The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of the process of developing a homosexual identity during childhood. We wanted to examine the experiences, feelings and thoughts that young adults, identifying themselves as homosexuals, had growing up in Sweden.For the study a qualitative method was used and nine interviews were made with young adults in the ages of 18 - 30. They answered our questions about their process of developing a homosexual identity, about their friends, family and school and about the society in general. We analysed the material from the interviews using the theory of the coming-out-process as presented by mainly Månsson and Hilte (1990).The main result from the study was that there were some difficulties for our respondents to become aware of their homosexuality and reveal their homosexuality to others. Most of our respondents experienced anxiety and/or fear as they were becoming aware of their sexuality but did become conscious about their homosexuality and accepted it before turning 21 years old.

The main purpose of this thesis was to examine how hospital librarians worked with young people at a children?s and young people?s hospital in Sweden. We wanted to see how they promoted their health with culture and cultural means such as book trolleys. We did a case study, and made three qualitative interviews with the hospital librarians. The purpose was also to find out what the hospital librarians thought of young peoples.

The aim of the study was to through a qualitative method with two focus groups investigate how young women percieve that their identity creation is influenced by them reading celebrities Blogs and in that case, whether this type of Internet activity affect their autobiographical memory, the foundation for personal identity. Since the main task of the autobiographical memory is to give the ego and its social mode a foundation by sharing memories with others, the Internet activity should be seen as an important factor for the identity formation of young people. Today, the young spend equally mauch time being connected to various media as they do socializing with family and friends. The results indicate that young women view the world and lifestyle that known Bloggers expose intheir Blogs as a kind of ideal. The young women got an aha reaction when they realized that what the Bloggers expose is not always equal to the real life..

In this thesis we have examined if some young people's identity is influenced by television programs. We chose to illustrate this from a gender perspective and have made use of social construction theory. We did group interviews with 13 youngsters, in three groups, to find out how much insight they had in what they watch, if they believe that they are affected and how they believe that gender roles in television programs often look. Our questions are: Does young people's identity take influence of the TV program? How? Creates a social construction of gender in the television programs that young people are watching? Is there awareness among young people on what they watch and how is this in this case out? Important to emphasize is that our results are not necessarily representative of youngsters in general when we only had the opportunity to interview a few.

Back in the 1950s Marilyn Monroe and her hourglass shaped body was the aesthetic ideal for how models were to look like. Nowadays, the tide has turned. Research has shown that female models are becoming increasingly taller, narrower and straighter. This trend has occurred despite the fact that both men and women (still) prefer medium sized women with curvy bodies. This essay examines if this trend can be justified from a marketer's perspective.

For centuries, the human body has been used as a mean to project the norms, moral values and aesthetic preferences that exist throughout society. It has been controlled through constrictive fashion, family and social virtues and through how we perceive gender and sexuality. This essay strives to show, not only how the body and the aesthetic values coexist, but also how they work together and influence each other, with the body as the aesthetic medium. To do this, Michel Foucault?s writings of sexuality and his theories on morality and discipline, as well as Judith Butler?s works on normativity and performativity are being used.

The purpose of this study is to map out and to analyze the spatial variation of female representation at the national level in established democracies. The aim is also to explain the variation in the female representation. The main questions that the paper tries to answer are:1.How does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?2.Why does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?This study is a comparative and statistic study, i.e. a study that includes a bigger number of countries and where quantitative analysis methods are used in order to achieve comparative analyses.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how female probation officers construct the concept of women who commit crime. This have been done by examining how the probation officers describe the phenomenon from their own point of view, how they perceive society's view of the phenomenon, how they describe the women's self-images and how their own perceptions affect the treatment of these women. To fulfill this aim the study is based on qualitative interviews with five female probation officers. We analyzed their statements by using Gender theory, Goffmans stigma term and Beckers deviant term. The result of this study shows that women who commit crime are described more as victims than offenders and that they are constructed as deviant in two ways; both in relation to the law but also in relation to their gender.

Young men who commit sexual abuse is a complex topic. This study is based on litterature on the subject and the material is processed through a qualitative content analysis. The study aims to study how the litterature describes the reasons why young men commit sexual abuse. It also aims to explore what is described to be effective treatment of young men who committed sexual abuse. The study found that most of the young men who commit sexual abuse comes from families where violence and psycohological abuse occurs. Many have themselves been victims of sexual abuse.

The aim of my study was to investigate a few young peoples experience of their treatment. The study was qualitative based on interviews with three young persons at the end of their treatment there. The subject was chosen because this kind of youth housing is an interesting alternative to institutional care for young people, despite there is not much known about the results of the treatment. The results were analyzed from earlier research and central concepts from the theory of empowerment and Anton Antonovskys theory about Sense of coherence. The results of this study show that these young peoples are satisfied with their treatment at the youth housing.

AbstractBruzelius, E. (2010). Adolescents and sexuality ? Attitudes among employees at Juvenile receptions in Gävleborgs län. Högskolan i Gävle, Akademin för hälsa och arbetsliv.The aim of the current study was to examine and describe what perceptions and values of em-ployees at Juvenile receptions in the county of Gävleborg have about adolescents? sexual and general health.

Culture is seen as an abstract phenomenon, not easily defined. It is cathegorized as something that affects every person, though it is seldom described how. This study adress how culture, in the form of basic assumptions and accepted behaviors and ways to think affected how young coaches formed their leadership under the influence of their organization. The possible implications for the importance of knowing about ones culture in an organization affect both the recruitment process in organizations and what the organization stands for and what is conveyed through values and ways to act in the organization. The purpose of this study was, through the use of semi-structured interviews with young coaches and organizational leaders and a review of policys, to get the perspective and experiences of young coaches regarding cultural influence on their leadership.

This study elucidates the feelings and the experiences by working with the complex of problems of self-injurious behaviour, of six professionals. The purpose with this study has been to examine the feelings and the experiences of the professionals, coming up when they meet and treat young girls with self-injurious behaviour. The empirical basis of this study is built on interviews of six female professionals, working in the County of Kalmar. The statements of the informants were analyzed out of Goffman?s Role Theory and the norm perspective on social behaviour.

The aim of this study is to understand which roles institutional personnel in HVB-homes (homes for care or living), that include animals ascribe the animals for the young clients in treatment. Using the termsrole, role-taking, primary socialisation and secondary socialisation within the perspective of symbolic interactionism, we intend to analyse the expericences from the institutional personnel of what roles the animals are ascribed in treatment of young clients. We also wanted to find out if the institutional personnel have certain expectations on the animals as tools in the treatment and whether the institutional personnel believes that the animals have important roles in the treatment of the young clients.To find the answers of our aim and approach to our problems, we have used a qualitative study where we have interviewed six institutional personnel distributed in three different HVB-homes that uses animals in treatment of young clients. Our empirical material shows that the institutional personnel ascribe the animals a variety of roles, which among others are: friendly and familiar, meaningful, safe, comforting and soothing. Other roles that the institutional personnel ascribe the animals for the young clients are: teaching in order to develop empathy and responsibility; helping in therapy situation and having an activating role.

This is a qualitative study about how young men in the age of 16-18 years can construct their masculinity. How do these young men describe a ?real man?? What are their thoughts about themselves as adults? The purpose of this study includes a gender perspective in surroundings that cope with the sport football. To answer this study, six young men in the age of 16-18 years, whom are active football players in different levels, have been interviewed. The findings showed that the young men seemed to construct their masculinity in cooperation with the surroundings and the nearest family members seemed to have a very strong influence of the boy?s development to become a man.