3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Mortality and violence in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa(2009-11-17T12:53:28Z) Mosiane, Malerato Adelaide NthamaneViolence is a hidden problem in most communities, yet it is among the leading causes of death and non-fatal injury worldwide. It is an essential public health issue for every country and needs to be addressed as a matter of priority. While rural areas of South Africa are believed to be safer than urban areas, they are not necessarily safe per se. The main objective of this study is to examine the burden of fatal violent injuries on a rural South African community. The violent deaths data used in this report were collected through a verbal autopsy (VA) process during the period 1992 to 2000 in Agincourt, Bushbuckridge, a rural area in the north-eastern part of South Africa with a population of about 69 000 people. Person-years data for the same period, obtained from the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System (AHDSS), were used for the denominator in the computation of rates. Violence accounted for 5.9% (170/2 859) of deaths from all causes in the Agincourt area between 1992 and 2000. Of the 170 violent deaths, 68.2% were due to assault while the remaining 31.8% were suicides. The proportion of violent deaths, as proportion of deaths from all causes, is highest in the 15–19 year age group (20.9%, compared to 1.0% amongst those under the age of 15 years and 2.0% among those 60 years and older). The small number of victims in each age group results in wide confidence intervals. The violent deaths proportion, as a proportion of deaths from all causes, is higher in males (9%) than in females (2.3%). Violence levels appear to be higher among South Africans than among self-settled former Mozambicans, though the observed difference between these two populations is not statistically significant. However, a statistically significant difference is found between levels of death due to assault among migrants and permanent residents. To address this situation, violence prevention strategies and programmes need to be put in place to reduce violence. However, more research is required in order to identify more risk factors associated with violent behaviour, to study the identified risk factors, and to inform the development of these programmes.Item The role of assault severity, rape myth beliefs, personality factors, attribution style and psychological impact in predicting coping with rape victimization(2007-02-21T12:40:45Z) Mgoqi, Nolwandle CodeliaThis study is aimed at understanding the role of assault severity, personality traits and rape myths in predicting rape victims’ psychological responses and coping styles. Specifically, the study assessed the mediating role of victims’ attribution in predicting psychological impacts of rape victimization and the coping styles. On the basis of theory, it was postulated that the severity of assault (as determined by either the use of physical force and/or the presence of weapons); intrapersonal resources of hardiness; and the acceptance of rape myths would have a direct influence on survivors’ psychological impact and on coping. The thesis provides comprehensive coverage of the prevalence of rape victimization; the trauma and psychological impacts of rape victimization; coping with rape victimization; and the theory on the role of social cognition (appraisal and attribution) in explaining victims’ responses to rape. The theoretical conceptualisation underpinning the study offers a unique integration of this body of knowledge within the South African context. In investigating the research question, two hundred and fifty adult black (African) South African women who had experienced rape in the previous month were interviewed about the event and their subsequent responses. The interviewees were drawn from Xhosa, SePedi and Zulu speaking communities. The study was located within the quantitative research tradition. A structured interview questionnaire was developed. Descriptive statistics were calculated and the emphasis of the analysis was in the area of the Structural Equation Model. The model was successful in terms of explained variance in accounting for the two types of coping; approach and avoidance coping dimensions followed by the psychological impact and attribution. The results showed psychological impact as explained through the symptoms of Hyperarousal, Intrusion and Avoidance had the greatest influence on coping of rape survivors. As hypothesized, the results confirmed that an increase in rape assaults severity resulted into increased levels of psychological distress. The findings indicated that internal styles of self-blame attribution (behavioural and characterological attribution) were prevalent among victims of rape in the present study. Although hardiness (commitment and control) dimensions were not found to significantly influence coping, an orientation of control and commitment amongst survivors was found to significantly influence the attribution styles. Furthermore, the control dimension was found to have a significant influence on victims’ psychological distress. Interestingly, the results revealed that acceptance of rape myths among survivors resulted in a decrease in psychological distress. The findings demonstrate the strength of the current study in the development and testing of theoretically based models of processing rape victimization recovery among rape survivors. The implications of the data are explored.