feelings and the experiences by working with the complex of problems of self-injurious behaviour, of six professionals. The purpose with this study has been to examine the feelings and the experiences of the professionals, coming up when they meet and treat young girls with self-injurious behaviour. The empirical basis of this study is built on interviews of six female professionals, working in the County of Kalmar. The statements of the informants were analyzed out of Goffman’s Role Theory and the norm perspective on social behaviour. Through the interviews we saw that the professionals act out of the rolls that they are expected to. There are expectations from the colleagues, from the clients and from the community that every professional handles in an individual manner. The way they handle the problematic situations varies between persons and depends on the character of the circumstances. The result shows that the work of the professionals arouses many feelings. It varies what kind of feelings they experiences but they do feel fear, powerlessness, sadness, happiness and most of all frustration. They handle their feelings through tutorial, support from the co-workers and through reflection.</p>

Title: Facebook girls, a qualitative study of social medias and Facebooks impact on young girlsNumber of pages: 32Author: Mirja LarssonTutor: Amelie HössjerCourse: Media and Communication studies CPeriod: Autumn 2010University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information and Media,Uppsala UniversityPurpose/aim: To discover any possible difference between young girls and older girls in their wayof using Facebook.Material/method: Personal interviews, literature, electronic sources, Internet sources.Main results: The younger girls are not as aware as the older girls of their exposure on Facebookand the possible down-sides of their frequent Facebook-usage. Young girls in general use Facebookas a source to form their identity.Keywords: Facebook, identity, young girls, Cooley, Elza Dunkels, Altman and Taylor

This research will focus on emotional trauma as a result of sexual abuse of a young girl within a family by a stepfather. This is a great challenge to pastoral caregivers within the context of South Africa in particular in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa; where sexual abuse within the family surroundings has become the norm. The impact of sexual abuse in young girls is vast and varied. The most commonly experienced impact of sexual abuse is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The most frequent observation among victims of sexual abuse is that the victimised young girl tend to engage in extreme sexualized behaviour compared to other young girls who are not sexually abused Since the abuse took place on and in the body; the body becomes the enemy. They carry a great deal of pain and memories. This is evident in Ann’s life; where she desperately tries to cope with the pain; which can lead to eating disorders, self-inflicting injuries, inability to have sex, or engaging in sex often, poor body image. This pastoral care study is an investigation of traumatic effects of sexual abuse of young girls by stepfathers. It seeks to give answers to questions like: - How does sexual abuse on young girls within a family impact on their lives? - Does sexual abuse that occurs in the life of a young girl affect the relationship within the family and community? - How do young girls fall into the sexual abuse trap? - How traumatically affected are young girls who grew up in a sexually abusive environment? - Can a male be a therapist for this abused girl? This study aims to deal with the pain of the survivors of sexual abuse and understand the background of these young girls. And to help survivors of sexual abuse to heal of all the wounds and year of trauma that they went through during their childhood and regain dignity and confidence, again, in life for their future sexual and family life. The first level of empowerment that this research seeks to achieve is to bring the survivor to accept and forgive the perpetrator in their future lives. Secondly, to assist the care giver to develop counselling models that would counsel sexual abuse survivors and their families. And lastly, to help survivors learn to cope and deal with this situation and understand that it is possible to live a positive life after the emotional and traumatic incidences that they had gone through. This research seeks to create awareness on the traumatic impact that sexual abuse has on the lives of young girls. The findings of this research will help pastoral caregivers, to deal effectively with this issue. This research will further empower young girls who have undergone sexual abuse to restore their dignity and, finally, help them to move from a place of paralysis to a place of being healers. The author undertakes this research with the assumption that Young girls that are raised within a sexual abusive environment are affected negatively by such experiences. From Ann’s experience, the author asserts that young girls are traumatized and may not function properly in the community as a result of this trauma. The findings of this study will allow the author to establish a pastoral care method which addresses the impact of traumatic and emotional sexual abuse towards young girls who grow up experiencing sexual abuse by stepfathers. And will be empowering pastoral caregivers, who experience such traumatic situations, to be able to help survivors heal from their own trauma and pain and then to become healing and transforming agents to other young girls. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Practical Theology / MA / Unrestricted

