The purpose of the study is to explore the psychological profile of South African police trainees. A literature study highlighted three important pretrauma variables that can influence an individual’s resilience when stressful circumstances occur. These variables include coping behaviour, personality characteristics and psychological distress. The primary goal of the research was to explore whether a relationship exists between these pretrauma variables and if demographic differences occur. Police officers in South Africa are exposed to violent circumstances, which can have a negative impact on their psychological functioning; it is therefore important to explore which psychological profiles are more likely to result in resilience. Studies such as this one can be used to facilitate the selection of resilient police officers in South Africa. A quantitative research investigation was conducted using three instruments namely, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOC), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). As a secondary aim, the psychometric properties of these instruments were briefly explored. A sample of 150 police trainees was selected to take part in the research study during their first six months in training, before entering the field. The selected sample size yielded a total of 142 completed tests. The participants were selected using a method of stratified random sampling, which resulted in an equal distribution of male and female trainees. The results confirm that the trainees are more likely to use adaptive coping mechanisms, and are generally psychologically healthy. As expected, significant relationships exist between the three pretrauma variables under investigation. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

Aim: To investigate families’ perceived life situation when living with cancer, with a focus on health and family sense of coherence. Methods: Study I is a population-based register study that explored how cancer influenced the health of cohabitating partners of persons with cancer in Sweden by examining the onset of new diagnoses, health care use, and health care costs among the partners. Study II focused on familial interaction patterns for families living with cancer in a palliative phase, based on family interviews, and analysed using Gadamerian hermeneutics. In study III, Family Sense of Coherence scale (S-FSOC-S) was culturally adapted and evaluated for reliability and validity, using psychometric analyses. Study IV explored associations between family sense of coherence and hope, anxiety, and symptoms of depression using descriptive statistics and nested linear regression. Results: Study I showed that the partners of persons with cancer had significantly increased health care use and health care costs both one and two years after the cancer diagnosis, and that use patterns and costs varied according to the type of cancer that had been diagnosed. Study II revealed that the familial interaction patterns were adjusted in response to changes in family life - changes which encompassed three different, but interrelated, patterns: power dynamics in the family, the “secret game” in the family, and multifaceted closeness and distance in the family. Study III suggested that S-FSOC-S is useful for assessing familial coherence and shows satisfactory reliability and validity. Study IV showed that stronger family sense of coherence was associated with higher hope and lower anxiety and symptoms of depression levels in both persons with cancer and their family members. Conclusions: Families’ life situation was affected by the cancer diagnosis, which had an impact on both individual family members and the family as a unit. The type of cancer may help to determine partners’ risk of ill health. The changed familial interaction patterns increased the families’ ability to deal with family life without hurting each other. The S-FSOC-S is a useful instrument for assessing family sense of coherence and can help identify families with weak family sense of coherence, who may need professional support.

This thesis discusses possibilities of using psychometric on-line systems in recruitment and selection process. The first part of thesis describes the process of recruitment and selection of employees and it attends to the characteristic of psychometric testing as one of methods of selection of employees. This part of work mentions the expanding trend of using on-line psychodiagnostics in recruitment and selection of employees. The second part of thesis focuses on possibilities of using the concrete psychometric on-line system in recruitment and selection process and it characterises work with this on-line system from user's view. It follows the description of recruitment and selection process with using of this on-line system for a specific position in situation of concrete company. The conclusion of thesis contains analysis of this process and it suggests some recommendations for doing recruitment and selection more effective.

