Thèses sur le sujet « Control (Psychology) – Juvenile fiction »

Examinations of juvenile violence have largely been limited in both the scope of behaviors studied and the variety of theories used to explain these actions. This study addresses these issues by applying a test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) general theory of crime to an examination of a wide range of violent and intimidating acts. Specifically, the effects of self-control and opportunity on bullying, righting and weapon related behaviors are tested. This analysis finds that greater self-control, as measured by a combination of attitudinal and behavioral items, significantly decreases all forms of intimidation and violence examined. Similarly, greater opportunity, operationalized as a combination of parental supervision, participation in unstructured activities, and peer deviance, increases each form of behavior. In addition, each model provides support for the theoretically based hypothesis that greater self-control decreases opportunity. Therefore, this study provides a great deal of support for self-control theory.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of West Florida, 2009.
Submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 83 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Bibliography: pages 92-98.
Using a systems theoretical orientation the objective of this study was to implement a strategic approach for psychotherapeutic intervention with six male institutionalized white adolescents at a local custodial school. It was hypothesized that a strategic approach would control absconding for the duration of the investigation. Surveys of the literature were undertaken to provide the background to psychotherapeutic intervention with adolescents in custodial institutions, strategic psychotherapy and absconding. Absconding was selected as the condition for evaluating the interventions because it was an unambiguous indicator of school-based recidivism, viz., the adolescent was either on the property or he was not. The study was structured as a design-and-demonstrate investigation. Audiotape recordings were made during the sessions. Transcriptions of characteristic procedures and sequences of the strategic approach to psychotherapeutic intervention were presented, inter alia, paradoxes, reframing, metaphors, rituals, the declaration of therapeutic impotence. Evaluation of the interventions was based on follow-up interviews with the subjects and a qualitative analysis of risk of absconding aver the course of the intervention process. At the end of the investigation there was some evidence which suggested that five out of the six subjects were not as committed to absconding as they had claimed to be at the beginning of the study. The design of the study did not allow for the conclusion that the strategic approach for controlling absconding was of greater merit than any other form of intervention or no intervention at all. It was noted, however, that twelve of the eighteen potential subjects for the study indicated that they would abscond as soon as the opportunity arose. Therefore it was recommended that the issue of absconding be given priority in therapy on the admission of each new pupil. Given a strategic approach to addressing the issue of absconding in therapy, attention was drawn to a major aim of this type of intervention, viz., to generate a sense of personal autonomy. Hence a further recommendation was that once a pupil had made a commitment not to abscond, his sense of autonomy would need to be supported by an expeditious transfer to one of the more open hostels.

This dissertation examines the role of self-control in the relationship between exposure to violence and antisocial behavior. Specifically, this study proposes that the impact of exposure to violence changes depending on internalized factors such as self-control. Individuals with high exposure to violence but greater levels of self-control may be less influenced by the impact of exposure to violence. Conversely, individuals with low levels of exposure to violence and lower levels of self-control may be more influenced by the impact of violence. The findings from this study suggest that there is some buffering effect on the impact of exposure to violence which may be explained by levels of self-control. This finding is consistent with prior research which finds that the impact of environmental factors on crime and analogous behaviors can be influenced by other personal traits. The results of this study provide researchers and practitioners with important information regarding the impact of exposure to violence on antisocial behavior and the influence self-control has on this relationship. Due to the fickle nature of human behavior and the preciseness involved in developing treatment or diversion plans the relationship between environmental and internal factors should be addressed.

Pulling Tangled Strings: "The Puppeteer" and Other Stories is a collection of stories with strong thematic and emotional connections that includes an opening preface describing the process used when writing the stories. Each of the stories is united by a main character that desperately wants to gain control of his environment. From a character acting out a classic revenge tale on his friend to a comatose teenager victimized by an ambiguous tragedy, these are characters who have been put into difficult life situations and need to feel like they are pulling the strings in their lives again. In all cases, however, the characters come to find that control does not come easily and that the motivations for their behavior are never clear cut, even to themselves.

