No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-158). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 178-194).

A thesis submitted in partial fulfiment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2009 / This study which sought to understand the psychological wellbeing of bereaved employees and the support they receive within their working environment used a convenient sample of 209 participants that included bereaved employees, managers, supervisors and human resource officers from various organisations in the province of Kwa Zulu-Natal. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized in this study. Findings showed that: (a) At times bereaved employees were not well supported when resuming work after the funeral. (b) Support offered before the funeral was sufficiently adequate in the majority of Organisations but still warrants improvement. (c) Some bereaved employees who developed complicated grief did not receive adequate psychological intervention that they deserve. (d) Mostly feelings of disturbances interfered with job performance. (e) The current Family Responsibility leave was inadequate for those bereaved employees whose culture demanded more days to cope with bereavement rituals. (f) The Employment Assistance Programmes that most organisations depend on were largely ineffective in dealing with bereaved employees who need counselling or psychotherapy. The implication of the findings pointed to a need for organisations to have clear bereavement policies and support programmes for bereaved employees.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study was designed to assess the process of meaning loss for family members who cared for their terminally ill loved ones during the grief process as well as determine factors that might be related to loss of meaning. The Purpose in Life Test (PIL) was used as the dependent measure. The independent variables consisted of age, education level, relationship to patient, gender, ethnicity, whether counseling was received, types of counseling received, and time between diagnosis, death and the present. The data were gathered on 87 caregivers who were participating in the St. Mary's Hospice program in Tucson, Arizona. All caregivers were over age 18 and between three and thirteen months past the death of their loved one. The data analyzed in four stages beginning with the development of descriptive statistics. During the second stage a correlation matrix was constructed and explored. A multiple regression was performed during the third stage to assess which of the independent variables could explain any variance obtained with the dependent measure. In the last stage a factor analysis was done and compared with a factor structure from previous research with the PIL Test. Nine hypotheses were tested producing the following results: Meaning in life tended to be higher for those less close in relationship to the patient such as nieces, nephews, and in-laws. There was no significant difference between a caregiver being a spouse, child, sibling or parent of the deceased loved one and meaning in life. There was no significant difference in age, education level, gender, ethnicity, whether counseling was received, types of counseling received and time between diagnosis, death and the present and meaning in life. The factor analysis revealed a five factor solution. It was concluded that the PIL Test taps two factors that can be labeled Purpose in Life and Contentedness With Life. The overall conclusion of the study was that caregivers in the sample possess a unique and similar sense of meaning in life that may be due to a sharing a common experience. There may also be some unifying factor about those choosing to enter a Hospice program that may attract a homogeneous group of people.