The current investigation is post-hoc in nature and is nested in a larger research project, which aimed to explore and compare the personality characteristics, coping mechanisms and psychological well-being of South African and Swedish police trainees. The purpose of this particular study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in a sample of South African Police trainees. A literature review highlighted that the TCI has the potential to be applied across various cultures without the risk of any ethnic or gender bias; this characteristic is attributed to the theoretical model underlying the TCI, which assumes that personality consists of seven universal factors, which manifest in an invariant manner across all humans. Despite this, the majority of international research focussing on the TCI version nine has been undertaken with primarily European populations and Eastern populations. Research exploring the construct equivalence, factor structure and the level of instrument bias of the TCI in any African is virtually non-existent. The current study endeavoured to address the aforementioned knowledge gap by exploring the psychometric properties of the TCI in a multi-cultural South African sample. The primary goal of the research endeavour was to explore whether the TCI can in the future be established as a valid and reliable personality assessment measure in a multi-cultural context like South Africa. Literature indicates that in the current South African psychometric context personality measures should adhere to the stipulations of the employment equity act (EEA), which especially in its amended form requires fair and just measurement. Studies such as this one can be used to adjudicate whether the TCI has the potential to be used as a fair and reliable measure, which does not violate the stipulation of the employment equity act. In this way the measure may contribute to provide evidence which can be used to make fair, just and reliable decisions not only in the South African Police Service, but also within the general public. A quantitative investigation was conducted using analysis base on Item Response Theory, specifically the Rasch model, which is considered more accurate than Classical Test Theory in assessing the psychometric functioning of dichotomous personality assessment measures. The analyses rendered information with which the researcher was able to evaluate the validity, reliability, levels of gender and cultural bias, as well as the factors rendered by the TCI. The research sample was a convenient one, comprising 1144 police trainees whom completed a test-battery of four tests, which included the TCI. The results derived from this investigation show that the primary TCI scales each measured a single factor, the presence of these factors among the current sample provide some support for the universality of the TCI; however most of these scales showed a high level of bias when measuring their respective constructs across ethnic and gender groups. The results also pointed out that numerous items and sub-scales possess a considerable level of ethnic and gender bias. There was also no attempt made to investigate the reasons underlying bias, bias may yield important information about cross-cultural differences and can also be seen as a phenomenon that requires explanation (Poortinga and Van der Flier, 1989), which means that the study created a launch pad for future investigations to explore the sources of bias. These findings have stern implications for the larger research project, as it might decrease the validity of findings derived from comparing scores across groups within the current sample, and to a lesser degree if the performance of the current sample is compared to that of the Swedish sample. It can also be argued that another implication of the study’s findings is that the information derived from the TCI cannot legally be used to make clinical or selection decisions based partially on the personality profile of individuals; however the convenient nature of the sample limits the generalizability of the investigation’s findings. This means that additional research is first required before the legitimacy of the use of the TCI in a South African context can be evaluated. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

LOHAS stands for “Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability”. LOHAS describes an emerging new lifestyle that is defined by attention to health and well-being and, environmental sustainability. The problem with the introduction of a description of a lifestyle that is supposed to capture broad social, political, economic, and behavioral changes is that the discussions of this lifestyle have moved faster than any research to support it. The validity and the conceptual richness and implications of the LOHAS can only proceed if there is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the LOHAS lifestyle; and there isn’t. The research focuses on the development of a reliable and valid LOHAS scale. The proposed research consists of five studies; specification of domain of the LOHAS, item generation, measurement purification, reliability assessment and validity assessment. This research will contribute to the understanding of the nature of LOHAS and provide a variety of theoretical and practical applications.

Background: Unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) report increased levels of mental health problems, specifically symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are very common. They have often experienced multiple trauma events and additional stressors related to migration, acculturation and family separation. High-quality measurements of PTSD symptoms that are brief and easy to administer among URM are therefore needed. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Children’s Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES-8) when used in a population of URM. Method: Confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency and test-retest agreement were analyzed using data from two previous studies; one Norwegian longitudinal study of URM mental health including 284 participants and 104 participants from a Swedish intervention study. Results: CRIES-8 in this population showed questionable levels of internal consistency and moderate test-retest agreement. The two-factor model of Intrusion and Avoidance was confirmed to have god model fit in this study, while the one-factor model of PTSD had poor model fit. Three items related to Avoidance (2,5 & 8) were found to have a large proportion of error in the one factor model. Conclusion: When CRIES-8 are used in studies of PTSD among URM the reliability and validity seems lower than previously found in other contexts. Especially the items related to avoidance seem potentially problematic in this context. It is recommended that researchers and clinicians are cautious when interpreting CRIES-8 scores when used with URM.

