THE NATURE OF SELF-CONCEPT AND EATING HABITS OF THE ADOLESCENT

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Practical demonstration

The therapist asked the caterers to have the following food available to the clients: chicken, rice, gravy, mixed vegetables, salad, fruit and juice and the group members sat around a large table together. Observation is a method that has the capacity to generate rich description since the researcher has the potential to develop an understanding of behaviour through first hand experience (Tope, Chamberlain, Crowley & Hodson 2005: 470). The following observations were made by the therapist during the practical demonstration: Case study C, Gaby who is not talkative by nature became very talkative and pushed her food around in her plate, Case Study G, Nomfundo pointed out to Gaby that she is not eating. Gaby spent time picking out any visible onions from the gravy and said that she does not eat onions. Case Study F, Lolly pushed her rice to one side of the plate and said that she is allergic to rice. Case Study E, Velvet felt that other people in the dining room were watching her eat and therefore, put her knife and fork down. Case Study H, Zabida agreed to exchange places so that no one could watch Velvet eat.
Most clients were reluctant to eat the fruit after their meal and said that they would save it for later. The therapist found the eating of a meal to be most useful since it created a pleasant atmosphere among group members and provided an opportunity to observe the clients eating behaviour. Clients reported having thoroughly enjoyed the session.

Emotions Profile Index (EPI)

The following findings from the EPI may contribute to the participants view of eating and have an effect on her self-concept. The Dyscontrol Dimension indicates that Siyabonga is not impulsive and tends to be reluctant to try out new things and have new experiences. It also came to the fore that she may experience some depression and she tends to be dissatisfied with certain aspects of her life. In therapy her inner resources were used in hypnosis in an attempt to improve her depressed mood and the metaphor used in individualized gift-wrapping encouraged her to try out new things and become more adventurous.

Draw A Person (DAP; see Appendix J)

The emotional indicators include: short arms in relation to body size which may indicate a tendency to withdraw; turning inward in an attempt to inhibit impulses; light lines indicate possible anxiousness and insecurity. According to the Draw A Person questionnaire of Appendix F, Siyabonga has presented a sixteen year old girl Emelda, who when she looks in the mirror sees a new physical self. Emelda is a popular girl because she has a nice body and if nobody could see her, the thing that she would like to do most is eat a lot. One day, Emelda cried and went to bed because someone told her that she is ugly and she dreamt that she was a super model. From the above one can see that she projects an unhappiness with self that implies a negative self-concept. The responses further imply that she is internally focused and that an attempt to inhibit impulses of eating may contribute to feelings of anxiousness. In therapy she was given the opportunity to experience healthy eating during hand levitation in hypnotherapy (see 4.2.7) and to experience positive selfconcept during the metaphor used in transformation of self-concept (see 4.2.5).

READ ADULT EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTORY ORIENTATION
1.1 BACKGROUND
1.2 ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM
1.2.1 Awareness of the problem
1.2.2 Preliminary literature study
1.2.2.1 Perception of self as an endogenous factor
1.2.2.2 Exogenous factors
1.2.2.2.1 Parents and family members
1.2.2.2.2 The Media
1.2.2.2.3 Teachers
1.2.2.2.4 Peers
1.2.2.3 The influence of self-concept on eating habits
1.2.3 Research question
1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH METHOD
1.4.1 Literature study
1.4.2 Empirical study
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.6 EXPLANATION OF TERMS
1.6.1 Eating habits
1.6.2 Self-concept
1.6.3 Cognitive therapy
1.6.4 Behaviour therapy
1.6.5 Hypnotherapy
1.6.6 Coping skills
1.6.7 External frame of reference
1.7 DEMARCATION
1.8 PROGRAMME OF STUDY
1.9 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER TWO THE NATURE OF SELF-CONCEPT AND EATING HABITS OF THE ADOLESCENT
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THE NATURE OF SELF-CONCEPT
2.2.1 Dimensions of self-concept
2.2.1.1 The physical dimension of self-concept
2.2.1.2 The personal dimension of self-concept
2.2.1.3 The family dimension of self-concept
2.2.1.4 The social dimension of self-concept
2.2.1.5 The moral-ethical dimension of self-concept
2.2.1.6 The self-criticism dimension of self-concept
2.3 THE NATURE OF EATING HABITS
2.3.1 Unhealthy eating habits
2.3.1.1 Eating junk food
2.3.1.2 Overeating
2.3.1.3 Undereating
2.4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT DURING ADOLESCENCE
2.5 MANIFESTATIONS OF UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS IN RELATION TO SELF- CONCEP
2.5.1 Obesity
2.5.2 Anorexia nervosa
2.5.3 Bulimia
2.6 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER THREE PSYCHO-THERAPY INTERVENTION FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH LOW SELFCONCEPT AND UNHEALTHY EATING HABIT
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 AN INTERACTIONISM MODEL OF SELF-CONCEPT AND EATING HABITS
3.3 COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (CBT)
3.3.1 Overview of the principles of cognitive-behaviour therapy
3.3.2 The advantages and disadvantages of cognitive-behaviour therapy
3.3.3 Cognitive-behaviour approaches used in the current study
3.3.3.1 Psycho-education
3.3.3.2 Cognitive restructuring
3.3.3.3 Relapse prevention
3.4 HYPNOTHERAPY
3.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER FOUR THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONTENT OF THE PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME CONTENT
4.2.1 Session 1: Individual therapy: Feedback on psychometric assessment
4.2.1.1 Objectives
4.2.1.2 Content
4.2.1.3 Duration
4.2.2 Session 2: Individual therapy: Interview and ego-strengthening
4.2.2.1 Objectives
4.2.2.2 Content
4.2.2.3 Duration
4.2.3 Session 3: Individual terapy: Cognitive distortions
4.2.3.1 Objectives
4.2.3.2 Content
4.2.3.3 Duration
4.2.4 Session 4: Group therapy: Application of Figure 1: An Interactionism Model of Self-concept and Eating Habits and collage of the Inner Self
4.2.4.1 Objectives
4.2.4.2 Content
4.2.4.3 Durati
4.2.5 Session 5: Individual therapy: Hypnotherapy: Transformation of self-concept
4.2.5.1 Objective
4.2.5.2 Content
4.2.5.3 Duration
4.2.6 Session 6: Group therapy: Education on healthy eating habits: theory and practice
4.2.6.1 Objectives
4.2.6.2 Content
4.2.6.3 Duration
4.2.7 Session 7: Individual therapy: Hypnotherapy: Hand levitation for undereaters and hand delevitation for overeaters
4.2.7.1 Objectives
4.2.7.2 Content
4.2.7.3 Duration
4.2.8 Session 8: Group therapy: Picture Perfect and message from the future self to the present self
4.2.8.1 Objectives
4.2.8.2 Content
4.2.8.3 Duration
4.2.9 Session 9: Individual therapy: Gift-wrapping
4.2.9.1 Objectives
4.2.9.2 Content
4.2.9.3 Duration
CHAPTER 5 THE RESEARCH DESIGN
CHAPTER 6 FINDINGS FROM THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION
CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH