Bibliography: leaves 100-113. / The study is based on psychoanalytic theory of the development of gender identity. The basic premise is that there are at least two levels of gender-related identity, viz. gender identity and sex-role. Thirty-three male and thirty-nine female university students participated in the study. They were asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure gender identity, sex-role and sexual orientation. Gender identity was measured by means of fantasy patterns which emerge in story-telling. The Bern Sex-Role Inventory was used to measure sex-role. Subjects' sexual orientations were described with the aid of the Kinsey Seven-Point Rating Scale. Results indicate a number of unanticipated complexities which need further investigation. The type of picture used in the measurement of gender identity seems to determine whether or not a subject's true gender identity will emerge or whether it will be distorted. There is a relationship between sex-role and gender identity, but it is indirect. The gender identities of persons whose sex-roles are feminine, masculine or undifferentiated tend to conform to biological sex. Persons whose sex-roles are androgynous, however, tend towards feminine gender identity whatever their biological sex. Further research is recommended to confirm or refute these results.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1997. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 58-02, Section: B, page: 1017.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-10, Section: B, page: 7026. Adviser: Edward R. Hirt. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 21, 2008).

Bibliography: leaves 108-117. / Literature research has indicated that school social work is a relatively new branch of general social work. The role of the school social worker is the main focus of literature in this field. The school social worker's role is continually changing and adapting as society and school systems change The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of the pupils, parents and teachers with regard to the school social worker's role within a particular school setting. The current awareness of the social worker's role and function, is examined in as far as it affects the effective use of the social work service. A literature survey was undertaken, after which a close-ended questionnaire was constructed and administered to all pupils and all teachers, and a close-ended questionnaire mailed to all parents of the particular school. A descriptive analysis of the findings reveals that clarification is needed amongst pupils, teachers and parents in terms of the purpose, function and roles of the school social worker, and of the methods of social work employed. A disparity is reflected with regard to the issue of confidentiality, where the findings indicated that pupils are more concerned with confidentiality issues than the parents and teachers. The main recommendations made are with regard to compiling a booklet clarifying the roles and functions of the mental health professionals in the school. A policy with regard to confidentiality is recommended.

Bibliography: leaves 79-94. / The field of related foster care has to a large extent been neglected. Related foster care is regarded with considerable scepticism and ambivalence by many social workers because of a number of pitfalls which are often associated with such placements. The aim of this study is to explore the relative merits of related and unrelated foster placements, and thus to enhance knowledge in this area and so improve service delivery to foster children, their parents, by foster parents and child and family welfare agencies. A literature survey was undertaken during which it was evident that the field of related foster care has received little attention in both literature and research. The literature studies have highlighted some of the pros and cons of related and unrelated foster placements. A questionnaire was constructed and administered to a sample of related and unrelated foster parents. A descriptive analysis was made of the results with the focus being on the behaviour and academic functioning of the children. The overall findings in this study showed that children fostered by relatives seemed to be doing at least the same as, and in some aspects better than, those children fostered by recruited unrelated foster parents. Over a 11 there appeared to be some significant advantages for those children who were being fostered by relatives.

Many children are unable to remain in the care of their biological families, and often the only solution is to commit them to long-term foster-care in order to ensure their emotional, physical and social well-being. Children in long-term foster-care in South Africa are subject to impermanence in their living arrangements. Long-term foster-care, in reality, is for an unlimited time-period, during which the biological family can at any time rehabilitate itself and petition the court for the return of the child. This is further exacerbated by childcare legislation which does not provide for legal guardianship in foster-care through termination of parental rights and reconstruction services to natural parents. At present, the move in childcare practice is to institute permanency planning philosophy and tennets for children placed in foster-care in order for them to experience stability and continuity of relationships and family life. The move to implement permanency planning in foster-care is new in South Africa and is not supported through South African research and legislative procedures. There is a definite need for the development of a guideline which will exclude natural parents from resuming the care of their placed child, thereby advocating foster care as the next option of permanency for a child, given the situation where adoption is not a feasible alternative. This guideline can hopefully be utilised to gather data motivating for legal guardianship in foster care, through termination of parental rights, thereby assuring the long-term foster child of permanency in his living arrangements.

