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Victim satisfaction plays a critical role in police-victim encounters. Satisfaction could affect victims’ willingness to co-operate and report future offences. This thesis explored several factors that affect victim satisfaction. As police conduct is guided by policies such as the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, the thesis also investigated whether police emotional responses to victims had an effect on performing actions that are expected under the policy and also affect victim satisfaction. Overall, the thesis considered variables not often included in satisfaction research, victim vulnerability, introduced a new way for assessing victim distress, and explored psychological factors that could explain why certain police helping behaviours do not occur. Therefore, the thesis considers police-victim encounters as a system where both police and victim influence each other and added new ideas and evidence to the literature. The thesis reported results from four studies that utilised both quantitative and qualitative data and also, used longitudinal and experimental methods. Study 1 tested a model combining perceived police actions (updates, taking cases seriously, and offering practical help) and victim variables (reassurance and self-reported vulnerability) to predict victim satisfaction. The model predicted victim satisfaction with reassurance as the best predictor. Faster police response and more follow-up contact emerged as the most cited factors in burglary victims' responses to how police could improve their services. Study 2 explored victims' self-reported vulnerability and its relationship with demographics. It was concluded that no meaningful assumptions could be made about vulnerability based on demographic groups. Study 3 was longitudinal and identified a short assessment tool that could be used to predict victim distress post-victimisation. Study 4 explored police attributions, victim reactions towards the police, and the likelihood of police helping behaviours. Negative victim reactivity and negative emotion toward the victim was found to relate to the likelihood of helping behaviours such as contacting victims. The thesis results have implications for policy and practice in terms of providing evidence for the importance of victim policy compliance and proposes a review of vulnerability terminology in the criminal justice context to align an official definition with victim self-reports. The findings could also be used to benefit both the police in maintaining or improving satisfaction, and victims of crime as they proceed through the Criminal Justice system.

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Around 20% of patients who develop anorexia nervosa will have an illness that takes a chronic course, and has not resolved after 10 years or more. Treatment approaches for these individuals tends to be overlooked in the research literature, which has focused on attempts to identify who is likely to develop chronic anorexia nervosa, rather than how-to most appropriately work with those who do. This paper suggests that currently used treatment approaches should be evaluated, and the results of such evaluations used to guide the design and implementation of new interventions, tailored to the substantial needs of this patient group. The first study examined the utility of five hypothesised prognostic factors in differentiating patients with a mediun and long-term course of anorexia nervosa, and found that high age of onset, and long duration of illness before treatment appeared to differentiate the two groups. These factors may facilitate identification of these patients at initial presentation, such that tailored treatments could be implemented at this point. In the second study, patients with chronic anorexia nervosa were interviewed to explore their experiences of helpful and unhelpful treatment, and their recommendations for treatment. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed interviews. Identified themes suggested that helpful aspects of treatment were characterised by collaborative, and normalising approaches, supportive contact with other patients, and experienced and understanding clinicians. Unhelpful treatments were characterised by frightening inpatient admissions, abnormal treatment, competitive contact with other patients, and inexperienced or disinterested clinicians. The implications of these results for future research and treatment in this area are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The present study investigated whether the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) measures the same construct in exactly the same way across the groups of interest and time in South Africa. The degree to which items or subtests of the BDI-II have equal meaning across qualitatively distinct groups of examinees (e.g., culture and gender) was explored. Measurement Invariance (MI) of the BDI-II across race (blacks and whites), gender and time (two weeks lag) was examined in a sample of university students, from two universities located in diverse geographical regions of South Africa (N = 919). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the fit of the hypothesized three-factor model established through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the results from these analyses indicated that the BDI-II was most adequately represented by a three lower-order factor structure (appropriately named Negative attitude, Performance difficulty and Somatic complaints). Results based on multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) (i.e., means and covariance structures [MACS]) indicated that there was factorial invariance for this three lowerorder factor structure across groups and time, suggesting that the BDI-II provides an assessment of severity of depressive symptoms that is equivalent across race, gender and time in university students. Results indicated that MI was established at the level of configural, metric and scalar invariance for race, gender and across time. However, there was some evidence of differential item functioning (DIF) and differential additive response style (ARS) across race, with two noninvariant intercepts (items 5 and 14) and three item intercepts (items 11, 14 and 18) across gender being identified. Additionally, results of latent mean differences were presented to explain group differences. The study concluded with recommendations for future studies.

To gain a better understanding of those struggling with severe eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), the inner life-world and subjective experiences of therapy clients were explored within the South African context. This was an empirical qualitative study. Specifically, the study’s focus was on the psychological construct of perfectionism as experienced during the respondents’ treatment resistant eating disorders. The two objectives of the research were to describe and explain perfectionism, which served to increase an overall improved understanding of perfectionism. The study’s methodology encompassed a combination of phenomenological- and grounded theory methodology, exploring the narratives of six female candidates that were undergoing individual therapy for their eating disorders. These candidates were considered to have a treatment resistant eating disorder, because they had been struggling with this diagnosis for longer than a decade, and/or had previously received multiple treatment interventions without recovering. The therapy sessions were recorded via digital audio recordings, and used in the data analysis process. The discourses pertaining to the study’s focus were transcribed and analysed using phenomenological- and grounded theory methods. The phenomenological analysis produced individual descriptions of the participants’ experiences of their perfectionism, as well as a general description for perfectionism. The grounded theory analysis produced an emerging theory in the form of a cognitive schema. This schema was named The Perfectionistic Eating Disorder Self-schema (PEDSS), and explains the inner psychological process of perfectionism within a treatment resistant eating disorder client. The results of this study, in particular the PEDSS, has implications for those trying to understand, assist, and treat those who suffer from treatment resistant eating disorders, as well as helping those who struggle with perfectionism to understand their own problem more. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)