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), a common practice among Sierra Leonean women, carries significant psychological and physical risks. Prior to this study, a substantial need existed for inquiry of the experiences and belief systems within this cultural group to better understand the effects of FGM/C on women and girls. Guided by feminist theory and the theory of cultural relativism, the goal of this phenomenological study was to review the cultural perspectives and experiences of Sierra Leonean women who underwent FGM/C to investigate their concerns about safety and their perceptions of the practices. In addition, this study explored concerns among Sierra Leonean women about the procedure performed on their daughters and to what they attributed the continued practice of FGM/C. Participants included a purposeful sample of 12 women from Sierra Leone who had experienced FGM/C. Data were collected via in-person, semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Analysis revealed differences in participant definitions of FGM/C, cultural and social aspects of the procedure, personal beliefs and perceptions of the procedures. Results provide new understandings to help health and human rights organizations implement proactive safety measures for these women and girls. Positive social change from this investigation may occur via proper education about FGM/C. Goals include helping women understand the risks associated with the practice and to make their own informed decisions regarding the procedure. Findings revealed that a powerful strategy for protecting women's health and well-being related to FGM/C may be through education on the facts of the procedure.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Teenage childbearing interferes with girls' educational attainment in many settings, as it frequently marks the end of their schooling. While the right to education is guaranteed in the Constitution and its Education Act of 2004, which include clauses supportive of girls' continuing their education during pregnancy and after childbirth, data show that many teenage girls do not return to school after childbirth. According to official figures, 10 out of 18 teenage mothers in the Seychelles did not return to school in 2013. A young girl terminating her education early because of pregnancy may have negative social, economic and health consequences for the individual and for the Seychelles as a country. To avoid the negative consequences that may result from pregnant teenage girls not completing school, it is important to explore the facilitating and hindering factors to young mothers returning to school after childbirth in the Seychelles. This research aimed to explore the factors that influence teenage mothers to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. A qualitative research methodology was used, where in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve young women who were teenage mothers, and with four key informants. Amongst the young women, six had returned to school after childbirth, and six had not return to school after childbirth. The key informants were professionals including a school counsellor, a schoolteacher, a counsellor working with young mothers, as well as a professional working with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that targets out of school young pregnant girls. Purposive sampling was used to access the research participants. The content of the interviews was transcribed and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that there were numerous factors influencing a young mother’s decision to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. These were not limited to individual level factors such as the internal motivation of the young mothers to achieve a better future for themselves and their child, but also included other immediate and broader influential factors. Family support was crucial in determining whether a young mother would return to school after childbirth. Furthermore, the school environment was not always conducive to the retention of the teenage mothers, as often teachers’ attitudes, the rigid grade system and school uniform policy acted as deterrents for those young girls’ school return. Additionally, the school policy for pregnant learners and teenage mothers, and the lack of welfare assistance, were other hindering factors to the young women's return to school. These factors were often interconnected, and collectively impacted on those teenage mothers' decision to return to school. Teenage mothers and their children are two vulnerable groups in society. Pregnant girls dropping out of school after delivery can contribute to the chain of poverty in Seychelles, as this leads to their having lower educational attainment, reduced employment and career development opportunities. To address the issue of teenage mothers not returning to school after childbirth in Seychelles, it is important to have better mechanisms that will together tackle the multiple factors influencing their return to school. This involves adopting a health promotion approach using the Ottawa Charter. This would be done by adopting healthy policies and creating a supportive school environment with regard to teenage mothers and pregnant learners and would include the Ministry of Education working in partnership with other sectors so as to adopt a comprehensive approach to teenage mothers and schooling.

In this thesis, the author explores the main factors that may have contributed to the development of human trafficking in terms of sexual exploitation in Sweden. The aim is to identify the background of the main women and young girls exposed to human trafficking and to identify the factors that could potentially decrease the development of human trafficking. The theoretical underpinnings, which incorporated the push and pull model, the postcolonial feminist theory and the routine activity theory, as well as the information provided by the seven semi-structured interviews, provided a necessary framework to analyze and discuss the findings. The knowledgeable and experienced informants of this qualitative thesis consist of relevant authorities and organizations in the field of human trafficking. The findings of this thesis suggested that human trafficking in women and your girls for sexual exploitation is driven by poverty, the experience of war, lack of opportunities, the trafficker’s greed for profit and the demand for prostitution from countries such as Sweden. The findings moreover presented that the women and young girls that generally are exposed to human trafficking in terms of sexual exploitation, usually originate from third world countries and through circular migration within Europe. The results of this thesis furthermore presented various aspects and areas of improvement that are needed for relevant actors, in order for them to jointly work towards their common goal; to combat human trafficking cases in Sweden.

