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In a three stage investigation the relationship between personality type and the use of learning as a coping device during the life transitions of adults was studied. Based on the assumption that a paper and pencil device could be constructed to achieve the same or nearly the same results that have been achieved through interviews with adult learners, the first two stages of this investigation involved the construction and validation of an instrument, the Adult Development Learning Inventory (ADLI), to measure the use of learning during life transitions of adults. The inventory has five subsections: a demographic profile, Life Events, Coping Strategies, Learning Activities, and Adulthood Tasks. Content validity of the ADLI was established through both the theory based in adult learning and developmental psychology and the panel of experts. Construct validation tools included principal component factor analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA with age as the variable of discrimination. The instrument was capable of differentiating among age groups' perception of the tasks in the adult life cycle. For internal consistency, reliability estimates ranged from .83 to .94 for the subsections of the ADLI. Stage III of the investigation explored the relationship between the ADLI and personality as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which was based on the typology suggested by Carl Jung. The findings suggested only limited relationships between personality and the extent of learning activities. Specifically adults with the dominant function of Intuition can be categorized as high activity learners. The results of limited relationships between learning and personality type can perhaps be attributed to the fact that overwhelmingly (98%) these adult samples were involved in some type of learning not in spite of their life circumstances but because of them.

In order to aid in the understanding of the personality components that contribute to the symptoms of depression, the learning process of persons labeled as depressed was examined. Twenty female subjects who were either receiving or being evaluated for psychotherapy participated in this study. Based on MMPI and DACL scores, 10 depressed and 10 nondepressed subjects were placed in avoidance learning situations. An active avoidance situation required making the correct button press to avoid a sounding buzzer; the absence of the button-pressing response constituted a passive avoidance situation, There was no significant difference between the two groups in learning across avoidance conditions, Depressives were found 'to be less persistent in responding than were nondepressives. Results were explained as supporting a learned helplessness model of depression.

This study investigated older persons' perception of the negative impact of ill health, retirement, and widowhood in relation to the mobilization of relevant coping mechanisms. In addition, the relationship of coping mechanisms and dissatisfaction with current gender-role identity to seeking counseling was studied. A distributed questionnaire package provided demographic data as well as information pertaining to satisfaction in various areas of life, impact of live events, and coping style. Subjects were 54 males and 67 females aged 50 to 92. Safeguards were taken to ensure complete confidentiality and anonymity of response. Stepwise multiple regression (listwise deletion of data), multivariate and univariate analysis of variance and bivariate correlational analyses of the data were performed, suggesting that perception of negative impact of the events measured (ill health, widowhood, retirement) was related a) to employing numerous useful coping strategies, b) to low dyadic satisfaction, and c) to low life satisfaction. Analyses also suggested that variables which distinguished those in the sample who sought counseling were a) identity discrepancy (wherein Ideal exceeded Real) on the Masculine and Androgynous dimensions, b) employing fewer Coping with Health strategies, and c) employing more Coping with Retirement strategies. These variables also distinguished males who sought counseling, but only the variable Age, distinguished females, who sought counseling from those who do not.