This study describes a content analysis of six contemporary young adult fiction novels. Adolescence is a time of great change, particularly for girls. It is during this time that female adolescents develop their voice and identity. As literature reflects the reader’s world, it also affects in part how female adolescents perceive their identity. Latent content analysis was used to code eight variables to determine if select contemporary young adult fiction novels appropriately describe the development of identity among adolescent females. All of the novels included in the study provided sufficient evidence of accurate portrayal of female adolescent identity development, by having examples of at least four out of eight variables, with most having examples of seven out of eight variables.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the research project reported below, the researcher investigates the shortterm effect. of a life skills program, Free to Grow, on the self-concept and locus of control of juvenile offenders in the Allandale-prison, by means of the following questionnaires: the Greeff Self-concept Questionnaire, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children and the Desired-Undesired Eve.nts Locus of Control Scale. The life skills program is based on experiential learning principles and focusses on self-development and the acquisition of a wide spectrum of social skills. The 21 subjects participating in the project were divided into two groups: The experimental group consisting of 11 subjects participated in the program over a two week-period for altogether 32 hours, while the remaining 10 subjects formed the control group. The most important findings of the study were that the program participants' self-concept showed no statiscally meaningful improvement, but their locus of control as measured by the Nowicki Strickland Locus of Control Scale for children, made a statistically meaningful internal shift. The study concludes with important recommendations for follow-up studies.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die onderstaande studie is die korttermyneffek van 'n lewensvaardigheidsprogram, Free to Grow, op die selfkonsep en lokus van kontrole van jeugoortreders in die Allandale-gevangenis ondersoek met behulp van die volgende vraelyste: die Greeffselfkonsepvraelys, die Nowicki-Strickland Lokus van Kontrole Skaal vir Kinders en die Wenslike en Onwenslike Gebeurtenisse Lokus van Kontrole Skaal. Die program is gebaseer op eksperensiële leerbeginsels en fokus op selfontwikkeling en die aanleer van 'n wye spektrum van sosiale vaardighede. Die 21 subjekte wat aan die projek deelgeneem het, is in twee groepe verdeel: Die eksperimentele groep bestaande uit 11 subjekte het oor 'n periode van twee weke vir altesaam 32 uur die program deurloop, terwyl die oorblywende 10 subjekte die kontrolegroep gevorm het. Die belangrikste bevindings van die studie was dat die programdeelnemers se selfkonsep nie statisties betekenisvol verbeter het nie, maar dat hulle lokus van kontrole, soos gemeet deur die Nowicki-Strickland Lokus van Kontrole Skaal vir Kinders, wel statisties beduidend meer intern geword het na afloop van die program. Die studie word afgesluit met belangrike aanbevelings vir opvolgstudies.

Research has shown that stress is related to negative physical and psychological changes among adults. Compared to the large body of literature on stress among adults, research on the effects of life stress among children and adolescents is relatively sparse. There is evidence, however, that stressful life events are related to problems among children and adolescents. Such problems include poor health, psychological distress, depression, suicide, and delinquent behavior. Research also has revealed several factors that moderate stress in children and adolescents. These factors include high self-esteem, an internal locus of control orientation, and social support from family and friends. Five scales measuring locus of control orientation, social support, level of psychosocial development, self-esteem, life events, and delinquent behavior were given to thirty early adolescents from divorced homes and thirty-four adolescents from intact homes. Results of regression analysis, using a general linear model, indicated that early adolescents from divorced homes had lower levels of self-esteem than children from intact homes. There were no significant differences between children from divorced and intact families in levels of delinquent behavior, locus of control, or psychosocial development as reflected in levels of autonomy, intimacy, and identity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that social support in the form of close friend support had a significant moderating effect on the delinquent behavior of early adolescents experiencing parental divorce. Levels of parental, teacher, and classmate support, as well as self-esteem and locus of control orientation, did not show any moderating effects on delinquent behavior. This study indicates that the impact of parental divorce on early adolescents is influenced by many factors. This study lends support to the need to investigate the effects of divorce on children and adolescents in terms of the coping resources available to the child.
Graduation date: 1992

