Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Alexithymia In Adolescents: Psychometric Properties Of The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire In High School Students, Annette C. Trimble, Ken Robinson, David A. Preece

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Conceptually, alexithymia is a key transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of numerous psychopathologies across the lifespan. However, to date, most alexithymia research has focused on adults, with adolescent work limited by a lack of validated age-appropriate assessment tools. Recently, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) was introduced to enhance the comprehensiveness of alexithymia assessments, but its psychometric properties have only been tested in adults. In this study, we address this by examining the psychometric properties of the PAQ in a sample of English-speaking high school students (N = 225, aged 11 to 18), and use the PAQ to further establish …

Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding The Influence Of Psychosocial Risk Factors And Mothers’ Help-Seeking Behaviour On The Experience Of Depressive Symptoms, Rachel Gallagher

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research has shown that adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at an increased risk for experiencing depressive symptoms (DS) resulting in poor quality of life and further vulnerability for the recurrence of DS in adulthood. Adolescence is a complex developmental period marked by dynamic social contexts that must be effectively navigated for the maturation processes associated with psychological wellbeing. This period is particularly challenging for individuals with ASD due to deficits in social communication skills leading to atypical social functioning. Consequently, psychosocial risk factors of DS for ASD adolescents are likely to be multiple and complex, and prominent risk …

Living With Autism: The Experience Of Developmentally Healthy Adolescents And Youths Who Have A Sibling Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jessica Michel

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Researchers have proposed that typically developing siblings of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or target siblings, are at increased risk of experiencing psychological distress particularly when compared to other clinical and community sibling groups. To date, evidence drawn from quantitative studies, utilising the target siblings’ mothers as the primary informants has been mixed. These studies have primarily focused on risk factors, while the role of protective factors in the experiences of target siblings remains unexplored in quantitative investigations. However, qualitative studies utilising target siblings as informants have emerged providing insights regarding the processes of coping and adaptation that …

Predictors Of Sun Protection Behaviours And Sunburn Among Australian Adolescents, Simone Pettigrew, Michelle Jongenelis, Mark Strickland, Carolyn Minto, Terry Slevin, Geoffrey Jalleh, Chad Lin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Excessive sun exposure and sunburn increase individuals’ risk of skin cancer. It is especially important to prevent sunburn in childhood due to the higher relative risk of skin cancer across the life span compared to risk associated with sunburn episodes experienced later in life. This study examined demographic and attitudinal factors associated with engagement in a range of sun protection behaviours (wearing a hat, wearing protective clothing, staying in the shade, and staying indoors during the middle of the day) and the frequency of sunburn among Western Australian adolescents to provide insights of relevance for future sun protection campaigns. …

Formation Of The Radical Self: Constructs Of Change In Western Youth To Acts Of Terrorism On Home-Soil, Robyn Torok

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

The terrorist attack on a member of the Police service by a 15 year old boy in late 2015 sent shock waves not only through Australia but also throughout the world as the realisation of Islamic State targeting teenagers becomes a reality. This paper uses a blend of theoretical and empirical evidence to examine how the radicalised self is formed. Insights from various frameworks including: developmental psychology (teenage identity formation and role confusion), Foucault’s technologies of the self, governmentality and sociological issues including the perceived gap between Muslim values and those of the West. Coupled with these theoretical frameworks are …

The Forms Of Bullying Scale (Fbs): Validity And Reliability Estimates For A Measure Of Bullying Victimization And Perpetration In Adolescence, Therese M. Shaw, Julian J. Dooley, Donna S. Cross, Stephen R Zubrick, Stacey K. Waters

Research outputs 2013

The study of bullying behavior and its consequences for young people depends on valid and reliable measurement of bullying victimization and perpetration. Although numerous self-report bullying-related measures have been developed, robust evidence of their psychometric properties is scant, and several limitations inhibit their applicability. The Forms of Bullying Scale (FBS), with versions to measure bullying victimization (FBS-V) and perpetration (FBS-P), was developed on the basis of existing instruments, for use with 12-to 15-year-old adolescents to economically, yet comprehensively measure both bullying perpetration and victimization. Measurement properties were estimated. Scale validity was tested using data from 2 independent studies of 3,496 …

Searching For Health Information On The Internet : The Experiences Of Western Australian Adolescents, Lee-Anne Martins

Theses : Honours

Adolescents readily engage in online entertainment pursuits, however, it is their online social activities and health information searches that encourage psychosocial development and influence identity formation and autonomy. Considerable research has been completed on various aspects of adolescents’ encounters with online health information (for example, see Percheski & Hargittai, 2011), yet minimal research has been conducted using Australian adolescents. This study extends existing research utilising Western Australian adolescents who have used the Internet to obtain health information. The areas explored include how Western Australian adolescents search for online health information, by means of which devices, and their experiences of using …

Resilience In Western Australian Adolescents: A Model Of The Processes That Occur Between Risk And Success, Mandie B. Shean

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this research was to develop a model that represents how adolescents in the Western Australian context navigate their way to resilience. Resilience was defined as “the outcome from negotiations between individuals and their environments for the resources to define themselves as healthy amidst conditions collectively viewed as adverse” (Ungar, 2004a, p. 342). The philosophical approach was social constructivist and the methodology was mixed, employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies through grounded theory. The techniques used to gather data included interviewing, focus groups, and questionnaires. There were three stages in the research: namely, developing the model of resilience, …

The Well-Being And Identities Of 14- To 26-Year-Old Intercountry Adoptees And Their Non-Adopted Migrant Peers In Western Australia, Geertruda Rosenwald

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Intercountry adoption is a globally politicised institution that triggers strong discourses about whether transplantation to a markedly different country and culture, often into families with racially different parents, negatively affects the children ' s well-being and identity. Although empirical intercountry adoption research has increased elsewhere, Australian-based research has lagged behind. This thesis presents a body of evidence about the well-being and identity of over half the population of 14- to 26-year-old intercountry adoptees in Western Australia, how their well-being changed from 1994 to 2004, how they compare with non-adopted migrant peers and the influence of risk and threat factors. In …

A Critical Exploration Of The School Context For Young Adolescents Completing Primary Education, Sasha Stumpers, Lauren Breen, Julie Ann Pooley, Lynne Cohen, Lisbeth Pike

Research outputs pre 2011

Many schools have adopted relational approaches to attend to the social context in which learning transpires. More recently however, such approaches and their supporters have been criticized for not examining the school context in its entirety and the student experience within this context. The current research sought to critically explore young adolescents' experiences within the context of their school. Fifteen year seven students in an Australian primary school were interviewed about their experiences of their school context. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis and a question-ordered matrix was constructed to aid the detection of themes and sub-themes from …