Thesis (M .A. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This research “Nxopaxopo wa tinsimu ta vanhwanyana va xikhale va Vatsonga wu kongomisa eka manghenelo, xitatimendhe xa xipiqo, xikongomelo, nkoka wa maendlelo ni tinhlamuselo ta matheme lama nga tirhisiwa” deals with path which was paved by young girls of the older generations before married. In our discussion in this research I will touch some few things about their songs like the teaching of the nation, good behaviour for themselves even as adults and culture in totality etc. The other thing is language which the girls used when performing their songs. This research consists of six chapters. Chapter 1: It outlines the research proposal as follows. The introduction, statement of problem, aim of the study, the significance of the research, definition of terms, methods used and literature review. Chapter 2: This chapter explains the upbringing of young girls of the olden generation. Secondly, it outlines the stages that they undergo and the relationship between these stages. Furthermore it brings forth norms and values to be followed when these girls get married. Chapter 3: The chapter deals with the analysis of the chosen songs by young girls of the olden generations. Emphasis is based on the sense of the poem and the usage of figurative language. Chapter 4: Firstly it deals with the meaning of the word “theme”. It also outlines the theme of young girls of olden generations as per their varying categories, involves life in general, like unfaithfulness to their brother in law, love one another, for the love of culture etc. Chapter 5: Deals with the findings which this research discovered about the songs of the young girls of the olden generations. It also deals with the suggestion and recommendations. Chapter 6: It provides a list of various references used in this research

Det huvudsakliga syftet i denna studie var att ta reda på skolpersonals uppfattning om varför ätstörningar uppstår bland unga flickor samt vilka metoder de använder sig av i förebyggande syfte för att motverka ett ätstörningsutvecklande. Empirin bygger på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer bestående av två skolkuratorer, två skolsköterskor samt en skolpsykolog i en mellanstor svensk stad. Fyra huvudteman identifierades i intervjuerna vilka var: Olika typer av yttre påverkan, Tonåringar har störst tendens att utveckla ätstörningar, Preventiva metoder samt Skolpersonal saknar hållbara metoder. Analysen av de teman som framkom i studien kan ge en förståelse för hur skolpersonal preventivt arbetar med unga flickor och ätstörningsproblematik samt vilka faktorer som uppfattas vara bidragande till ett ätstörningsutvecklande. Sammanfattningsvis visar studien att skolpersonal i stort uppfattar att faktorer såsom självkänsla, krav och stress, koncentrationssvårigheter samt media och skönhetsideal kan bidra till ett ätstörningsutvecklande. Vidare visar studien att skolpersonal gör försök att arbeta preventivt med ätstörningsproblematik genom att reagera på förändrat beteende och samtala med vårdnadshavare och elev men även genom att arbeta med självkänslan hos flickorna. Det framkommer dock inga gemensamma hållbara metoder i skolpersonalens arbetssätt med unga flickor som tenderar att utveckla en ätstörning där flertalet informanter tycks vara i behov av detta. / The main purpose of this study was to find out the view of the school staff on why eating disorders arise among young girls and which methods the school staff use for prevention. The empirical data is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with two school counselors, two school nurses and a school psychologist in a medium-sized Swedish town. Four main themes were identified in the interviews which were: Different kinds of external influences, Adolescents have the greatest tendency to develop eating disorders, Prevention methods and School staff lack sustainable methods. The analysis of the themes that emerged from the study can provide an understanding of how school staff preventively work with young girls and eating disorder problems and the factors that are perceived to be contributing to a developing eating disorder. In summary, the study showed that school staff, at large, perceive that factors such as self-esteem, demands and stress, concentration difficulties, as well as the media and beauty ideals can contribute to a developing eating disorder. Furthermore, the study showed that school staff do try to work preventively with the eating disorder problems by reacting to changes in behavior and talking with both parents and students, but also by working with the self-esteem amongst girls. No common sustainable methods were found in the school staff’s work with young girls that tend to develop an eating disorder in which the majority of respondents appear to be in need of this.