3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The perceptions of teachers, pupils, and parents regarding discipline in newly-integrated Lenasia schools(2014-03-18) Harrisunker, NitaItem The association of adolescent smoking with stress and coping in Pretoria high schools: a qualitative study(2009-03-23T11:59:42Z) O'Hara, Oscar RenoAdolescent substance use is associated with a number of pressing problems on the public health agenda, including an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy, violence-related injuries, depression, homicide, sexual assault, and accidental death. Teenage substance use remains high in South Africa, with a prevalence of smoking and alcohol binge-drinking estimated at 18.5% and 23% respectively. A previous quantitative cross-sectional analysis of data from a study cohort from which this study’s sample was drawn, demonstrated an association between adolescents’ sense of coherence (SOC) – a measure of coping ability – and smoking. The current study, using a qualitative approach, thus sought to gain more insight into adolescent substance use, particularly smoking, and to better understand how it may relate to coping. A mixed method sampling strategy was used in selecting 22 research participants between the ages of 16 and 19 in two high schools in Pretoria. They were then interviewed individually by an interviewer blinded to their SOC level and substance use status as documented in the quantitative survey in which this study builds on. The interviews were transcribed in full and a content analysis strategy was used in the analysis of the data. The results obtained were then merged with participants’ substance use status and SOC levels. Of the 22 participants, 6 had strong SOC and had never used substances; 8 had weak SOC and were current substance users. The other 8 also had weak SOC but were not current substance users. Further analysis of the results showed that adolescents’ substance use is associated with stress and coping as they (substance users) reported using substances in attempting to manage stressful life events. Of the 8 current substance users, 7 reported avoidance-oriented (disengagement) coping styles. Five of the 7 reported load imbalance such as academic and social pressures and distress (e.g. schoolwork overload, peer demands, and family problems) as a reason for using substances. The non-substance using adolescents with weak SOC reported strong social support, especially family and peer support in coping with life stressors. Hence, substances were more likely to make up for compromised coping where contextuallevel risk factors (demands/stressors) exceeded coping resources such as social support. Also, of the 8 substance users- in addition to stress related reasons for using substances- 4 reported sensation seeking, whilst 2 reported curiosity/experimentation- which are all non-stress related. Furthermore, although family and peer support were observed to be complementary in most cases, the reliance on peers for support was stronger amongst those whom family support was considered weak, which presented the context for social/peer pressure and vulnerability to substance use. The study findings suggest family support as a moderator of the influence of the adolescents’ inability to cope with stress (or have low SOC) on smoking behaviour. On the other hand, a close relationship was observed between strong SOC and using engagement coping responses and reporting family and school support as sources of support. Notably, all the participants with strong SOC reported that they had never used substances despite being equally affected by life stressors. The implications of the findings are also discussed, especially as related to enhancing SOC. More practically, in addition to providing life skills training to educate adolescents about substance use, school-based programmes could incorporate the notion of stress and coping in helping adolescents to develop desirable and effective coping strategies to deal with social demands as well as adopting advantageous lifestyles to meet their needs for stimulation and adventure (sensation seeking and experimentation). On the whole, the enhancement of social support and adolescents’ connectedness to various social systems may be the key to substance use prevention among South African adolescents.Item Indirect exposure to traumatic materials: experiences of claims workers in the short-term insurance industry(2007-10-08T12:33:21Z) Ludick, Marne; ;The study focused on claims workers in the short-term insurance industry and on whether their working conditions, such as dealing with traumatised clients and traumatic materials, are affecting them adversely. Equivalent attention fell on underwriting clerks, the comparison group, to ascertain whether they differ significantly from claims workers along the dimensions of compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress as well as self-esteem and optimism/pessimism. These constructs were measured by the ProQOL-RIII - , the Mehrabian MSE – and MOP Scales, after which the scores were analysed. These scores were then compared across the two groups and also in terms of mode of interaction, using parametric statistical procedures. Although no significant differences were found between the two study groups, interesting interaction effects and other findings were nevertheless revealed that shed valuable light on these groups of workers.Item A Validation study of the sense of coherence scale using two South African samples(2007-03-01T11:05:14Z) Randall, Susan JaneThis study undertook to investigate the validity of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC Scale) for use in South Africa. The scale was developed by Antonovsky (1987) and is widely used in stress and health research. It measures three components: meaningfulness, comprehensibility, and manageability, which Antonovsky posited as being central to a person’s sense of coherence (SOC), which in turn facilitates coping and personal resilience. The current research utilised two samples, namely a group of disabled individuals and a group of undergraduate psychology students. It found that while the SOC Scale is indeed a useful psychometric instrument within a South African context, it would be advisable to develop a modified version of the scale for local use. Factor analysis suggested that a three-factor solution is more appropriate than a one-factor solution, a finding which is congruent with Antonovsky’s theory. Suggestions are made for modifications to some of the original 29 items, as well as the subscales, of the SOC Scale.Item Religious Orientation and Pressure in Undergraduate Engineering Students(2007-02-26T10:02:12Z) Almeida, Claudia Da SilvaIn recent years, there has been increased interest among multidisciplinary researchers in looking at the relationship between religion and health, with the bulk of the literature indicating that religion has largely positive effects on mental health (Masters, Hill, Kircher, Benson & Fallon, 2004; Pieper, 2004; Smith, McCullough & Poll, 2003). Hence this study has chosen to focus on the relationship between undergraduate students’ perceptions of religious orientation, as defined by Allport and Ross (1967), and their perceptions of pressure – a form of stress identified by Weiten (1988). Questionnaires comprising of the Religious Orientation Scale, the Pressure Inventory and demographic information in terms of age, gender and religious affiliation were administered to undergraduate engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand to explore religious orientation and pressure respectively. The sample consisted of 76 undergraduate engineering students at the University of the Witwatersrand. The results revealed that in this sample religious