abstract: Sexual exploitation is a problem faced by women victimized by sex trafficking and are involved in the commercial sex industry as a result of limited employment options. Negative consequences associated with engaging in sex work in the United States include violent victimization, physical and mental health problems, addiction, isolation from positive social support, and economic instability. These consequences make exiting difficult, and recently Baker, Williamson, and Dalla (2010) created an integrated prostitution exiting model to help explain the exiting process, accounting for the impact of these consequences and identifying the role that failed exiting attempts play in leading women to a final exit. Currently, much remains unknown regarding the usefulness of the model and researchers have yet to explore the process of exiting from the perspective of former sex workers. This dissertation examines the process of exiting commercial sex work from the perspective of 19 adult women who exited the sex industry and had not engaged in sex work for at least two years. The goal of the study was to compare findings from these interviews to Baker et al.'s (2010) integrated model and to further understand the experience of exiting sex work. A narrative approach to data collection was taken (Wells, 2011), and individual interviews were conducted with each participant in order to elicit narratives about their experiences exiting sex work. A phenomenological approach was utilized to analyze the data (van Manen, 1990), and five overarching themes encompassing 21 subthemes emerged as key findings. Many of these themes supported the stages of Baker et al.'s (2010) model, including the experience of becoming disillusioned with the prostitution lifestyle as a precursor to successfully exiting, the likelihood that women will attempt to exit and then re-enter sex work a number of times before finally exiting, and the presence of specific barriers that inhibited the exiting process. Additional themes emerged, offering new information about the importance of involving former sex workers in treatment, the role that children, customers, and other relationships play in helping or hindering the exiting process, and the development of resiliency among women undergoing the exiting process. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Social Work 2014

In this dissertation, the writer explores and supports the validity of clinical social wor·k practitioners applying planned therapeutic intervention procedures to couples who are in distress. Written in two parts, this paper is esentially a review of selected literature on the efficacy of social work psychotherapv with couples. Couple therapy, which deals with the two individuals per se and not merely with their interaction, enhances the treatment of both partners. Several intervention strategies are noted by the writer, all of which attempt to alter both individual dynamics and that of the couples relationship. The writer has chosen a "fusion model" comprising of the intra and inter-personal intervention strategies. The therapeutic format of choice proposed by the writer favours a time-limited psychodynamic approach which operates through the medium of a combined concurrent-conjoint technique.

Bibliography: pages 68-73. / The family in Western society is increasingly perceived as threatened by a myriad of socio-cultural changes, and statistics suggest that family breakdown is cause for major concern to clinical practitioners working with families. This study attempts to examine the issue of female role transition within the family with a view to understanding the dynamics of conflict and breakdown which are generated by departure from the female role stereotype. A cross-disciplinary review of the literature has sought to place the discussion of case-study material within a broad psycho-social context. The emphasis throughout is on the interplay between the complex macro variables and the intra-psychic functioning of individual clients. Five case histories are used to identify the etiological and diagnostic features which interact within the family as a sub-system. Concluding discussion offers a psychodynamic interpretation of the case material.

Bibliography: p. 100-105. / Culture plays a significant role in the treatment of certain illnesses and in the maintenance of good health in communities. In hospitals, professionals are constantly faced with medication non-compliance and other defaulting behaviour by health consumers or patients due to lack of their sensitivity towards cultural issues. It is true that most Africans are faced with a dilemma of choosing between Western treatment approaches and their own traditional healing. Therefore some may need still to adopt both Western and African approaches. The study examines the attitudes of both the professionals and mothers with malnourished children towards the cultural values linked to the treatment modalities. An exploratory- descriptive method is used as a focus for the study. Because of the illiteracy of the mothers, an interview schedule was used to collect data and get impressions about certain issues. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the professionals; which included nurses, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, and people working for the Kwashiorkor Centre. Both the literature review and other studies showed that there is a difference in attitudes regarding cultural issues in the treatment of malnourished children between the health consumers and the health professionals. Findings of this study revealed negative attitude towards mothers who used traditional medicine before coming to hospital. Mothers felt that they were reprimanded regarding their cultural value systems. This study includes recommendations that health professionals need to be sensitive to the cultural belief system of the health consumers for better compliance and service delivery. It is recommended that health care providers be aware of their value systems and above all respect those of the consumers. To facilitate better participation in health education programmes it is important that these programmes are culturally sensitive.