This paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean...Show moreThis paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean society. A cultural and sociological approach to suicide is used, and Durkheim's sociological theory of suicide is also mobilised in order to interpret and make sense of South Korea's suicide phenomenon. Ultimately, the identified phenomena of both social groups are analyzed, compared and contrasted in order to see if there is connection between the phenomena and the suicide rate of the South Korean youth and elders.Show less
This study was designed to test mediation and moderation models between sense of general or ethnic discrimination, psychological distress, and behavioral problems. The sample consisted of 68 first-...Show moreThis study was designed to test mediation and moderation models between sense of general or ethnic discrimination, psychological distress, and behavioral problems. The sample consisted of 68 first- and second generation Turkish-Dutch mothers and their 11- to 13- year old adolescent children. Sense of general or ethnic discrimination and psychological distress was measured by questionnaires filled out by the adolescents. A questionnaire about the child’s behavioral problems was filled out by mother. It was found that young adolescents who perceived that they were being discriminated against also reported more psychological distress. Mothers of adolescents with more psychological distress reported more behavioral problems. An indirect effect between sense of general discrimination and behavioral problems, via the mediator psychological distress was found. No direct relation between sense of general discrimination and behavioral problems was found and no moderating role of psychological distress was found in the relation between discrimination and behavioral problems. Our study with third generation adolescents contributes to the information that was already available about sense of discrimination, psychological distress and behavioral problems in first- and second- generation adolescents, making it possible to compare between different generations.Show less
People with a low self-esteem can possibly be more violent to more easy targets to increase their own self-esteem (Ha, Peterson & Sharp, 2008). According to the model of Kohut (1977)...Show morePeople with a low self-esteem can possibly be more violent to more easy targets to increase their own self-esteem (Ha, Peterson & Sharp, 2008). According to the model of Kohut (1977) narcissistic traits can lead to conduct problems. This is because persons with high narcissistic traits won’t be able to change their high self-image. Lastly, the mask model (Kernberg, 1975) presumes that people with conduct problems can have a negative implicit self-esteem that can be masked by narcissistic traits. However, literature shows mixed evidence. Therefore this study was interested in to what extent narcissistic traits and/or low self-esteem are related to conduct problems in adolescents of 12-17 years old. This research included 549 adolescents (mean age: 14.8; SD = 1.22; 51% male) from 9 prevocational high schools. The measuring instruments were questionnaires and a computer task. To measure explicit self-esteem the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965) was used. Implicit self esteem was measured with the Implicit Association Task- Self Esteem (Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998). Narcissistic traits were measured by a subscale of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (Das & De Ruiter, 2003). Conduct problems were measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Treffers & Van Widenfelt, 2005). The hypotheses have been tested by a regression analyses and interaction analysis. Results were that a low explicit self-esteem and narcissistic traits are individually related to conduct problems. Limitations of this study are the small effect sizes, risk of social desirability bias and the limited measure for narcissistic traits. However, strengths are the large and heterogeneous sample size, measuring both types of self-esteem and measuring narcissistic traits and self-esteem in the same sample. Future research can especially concentrate on interventions that increase explicit self-esteem.Show less
The Netherlands are an ethnically diverse society, but interethnic contact between immigrants and the native Dutch is scarce. With the increase of non-western immigrants since 2000, Islamophobia...Show moreThe Netherlands are an ethnically diverse society, but interethnic contact between immigrants and the native Dutch is scarce. With the increase of non-western immigrants since 2000, Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims have increased. Avoidance of contact and increased Muslim prejudice are mutually related problems. A solution is suggested by Allport (1954) who hypothesized that intergroup contact could effectively reduce intergroup prejudice when certain conditions are met. Contact between different groups is likely to occur on different contact-levels, such as the classroom, the neighborhood and on the individual-level in case of intergroup friendship. However, research studying contact in different settings is scarce. The goal of this study is to test in a multilevel model on which level intergroup contact is most negatively related to Muslim prejudice. In contrast with our hypothesis this study found that ethnic diversity in the neighborhood and in the classroom has no significant effect on Muslim prejudice. Furthermore, the number of Muslim classmates is not related to the number of Muslim friends. Consistent with our hypothesis, adolescents with more Islamic friends had less feelings of Muslim prejudice. We therefore advise to alter the Dutch policy on integration and shift the focus to the level of the individual. Interventions can for instance be started at the level of the family or at the level of the classroom using the ‘jigsaw’ method.Show less
Uit eerder onderzoek is gebleken dat adolescenten uit multiprobleemgezinnen over het algemeen een negatief toekomstperspectief hebben. In dit verslag wordt een vooronderzoek gerapporteerd over de...Show moreUit eerder onderzoek is gebleken dat adolescenten uit multiprobleemgezinnen over het algemeen een negatief toekomstperspectief hebben. In dit verslag wordt een vooronderzoek gerapporteerd over de mogelijke samenhang tussen leeftijd, begeleidingstijd, probleemgedrag en het toekomstperspectief van adolescenten die deelnemen aan het Pluscoach project. De steekproef bestond uit 23 overbelaste adolescenten van 12 tot 26 jaar uit regio Zuid-Holland Noord. Leeftijd, begeleidingstijd en internaliserend probleemgedrag bleken niet gerelateerd aan het toekomstperspectief. Hoe meer externaliserend probleemgedrag adolescenten rapporteerden des te positiever hun toekomstperspectief bleek. Mogelijk komt dit doordat zij meer dan adolescenten die internaliserend probleemgedrag rapporteerden het gevoel hebben hun eigen toekomst te kunnen sturen.Show less