Orientação: Pedro Pechorro
A presente investigação teve como objetivo proceder à validação da Escala Breve de Autocontrolo para a versão portuguesa. Esta Escala foi originalmente desenvolvida por Tangney e colaboradores (2004), versão preliminar para investigação traduzida e adaptada para Português por Cruz em 2008 (Brief Self-Control Scale - BSCS) com adolescentes portugueses em contexto escolar. Recorrendo a uma amostra escolar de 272 participantes de ambos os sexos de várias escolas públicas da região da Grande Lisboa. A Escala apresentou apenas uma dimensão e as variáveis estão correlacionadas entre si de forma significativa. Todos os itens que constituem a Escala apresentam uma saturação adequada, superior a .30. e um Alfa de Cronbach de .89, sendo o valor padrão de .70, o que permite aferir e validar a Escala para a população portuguesa. Quanto à fiabilidade da Escala obteve-se um alfa de Cronbach de .89 para todos os itens, sendo o valor padrão de .70, o que nos permite aferir a Escala utilizada, pelo que tudo indica que esta Escala reúne os critérios para ser validada para a população portuguesa.
The present study aimed to validate the Brief Self-Control Scale for the Portuguese version. This Scale was originally developed by Tangney et al. (2004), a preliminary version for research translated and adapted to Portuguese by Cruz in 2008 (Brief Self-Control Scale - BSCS) with Portuguese adolescents in school context. Using a school sample of 272 participants of both sexes from various public schools in the region of Lisbon. The Scale presented only one dimension and the variables are significantly correlated with each other. All items that make up the Scale shown an adequate saturation, greater than .30. and a Cronbach's alpha of .89, being the standard value of .70, which allows to gauge and validate the Scale for the Portuguese population. As for the reliability of the Scale we obtained a Cronbach alpha of .89 for all items, being the standard value of .70, which allows us to measure the Scale used, so everything indicates that this Scale meets the criteria to be validated For the Portuguese population.

This thesis examines the role of children's picture books in constructing cultural ideologies. It aims to analyse the dominant cultural ideologies inscribed in Thai and Australian children's picture books, with specific emphasis on how such identities are constructed through verbal and visual language. The analysis focuses on the changes, if any, in the construction of cultural ideologies in Thai and Australian children's picture books that won national awards from 1987 to 2006, and how the changes correspond to the impact of social change. The corpus chosen for analysis consists of 60 children's books, comprising 30 from Thailand and 30 from Australia. The picture books have either won the Thai National Book Development Committee Award or the Picture Book of the Year Award given by Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). The thesis is structured around three themes based on the ideological construction of power in the books, including the construction of age relations, gender relations and community relations. Despite the fact that Thai society has undergone enormous change over the last two decades, the analysis shows that award-winning Thai children's books have been written mainly from a conservative point of view. They work by providing the foundations for social harmony and respect of order in a patriarchal and hierarchical society where all members are expected to know their proper place and live their lives in ways that contribute to the benefit of the whole community. Some slight changes can be detected in the way perspectives on those cultural ideologies have shifted at certain periods. These include the way of giving more emphasis to a child's self discovery over adult authority, the attempt to create non sexist picture books, and changes in the meaning and implication of unity and cohesion. Yet the analysis reveals that an ethos of conservative discourse still informs the books. It highlights the use of representation to control the overall appearance of idealised discourse in Thai society. In contrast, there is much variety and range in the way cultural ideologies have been constructed in award winning Australian children's books. While an ethos of conservative discourse can still be detected in the corpus, a number of books show that such ways of seeing the world can be challenged, questioned and even proved to be inadequate. Unlike the Thai books, the representation of patriarchal and hierarchical society can be overturned by giving more prominence to children's sense of agency and imagination and by portraying male and female characters in a more symmetrical way. In contrast to the depiction of the smooth and harmonious relationship between people of the same cultural and community groups in the Thai books, some recent Australian picture books emphasise the conflicts and disputes between different social groups. These changes are analysed in the context of the impact of social change. Social and political topics, such as the emancipation of women through the feminist movement and issues relating to contemporary politics including refugees, border control and cultural difference are taken into account.

Children experience life crisis and normal developmental problems. This study is aimed at highlighting the role fiction can play in assisting children in coping with certain normal life crisis and developmental problems. A discussion on the nature of the bibliotherapeutic process indicated that fiction plays a major role in the success thereof. A model was designed for the selection process of fiction for the bibliotherapeutic process. Selection criteria were established for both the reader and the reading matter. Tables were designed consisting of selection criteria for both the reader and the reading matter. Stories about life crisis relating to death and divorce, as well as normal developmental problems about fear of peer group rejection and fear of the acquirement of skills, were evaluated against these criteria. This indicates that it is possible to select the right book for the bibliotherapeutic process with children.
Information Science
M.Inf.

The creative thesis 'New (Old) Fairy Tales for New Children‘ makes a contribution to the field of creative writing research. It comprises creative work in the form of four fairy tales and a novel for upper primary/early high school readers (70%) and a short exegesis (30%). The creative work uses key fairy tale elements to tell new stories for contemporary children. The four fairy tales are intended to sit within the Western European tradition, drawing on the repetitions, cadence and storytelling voice of the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm.