Department of Psychology

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Browsing by Subject "Adolescence"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Adolescents' perceptions and attitudes about violence on television
    (University of the Western Cape, 2001) Taylor, Ashley; Ahmed, Rashid
    The idea that television contributes to aggressive behaviour, and the argument that violence on television on may instigate aggressive behaviour, has been a heavily debated issue for many years. Most of the research done however , has been done in the area of the role that television violence has on influencing behaviour, rather than on how people who the behaviour is impacting on, perceive the violence television. The aim of this study was to look at perceptions and attitudes adolescents have towards the violence that they exposed to on television. The present research aimed to find out what adolescents regarded as violence' what their attitudes, perceptions and knowledge was surrounding violence on television, whether they thought that television violence affected their interpersonal behaviour, and what solutions and strategies they imagined would be successful in combating violent behaviour. This study was done with a convenient sample comprising 25 adolescents who took part in four focus groups comprising 8 participants in 2 groups 9 in 1 group' and 7 in the other group. The participants were provided with a vignette depicting a violent incident and discussion was facilitated around what their perceptions were with regards to the vignette and televised violence. The data was then analysed through a process of thematic content analysis to identify the themes that gave an understanding of the participants belief television violence and perceptions with regards to television violence. Several possibilities emerged as explanations for the perceived limited effect television violence had on adolescents among, these being their ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. The other primary reason that participants gave for the limited effect that television violence had on them was the fact that they were exposed to violence in their Iives on a daily basis, and that this has minimised the effect that television violence has furthermore the findings revealed that they saw violence as being primarily physical and that the main solution for them was individual responsibility and how the person perceives and interprets what they see. The main reason violence was seen as being primarily physical seemed to be the "graphicness" of violence that participants could see as opposed to more 'abstract' emotional or psychological violence which they could not see. To counteract violence, participants felt that the main solution lies in the individual taking responsibility foe his /her actions.
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    The differences between adolescent users and non-users of addictive substances in a low socio-economic status community: Contextual factors explored from the perspective of subjective wellbeing.
    (Psychological Society of South Africa, 2011) Florence, Maria; Koch, Elize
    This research aimed to explore the differences between adolescents from a low socio-economic Cape Town community who use addictive substances and those who do not, with regard to subjective wellbeing. The Kidscreen52 was used to measure subjective wellbeing in a sample of 179 Grade 10 and 11 learners; 41.3% of the sample was male. Thirty-five percent of the adolescents reported to be substance users, with significantly more males reporting substance use than females in both grades. Scores on four of the sub-scales were significantly different for the substance users and non-users (namely Feelings, General mood, Family and home life, School and learning). A post hoc analysis indicated that males and females differed significantly on General mood, but that this difference did not interact with substance use.
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    The factor structure of the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale as used with a sample of adolescents in low socio-economic areas of South Africa
    (SAGE Publications, 2017) Padmanabhanunni, Anita
    The issue of adolescent aggression and violence has received significant attention in the literature. Normative beliefs about the acceptability of aggressive behaviour have been identified as central in influencing aggression. The Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale was developed to identify cognitive beliefs about the acceptability of aggressive behaviour. The scale has been extensively used in research on child and adolescent aggression and has consistently demonstrated that normative beliefs account for variances in adolescent aggressive behaviour, predict aggression, and mediate the relationship between risk factors and aggression among this population group. Despite extensive use of this scale in other contexts, information is lacking on its psychometric properties. A full analysis of the factor structure of the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale has not yet been conducted. This study presents the first test of the factor structure of the full instrument and confirms that the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale is a reliable instrument when used in the South African context. The results point to the multidimensional nature of beliefs about aggression and provide an important foundation for future research into correlates of aggressive behaviour in different cultural contexts.
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    Sense and sensibilities: Schoolboys talk about sex in the private conversational space
    (Springer, 2018) Govender, Kaymarlin; Adams Tucker, Leigh; Coldwell, Sarah
    This article focuses on the narratives of 18 adolescent boys as they engaged with issues of sex, sexuality and peer relations in their daily lives. The ethnographic research was conducted in two public secondary schools in a working-class community within KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participants were boys aged between 16 and 19 years, who self-identified as either Black African or Indian. Theories of positioning are employed in this paper to delve into the complexity and intricacies of boys enacting their masculinities and sexual identities within a one-to-one interview space with one of the researchers. Identity performance in this private space is read in relation to public positions (in the company of peers), exposing the malleable nature of positioning and its subjective use in different spaces. Findings suggest that boys’ struggle with the concept and social practice of ‘masculinity’, and that while they may not want to be seen as aspiring to certain ideals regarding male sexuality, these values remain a standard against which to evaluate self and other. In the individual interviews, authenticity as a heterosexual man is negotiated through various rhetorical strategies, namely a tendency to self-position as mature and sensible. It is argued that positionality is a useful conceptual tool for highlighting diversities in the performance of masculinities, and that intervention strategies need to pay attention to how spaces are constructed and nurtured for boys to engage with the ideological dilemmas in their identity development.
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    Stress and coping: considering the influence of Psychological strengths on the mental health of at-risk South African adolescents
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021) Loxton, Helene; Harrison, Carmen; Somhlaba, Nceba Z
    In South Africa, many adolescents are affected by socio-economic adversity, which increases their susceptibility to experiencing stress that negatively affects their mental health. The synthesis of international literature has identified the psychological strengths (that include perceived social support, self-esteem and resilience) as having a protective effect on the mental health of at-risk adolescents who experience stress. Against this background, we argue that psychological strengths may assist South African adolescents in coping with stressors and may mediate the impact of stress on the mental health of adolescents living in conditions of socio-economic adversity. Given that this remains an under-researched area in the South African context, we also highlight the need for South African research that prioritizes the exploration of factors mitigating the experience of stress for adolescents. We also posit that such research should have significant implications for mental-health policy, practice, mental-health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders. We believe that such scholarly inquiries would be central to the intervention strategies aimed at preventing or “containing” the scourge of poverty-induced psychological distress in South African youth.