Thesis (PhD(Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to assess the needs of employees in regard to their Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) according to the program administrators' perspective. Information was collected from 62 program administrators within 54 organizations across Western Canada using a self-administered questionnaire. The 132-item questionnaire included demographic information and ten sections devoted to elicit administrators' perspectives on employees' needs (prevalence of problems, severity of problems, barriers to EAP utilization, program awareness, prevention programs, training and information for supervisors and union representatives, personal problems and the workplace, the role of the EAP in the workplace, the role of the EAP provider in the workplace, and a general overview). Results show that administrators perceive a greater prevalence and severity of problems than EAP utilization. There is also a perceived large EAP support among its participants (i.e., senior management, supervisors, union representatives, employees) as a relevant means to address employees' and their family members' problems. The outcome of the study indicates as well that personal and family members' problems affect employees and the workplace in a very significant way. Administrators believe that the EAP is a very important resource to deal with such problems. Additionally, results point out the important need for providing employees with information and prevention programs that may equip them with particular resources to address their problems before they affect them at work.

No description available.

Research indicates that the majority of clients seeking Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services are self-referred, and that a relationship exists between self-referral and the belief that an EAP is effective. Fifty-three subjects read an advertisement proclaiming that a fictitious EAP was effective. Following the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), motivation to elaborate upon the advertisement's arguments was manipulated and two message sources (EAP clients; a fictitious professional consulting firm) were used. Although motivation had no effect on subjects' belief that the EAP was effective or their intention to self-refer, participants exposed to the less expert, trustworthy, and believable source (EAP clients) experienced a greater reduction in their self-referral intention than participants exposed to the more expert, trustworthy, and believable source (consulting firm). A positive correlation between belief in the EAP and self-referral intention was found. Implications for the ELM, EAP advertising, and research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This research examined the effects of supervisor and subordinate biological sex and race on supervisory referrals to an EAP. The study tested Bayer and Gerstein's (1988a) similarity hypothesis from their Bystander-Equity Model of EAP Helping Behaviors. Four specific hypotheses were generated: 1) Female supervisors will more likely refer female subordinates than male subordinates to EAPs; 2) Male supervisors will refer equal numbers of female and male subordinates to EAPs; 3) Supervisors will refer more troubled workers of their own race than troubled workers of another race; and 4) Caucasian male supervisors will be the most likely to refer persons who are different from themselves (in terms of sex and race) to EAPs.Supervisors employed by a large southwestern County government who made referrals to their "inhouse" EAP were participants in this study. The sample included 146 supervisors who made 188 EAP referrals.A log-linear analysis that controlled for the sex and racial composition of the supervisors' subordinates was used to test the hypotheses. The independent variables were race (Caucasian, African American, & Hispanic) and sex (male & female) of the supervisors and their subordinates. The dependent variable was whether the subordinate was referred to the EAP or not. None of the hypotheses received support. Too few ethnic supervisors referred to the EAP to adequately test the race hypotheses (Hypotheses 3 & 4). Male and female supervisors were equally likely to refer male and female subordinates to the EAP.While none of the hypotheses received support, there were some interesting significant trends involving the employees' race and supervisors' sex. Hispanic subordinates were most likely to be referred to their EAP, and African-American subordinates were least likely to be referred. While Caucasian male supervisors followed this pattern, Caucasian female supervisors demonstrated an even stronger bias in this regard. Implications of these findings were discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This thesis is an evaluation of an early intervention Employee Assistance Program (EAP) incorporating Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) operating in the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS). The program was developed specifically for SAAS and is known as the Peer Support Program. The program was designed with the intention of mitigating the effects of cumulative and traumatic stress among SAAS personnel. It reflects the philosophy which has underpinned the concept of early intervention, which is to provide emotional first aid and identify individuals who have experienced traumatic stress in the course of performing their duties within the pre-hospital care environment. The program further aims to reduce psychological injuries through the combination of psycho-education incorporating practical coping skills, initial crisis intervention offered by in-house service providers, namely Peer Support Officers (PSOs) and, when needed, psychological intervention offered through referral to mental health professionals (MHPs). / For professional practice, the research shows that a CISM-based EAP is effective when used in its entirety, specifically pre-incident education, peer support selection and training, and confidentiality are key contributors to the success of CISM and CISM-based programs. Practitioners need to ensure that programs are appropriately developed and continually maintained. Researchers and practitioners must also acknowledge the emergency first aid philosophy underlying early intervention. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that a program developed with CISM guidelines can be effective in mitigating the effects of cumulative and traumatic stress among emergency service personnel in SAAS, thus disproving the claim that all such programs are ineffective and/or harmful. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the value of including qualitative evaluation techniques, and demonstrates that insightful data can be obtained through a multi-method approach. This undermines the argument that a quasi-experimental study is the only method suitable for evaluation and it is recommended that further EAP and CISM research focus on comprehensive, mulit-method evaluation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (MSD(Employee Assistance Programme))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Social Work and Criminology))-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MSD (Employee Assistance Programmes))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.