ETD Collection

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Attachment behavior--South Africa.

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Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    A psychoanalytic exploration of African grandmothers' cultural knowledge on mothering and attachment.
    (2014-02-24) Blumberg, Sarah
    African perspectives of mothering and attachment have only started being explored recently. Conversely there has been extensive research on Western understandings of attachment and mothering from a psychoanalytic perspective. Due to the limited literature, little is known whether psychoanalytic theories can be related to African cultural perspectives of mothering and attachment. This study aimed to understand African grandmothers’ cultural knowledge of mothering and attachment through a psychoanalytic attachment theory perspective. Secondly the study intended to describe the points of convergence and divergence between psychoanalytic concepts of attachment and African grandmothers’ cultural knowledge on mothering. Using a qualitative research design, nine African grandmothers, from different locations in Johannesburg, were interviewed, using a semi-structured interview. The data gathered from the interviews was analysed using aspects of narrative analysis. The findings regarding African grandmother’s cultural descriptions of mothering were on the most part consistent with the literature reviewed. The discrepancies between the participants’ understandings and the psychoanalytic attachment literature arose as a result of the major influence of socio-economic circumstances on their lives as caregivers. Psychoanalytic attachment constructs were present in the participant’s narratives and even though they were not specifically named by the participants, the results suggested they are entrenched in African cultural practices. Thus, from a psychoanalytic attachment theory perspective the research was able to demonstrate the convergences and divergences between psychoanalytic concepts of mothering and African cultural understandings of mothering, thereby illustrating how there is room for dialogue between the two.
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    The effects of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on attachment : experiences of mothers from diverse South African socio-economic groups.
    (2013-04-02) Wortmann, Lorin
    Attachment theory is concerned with the relational ‘tie’ that exists between a mother and her child, which is said to play an imperative role in a child’s mental development and future attachment relationships. Although there is extensive research on attachment theory on an international scale, there is a paucity of information with regard to this in the South African context. The object of this study is to investigate mothers’ experiences of attachment with their child who has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition this research aims to investigate whether this attachment relationship between a mother and her ASD child differs, or is the same across diverse socio-economic groups in the South African context. This research was qualitative in nature, which elicited rich, descriptive and personal accounts of mothers’ experiences of attachment with their ASD child across diverse socio-economic groups. Twelve participants from advantaged and disadvantaged communities from Johannesburg and the greater Johannesburg area were invited to participate in this study. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic content analysis. Seven themes emerged from this study which explored mothers’ experiences of attachment with their ASD child. In addition, similarities and differences were found in mothers experiences of attachment across the diverse socio-economic groups.