Thesis Assessment and Development of Visual Perception in Preschool Children responds to the need of broader selection of standardized tools designed for the assessment of actual development of visual perception in preschool children, especially in relation to the assessment of school readiness. The main aim of the thesis is standardization of a new assessment tool. Complementary aim is also to design and evaluate a new intervention program supporting development of selected areas of visual perception for children before and at the beginning of their school attendance. In its theoretical part thesis scrutinizes current findings in the area of visual perception and its relation to basic academic skills, especially reading. The explorative part of thesis presents standardization study based on classical model of Test theory consisting of convergent validity and reliability evaluation of proposed test and setting national norms for four age groups (from 5 to 7 years). Normative group covered 1234 participants.

The aim of this thesis is to construct a generativity scale and verify its psychometric properties within the Czech environment. We focus on both the theoretical foundations of generativity as well as the tools of its measurement. While these measures already exist, they do not sufficiently correspond with the context of the Czech environment. The constructed scale focuses on 7 areas of generativity and is based on some already existing tools, namely the LGS and GBC. Furthermore, using a content analysis of 150 interviews of participants between the ages of 50 and 60 years and considering the already existing tools, we created a 31-item scale which we further reduced to 24 items in the traditional item analysis. The overall achieved Cronbach's α value of 0.803 with a 95% confidence interval (0.766-0.835) is satisfactory. We conclude that the thesis has fulfilled the requirements of a pilot study and provides opportunities for subsequent research.

Masters of Science / Fifty percent of the world’s tuberculosis population is found in eight countries, one of which is South Africa. Of the eight countries, South Africa is said to be experiencing the highest burden of Tuberculosis, with an estimated incidence of three hundred and twenty-two thousand cases of active Tuberculosis. The Tuberculosis epidemic is driven by the following reasons, firstly poor living conditions which are a result of the wide gap between the rich and the poverty-stricken among some populations, and secondly late presentation to health facilities. Over the years, healthcare programs have made a meaningful impact in identifying patients presenting for Tuberculosis care, a global Tuberculosis report shows an estimated fifty-eight million lives were saved through Tuberculosis treatment and diagnosis, between the years 2000 and 2018. However, strategies to modify risk behaviour need to remain a main priority. In the South African context, it would be important to note the diversity of the individuals experience which is rooted in South African socio-political history and has resulted in high levels of social inequality and disparate socio-economic status groups, as a significant factor when considering the well-being of Tuberculosis infected South Africans. For policy makers to make data-driven decisions, with the aim of lessening the disease burden experienced by the populations they serve. They would require insights from an individual level, this way of measuring well-being requires the participants to rely on their own cognitive judgements and emotional reactions to characterize their well-being. Alatartseva and Barysheva in 2015 claim that subjective well-being is an internal evaluation of well-being, relating to one’s spiritual, personal characteristics and features. This approach is fitting since behavioural data is dynamic and relative as it tends to differ across populations and is often altered radically in short periods. Despite global advances in access to Tuberculosis treatment, Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in adults with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the main contributor to antimicrobial resistance. This gap can be bridged by an understanding of the behavioural aspects tied to Tuberculosis infection. There is a lack of adequate South African literature on Tuberculosis infection and health related well-being. The current study notes and compares, the diversity of life satisfaction experience between participants from different socio-demographic status groups across South Africa, bringing forth the most influential variables on well-being. This paper explored the possible factors of subjective well-being in the Tuberculosis infected South African population. Data from the National Income Dynamics Study 2017 was used, with a focus on the Tuberculosis diagnosed sub-population across all nine provinces in South Africa. The study sample consisted of forty-four individuals who were measured against the following variables: age; gender; population group; place of residence in 1994; labour market participation, education; health; emotional health and well-being and social cohesion. The study employed, Multiple Correspondence Analysis to identify significant variables associated with the well-being of Tuberculosis infected individuals. The results show that the participants of African lineage presented with the lowest level of subjective well-being, followed by the Coloured population which was more likely to have a smoking habit to further decrease their level of well-being. Gender was a significant contributor to well-being with female participants reporting an overall lower level of subjective well-being compared to their male counterpart. Furthermore, those co-infected with Tuberculosis and Human immunodeficiency Virus while poverty-stricken presented with the lowest possible level as they are likely to be depressed, have a weakened immune system and experiencing medication non-adherence.

