Browsing by Author "Ryan, Vidette"
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- ItemAn exploration of adolescent girls’ perceptions of lifestyle and wellness(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Ryan, Vidette; Swart, E. R.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. Educational PsychologyENGLISH ABSTRACT : Addressing concerns relating to adolescent lifestyles and wellness necessitate the move towards integrative approaches in this field. This shift would accentuate the importance of incorporating adolescents’ perceptions of lifestyle and wellness within applied research studies through engaging them in collaborative and qualitative narratives. This inclusion is deemed necessary as adolescents may hold valuable insights about these constructs and the impact it may have on their own lives. Research has shown that lifestyle can directly and indirectly influence wellness and is thus viewed as one of the single most determining factors that can impact general health and wellness. However, defining lifestyle and wellness is challenging. Lifestyle is still vaguely described as a way of living that reflects attitudes and patterns of behaviour of an individual or group of individuals. Yet, lifestyle is more than just a way of living. Defining wellness is made complex due to its interchangeable use with the concept of wellbeing. Wellness is commonly described as an orientation of lifestyle concerned with the holistic integration of the body, mind and spirit with multidimensional facets of life in order to attain an optimal state of health and wellbeing. Wellness represents a continuum and not an end-state. The operationalisation and experimentation of finding suitable lifestyles that can influence wellness is shaped during adolescence, therefore a distinctive understanding of what adolescent lifestyle and wellness entails should be obtained. The study was based on post-structuralist ideas of promoting healthy functioning as a dynamic interaction between person and contextual factors. The purpose of this study was therefore centred on exploring the personal constructions of four adolescent girls’ perceptions and understanding of lifestyle and wellness. This exploration included participants’ own explanations of lifestyle and wellness; perceptions of general factors that they perceived may impact lifestyle and wellness; and insights of contextual perceptions of lifestyle and wellness as it pertained to themselves, their families and their community. This exploration occurred through means of a qualitative research design that was presented in the form of an instrumental case study. Due to the qualitative and integrative nature of this study convenience sampling was used to purposefully select the four adolescent girls who participated in an existing afterschool sports program. The study’s integrative theoretical framework was based on conceptual principles of George Kelly’s personal construct theory and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model. The qualitative data collection methods used consisted out of focus group discussions, individual reflective writing worksheets with open-ended questions and creative picture line constructions. Supplementary data collection methods consisted out of unstructured observations, retrospective reflections and an adapted form of the repertory grid technique. The constant comparative method was used for data analysis. The methodology was based on the belief that adolescents are no longer regarded as the recipients of generic programmes designed by experts. They are believed to be knowledgeable and valuable participants in developing contextually relevant psycho-educational and preventative programmes. In the process of making sense of the constructs of lifestyle and wellness, participants assisted in making these constructs more accessible in order to address lifestyle and wellness related concerns. Findings from this study indicated that both lifestyle and wellness can be seen as complex, dynamic, multidimensional and interrelated in nature. Adolescent participants’ lifestyle knowledge appeared to be better developed. However, it was observed that limited wellness knowledge and the uncertainty about the meaning of wellness existed for participants. This signifies that a gap for wellness education within this particular cohort may exist. A central recommendation made from the findings of this study is that more research within the fields of adolescent lifestyle and wellness ought to be conducted. Exploring the perceptions of adolescents may provide valuable information on health promoting or impeding behaviours. This can direct the type of intervention strategies that may be required to promote optimal development and the fostering of resilience amongst adolescents in the South African context.