Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Covid-19 Pandemic

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    The psychological impact on adult children who moved back home due to the financial consequences of COVID-19
    (2023-08) dos Reis, Danielle; Marchetti-Mercer, Maria Chiara
    The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on most countries across the globe. It also resulted in severe losses in various aspects of life such as work, school, and the family. Family life was particularly strongly affected by the lockdowns that were implemented to curb the spread of the virus. Many young adults returned to the parental home, experiencing a disruption in the family life cycle, because the decision to make this move delayed their transition to adulthood and parenthood. The purpose of this research study was to explore the psychological impact on such young adults of returning to their parents’ home because of the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Gauteng, South Africa. The study drew on Family Systems theories and the Family Life Cycle model to understand this phenomenon and its impact on South African families. The participants of the study included young South African adults between the ages of 23 and 30 years. The data gathered from semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that many young people moved back to their parents because of economic challenges experienced as a result of difficulties related to finding or retaining employment. Moreover, the study found that the return home had negative implications for participants’ sense of independence, privacy, and mental health, despite increased emotional and financial support from parents. This influenced changes in their perceptions of adulthood, as well as a concurrent sense of stagnation and failure. The study also found that the return home of adult children led to an increase in interpersonal connectedness on the one hand, and to conflict between adult children and parents or guardians on the other, and it created a change in the parent-adult-child dynamic. The study adds to the emerging body of work on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family life and functioning.
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    Determining a Relationship Between Attitude Towards E Learning and Academic Stress Levels in Higher Education Students
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Persello, Byron Franco; Pitman, Michael
    E-learning has become more prevalent in higher education institutes, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that necessitated social distancing as well as the rise in technology application to education. With stress being an important factor in the academic experience, this research report explores the relationship between the experience of stress and attitudes towards e-learning factors in students. The sample was 79 undergraduate students from the University of Witwatersrand who had undergone e-learning during the 2021 academic year. To gather the data, the Student-life Stress Inventory and Scale of Student Attitude towards E-learning was used. The results showed there was no correlation between experienced stress and attitudes towards the e-learning factors, results r = -.178, n = 75, p = .317. Descriptive analysis of the two measure’s items indicates that participants recognised the benefits of e-learning but challenges using the e-learning medium were still relevant to their experience. The overall stress was beyond normal management for 86.11% of the participants, even though social support appeared available.