To understand obesity as a global epidemic, it is essential to understand why individuals become and remain overweight or obese. Body weight, and correspondingly being overweight or obese, is a result of one’s genetics and energy balance. Food and beverages bring energy to the body. However, their intake occurs as a result of a variety of interacting factors, e.g. physiological, cultural, genetic, social, and behavioural ones. One aspect of eating behaviour research is to identify underlying psychological aspects of individuals’ daily food intake. In laboratory experiments, researchers have aimed to identify differences in eating behaviour between normal-weight and overweight subjects. A result of those experiments was the Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ), a widely used instrument looking at three primary aspects of eating behaviour: ‘cognitive restrained’, ‘disinhibition’, and ‘hunger’. However, psychometric analysis of the German version of the TFEQ was based on two convenient clinical samples from 1989 and on one representative sample of younger subjects from 1990. Hence, one aim of the empirical studies within this dissertation was to provide an updated psychometric analysis of the German version of the TFEQ for a non-clinical setting in Germany. We also aimed to conduct associated analyses between the domains of the TFEQ and the BMI as the most important risk factor for common civilisation diseases. Overall, database was a large study sample from the baseline survey of the population based cohort Leipzig LIFE-Adult study. The first study provided age- and gender-specific norms for the three TFEQ domains. Percentile ranks and T-scores for the four age groups 40-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-60 years, 70-79 years and for both men and women were published. Additionally, the study identified craving for sweets as the most common problem in eating behaviour. The published norms for the original 59-item German version of the TFEQ can be applied in clinical and non-clinical settings. Furthermore, additional information about common problems in eating behaviour might help identify general key points related to body weight modulation. The second study analysed the factor structure of the TFEQ using both confirmatory and explorative factor analysis. Importantly, the original TFEQ factor structure was not replicated. A refined 29-item version contained three domains: ‘uncontrolled eating’ (15 items), ‘restrained eating’ (11 items), and ‘emotional eating’ (three items). The identified underlying aspects of eating behaviour are consistent with those of other studies and suggest their evidence. The highest mean BMI was found in subjects scoring high in both uncontrolled eating and emotional eating. The analysis thus confirms previous findings of the direct association between the uncontrolled eating domain and the BMI and between the emotional eating domain and the BMI. Again, this information might help identifying individual’s key problems in the challenge of maintain or lose body weight. Interestingly, in our analysis, the lowest mean BMI was found in subjects who scored low in all three of the TFEQ domains. We thus suggest that lowering the values of the three aspects of eating behaviour might be a promising approach in weight reduction programmes. Regarding the impact of eating behaviour to the BMI, social disparities might play an important role. Thus, in our third study, we hypothesized that psychological aspects of eating behaviour might mediate the indirect association between the socio-economic status and BMI. However, our analysis revealed only weak evidence for this triangular association. Therefore, we suggest that psychological factors may be less involved in this association than other types of factors (such as financial resources). In sum, understanding why individuals become and remain overweight or obese is of utmost importance, as the social and economic burden of excess weight is high. Psychological aspects of eating behaviour might partly explain individuals being overweight or obese. The studies within this dissertation revealed that the widely used TFEQ helps to identify subjects with a specific pattern of eating behaviour associated with higher BMI values, but might not explain social disparities in body weight. However, eating behaviour comprises a stable, long-term pattern of daily food intake. Therefore, research into eating behaviour offers the chance to identify fundamental aspects of body weight modulation.