3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item "Strategies for negotiating absent fathers among young people in Soweto, South Africa"(2014-07-22) Mdletshe, PrudenceThe family has been seen as playing an important part in children’s lives and their development. This is because families are seen to be the primary sources of individual development and thus should be seen as the building blocks of communities. Families serve as the main source of emotional, social and material support for most individuals. Thus, stable family environments are acknowledged to provide a fertile environment for children’s wellbeing and for them to grow up to be healthy responsible adults. Most South African children are raised by a single mother or by their maternal grandparents. Research conducted shows that South African Families face many challenges, and these challenges could be the source for high rates of absent fathers. Poverty has been identified to be one of the challenges that affect families in South Africa. Some researchers argue that poverty and inequality continue to undermine the family as an institution by reducing its effectiveness in realizing the roles of its members in society. Therefore poverty puts a burden on families and specifically on the main providers or ‘breadwinners’. Poverty in South Africa is mainly caused by lack of income, which is due to the high unemployment rates with little initiatives to reduce unemployment rates. The research was conducted qualitatively and specifically used narrative inquiry as a method of gathering data. In-depth, one-on-one narrative interviews were conducted in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the consequences of having an absent father and the strategies that young women adopted in order to deal with the consequences. Eight interviews with females aged from 18 – 21 years were conducted in Soweto. The findings reveal that the participants adopted both negative and positive coping strategies. Positive coping strategies include, creative writing, keeping a diary, maintaining a positive attitude, living a different life and speaking to others. Negative coping strategies included withdrawing from others, denial of a need of a father, self-blame, silence and defensive humor. More research is needed on how young people with absent fathers cope, paying into consideration issues of personality, culture and socialization.Item Sense of coherence and coping as predictors of compassion satisfaction and fatigue in psychology trainee therapists.(2013-04-08) Edgar, TyroneThe aim of this research was to longitudinally and quantitatively investigate sense of coherence (SOC) and coping strategies as predictors of compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF) as measured by secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout (BT) during the first six months of training in a professional psychology training programme. Trainee therapists’, “dramatically shift” their “focus of functioning over time” to adorn the personality and self of the therapist (Rønnestad & Skovholt, 2003, p. 28). This adaptive process may initially unravel over six months as trainees balance client and workload stressors (Hill, Sullivan, Knox & Schlosser, 2007; Tryssenaar & Perkins, 2001). However, research on the developmental processes behind the negative (CF) and positive (CS) avenues of therapeutic stressors is lacking in the trainee therapists’ population, especially quantitatively (Schwing, LaFollette, Steinfeldt & Wong, 2010; Thériault, Gazzola & Richardson, 2009). This research aimed to explore these issues in relation to professional development through SOC and coping as predictors of CS and CF over a six month training period. Variables were investigated quantitatively through the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) (Stamm, 2010) the Brief COPE (BCOPE) (Carver, 1997) and the 29-item self-report Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) (Antonovsky, 1987). As such, the primary focus of this research was on how SOC and coping strategies were utilised by trainee therapists as process variables in predicting the positive (CS) and negative (CF) avenues of therapeutic work over a six month period of psychotherapy training. Findings suggested that, at the beginning of training, sense of coherence was directly associated with the core outcome variables (CS and CF (as measured by STS and BT). When trainee therapists started seeing clients two months later, the effect of SOC was mediated by coping. At the end of training, only coping was directly associated with outcome variables as the effect of SOC on CS and CF disappeared. These implications are further discussed in the research.Item "The emotional well-being, social adjustment and coping strategies of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS."(2009-01-27T09:01:08Z) Lumbi, Patricia C.This study looked at how children who are exposed to the impact of HIV/AIDS in their immediate families are affected and what coping strategies they employ. Research was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia, involving eight female and eight male Zambian children between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, as research participants. Separate gender specific focus group discussions were held, after which the recorded proceedings were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that children experience socioeconomic difficulties, psychosocial deprivations, and insecurity as a result of parental death or illness. However, they are still able to find ways to survive and cope with their difficulties. State and private sector efforts have focussed primarily on addressing the socioeconomic needs of these children as this has been understood to be the most critical. The psychological impact of HIV/AIDS on children in Zambia, and the resultant needs that arise, will need to be tackled as a matter of priority.