orientation had no influence on perceptions of pressure. In terms of the demographic variables, neither age nor gender was found to influence students’ perceptions of religious orientation or pressure, respectively. However a significant difference was found between religious affiliation and both religious orientation and pressure. More specifically religious affiliation showed a significant difference in terms of intrinsic religious orientation, selfimposed pressure, pressure in intimate relations and total pressure.Item COMPASSION FATIGUE AND THE SENSE OF COHERENCE IN CAREGIVERS WORKING WITH SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILDREN IN SOWETO(2006-11-16T09:33:03Z) Nene, NokulungaThe aim of this study was to contribute to literature the effects of working with traumatized children in a continuous traumatic stress environment more specifically in a township which is historically known as characterised by criminal activities and political oppression, Soweto. The study investigates the levels of compassion fatigue and the sense of coherence of caregivers working in a continuous traumatic stress environment. Working with trauma victims especially children who are perceived as vulnerable and helpless may leave caregivers with feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, anger towards the perpetrators or anger toward the parents for being unable to protect the children. Caregivers may view the environment as unsafe for both their own children and the traumatized children that they treat. These emotions may lead to compassion fatigue, meaning that the caregiver’s relationships at home and work become affected due to trauma work. The caregiver’s ability to manage or cope with a stressful situation may also be affected causing their levels of the sense of coherence to be compromised. This study investigated the levels of compassion fatigue and the sense of coherence among caregivers who work with sexually abused children in Soweto. Compassion fatigue was assessed by using the Compassion Fatigue Scale (CFS) (Figley, 1995, Stamm, 1996). The sense of coherence was measured by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) Antonvosky (1987). The sample group consisted of 25 caregivers working in Soweto. These included nurses, teachers, counsellors and social workers from this area. 2 Results of the study indicated that the majority of the respondents manifested an extremely high risk of compassion fatigue based on the high scores they obtained on the Compassion Fatigue Scale. Interestingly the levels of the sense of coherence for the majority of the participants were also high, which contradicts previous findings. Findings from the qualitative data revealed positive and negative emotions related to the nature of their work. It also became apparent that caregivers with limited resources become frustrated and manifested feelings of inadequacy due to poor referral systems and there was no feedback from other organisation that deal with the children they worked with. Leaving caregivers with feelings of isolation. It also emerged that caregivers used a range of coping strategies in dealing with stressful situations.Item Identifying medical call centre stress: an evaluation of psychological and physical wellbeing(2006-11-16T09:18:37Z) Lutrin, JosieThe current research focuses on stress within the medical call centre environment and the way in which organisational factors may impact on the psychological and physical well being of employees in such a context. The rationale of the study occurs as a relative lack of current research in this area, particulary within the South African context. Furthermore, the study aimed to combine previous research conducted in call centres with other studies carried out on emergency medical service personnel, in order to generate distinctive findings for the unique environment of the emergency medical call centre. The study was quantitative in nature and was based on the transactional model of stress. The participants were selected non-randomly from an accessible of convenience and elements of both purposive and convenience sampling procedures were used. One hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed within the three medical call centres and 78 were completed and returned. The findings indicate that medical call employees experience stress from environmental aspects such as support from outside of work, organisational factors, feelings of being undervalued, support at work and the nature of the work itself. Additionally, findings indicated that the stress factors of support outside of work, organisational characteristics, being undervalued and support at work had and impact on the psychological and physical wellbeing of employees and increased absenteeism and their desire to leave the organisation. Results also indicated that the stress related to the nature of the work itself was not significant and decreased as tenure within the medical call centre increased. Having identified aspects of medical call centre stress and the way in which these factors impact on the psychological and physical wellbeing of employees, the implications this work were discussed both theoretically and practically. Limitations of the study were acknowledged and further research directions were suggested.Item An Investigation of Foundation Phase Teachers' Perceptions of Their Needs Within the Inclusive Classroom(2006-11-16T07:18:53Z) Moolla, NiroshaThis study investigates the needs of Foundation Phase teachers within an inclusive education system. The policy of inclusion in education is currently being promoted in many countries and has over the last decade been part of the new educational movement in South Africa. The rationale for this study lies in the pivotal role of teachers in facilitating the success of an inclusive system. The study utilises a sample of eighteen female teachers in the Foundation Phase of six different township-based mainstream primary schools in Gauteng. The schools share similar socio-economic backgrounds, and are all dual medium of instruction (English and Afrikaans), co-ed schools. The participants range in age from 26-59 years old, having a tertiary qualification in education and a range of teaching experience from 1 year to over 10 years. The teachers were asked to participate in a guided interview that was designed to examine 1) their perceptions of what they need in order to be effective within their classrooms, 2) their perceptions of their competency in managing diversity within their classrooms, and 3) their perceptions of support services with regard to in-service training programmes, district-based support teams, school-based support teams, and within school resources. The findings revealed that the major needs of teachers within an inclusive setting relate to: smaller class size, less administrative paperwork, specialised support from professional experts within the field of education (e.g. psychologists, remedial teachers), greater support from support teams, and training programmes aimed at directly addressing their difficulty in adequately meeting the individual needs of learners. Further, the teachers feel that they do not possess the necessary skills that are needed to cope with meeting the demands of learner diversity within their classrooms. The results of this study provide reasons for concern regarding teachers who are viewed as the key role-players for the successful implementation of inclusive education. The research findings suggest that unless the needs of teachers are acknowledged and addressed through effective interventions, the implementation of inclusive education could encounter serious obstacles. The limitations of the present study are discussed and directions for future research are made.