Discovering the Perspectives Used to Resolve Life Difficulties by Year 10 Students at a Christian School

Abstract

This article explores the nature and range of the perspectives used by adolescents in a Christian School to resolve life difficulties and evaluates the results of a survey used for this purpose by Year 10 students at that school. There appeared to be support for a theory that perspectives processes are used by the adolescents to understand and resolve life difficulties. There was also a suggestion, arising from the high number of students who provided a reason for their choice of action, to form a hypothesis that perspectives consist of at least a personal values viewpoint and a possible course of action. The small number of perspectives the students employed and the inverse relationship between the level of commitment to God or to atheism a student has and the number of perspectives those students choose may provide evidence that the perspectives adolescents use consist of culturally acquired values and mental models of action.