This study aims to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of black middle class women who remain in abusive marital relationships. The study also aimed to explore the reasons black women attach towards remaining in marital abusive relationships. Even though our current democratic Government has put efforts towards fighting against domestic abuse, South Africa is still characterised by high rates of domestic abuse. In South Africa a woman has about one in three chances of being violated in her life time, which puts it amongst the highest statistics of violence in the world, with one in six women standing a chance of being abused by her intimate partner in her lifetime (People Opposing Women Abuse, 2005). Domestic abuse does not just involve minor forms of physical assault, but, frequently, serious injury and even death. According to statistics from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation at Wits University, one woman is murdered by her partner every six days in the Gauteng province in South Africa. Qualitative approach, as well as literature review and in-depth interviews have been used in order to study the experiences of abused women in the Mpumalanga province at KwaMhlanga. The theoretical approach used was (i) Social Learning Theories which focused on the mechanisms whereby family members influences each other through modelling, reinforcement and coercion to behave violently, (ii) The feminist theory in which the origins of abuse included stereotyping and patriarchal values, (iii) the General Systems Theory which demonstrates that abuse cannot be explained by focusing on an individual level, but rather that systems interact and as they interact, they influence the reaction of others. General System’s theory was used as the backdrop of the study because it provided a broader understanding of how abuse occurs within a family system and hence allowed the researcher to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of women who remain in abusive marital relationships. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. The criteria included that the participants were currently in abusive marital relationships and had at least a tertiary qualification and were employed in middle management job position. Nine participants were interviewed using individual in depth interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and field notes were taken. Data was analysed qualitatively. Five broad categories formed a framework for the analysis. (i) The Experiences of abused women, (ii) the Impact of remaining in an abusive relationship, (iii) the Meaning attached to staying, (iv) the Coping mechanisms used by abused women, (v) and Social support. The themes were coded in form of numbers, counting the number of times the theme occurs in an interview, data was collected until a level of saturation was reached. The themes were then compared and integrated with the literature. The study concludes that abuse occurs in all social groups and that a complexity of factors contribute towards black middle class women resorting to remaining in marital abusive relationships, for example, culture and societal beliefs and structures, personality factors, and lack of support. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

This essay analyses the representation of trauma and gendered violence in Colleen Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us. To do this, trauma theory and the notion of gendered violence are applied in the analysis, as well as Dorrit Cohn’s ideas of diary novels, dissonant narrator and consonant narrator. The findings show that the protagonist, Lily’s, way of coping with her trauma and gendered violence during her teenage years, was to keep a diary, effectively using scriptotherapy. When that was not enough, however, she actively suppressed her problems. The essay also shows that Cohn’s ideas of dissonant and consonant narrator play a part in how Lily’s development is shown throughout the novel.

Abstract Background The succession process of a family firm is associated with a number of challenges, and hence a potential for conflicts is strongly pronounced. However, succession is of utmost importance for a family firm, as it is the only way to avoid a company closure in the long run. Previous literature has already extensively researched the phenomena of conflicts in family firms. However, there is a lack of research that looks from a multi-perspective lens into the context of succession and post-succession conflicts. Therefore, in the present research, we examine how family businesses experience and cope conflicts that appear after a successfully mastered intrafamily succession. Purpose This study aims to advance the understanding of conflicts in family firms related explicitly to the context of successions and post-successions. Hence, the thesis aims to determine how conflicts that appear in these contexts are experienced and how they are coped with. Method The study follows a qualitative methodological approach and an inductive analysis. The sample consists of three companies and 14 research respondents, and the data was collected with semi-structured qualitative interviews. Afterwards, the data was coded, and the emerging patterns and themes have been formulated and presented with a general model. Doing so, the focus was on patterns of succession- and post-succession-related conflicts and their coping strategies. Conclusion Our findings reveal that succession and post-succession-related conflicts are experienced as evoked intangible and provoked tangible conflicts and these conflicts are consciously as well as unconsciously coped with. Furthermore, our findings suggest that succession and post-succession family firm conflicts appear as conflict loops. Hence, the coping mechanisms identified and presented are helpful to solve a conflict, but the loop can hardly be escaped.

This study aims to identify barriers to female leadership and expose new strategies to address those barriers. Nevertheless, raise more awareness of the subconscious bias and gender stereotypes that may impede women's career development. Qualitative data has been conducted through semi-structured interviews and analyzed according to the thematic narrative analysis model. The study finds that subconscious bias toward male leadership styles still exists within male-dominated fields and how agentic leadership styles earn greater credibility from both men and women within the STEM field. This study can conclude that women in STEM fields must work harder to prove their competence compared to their male counterparts and the importance of utilizing coping mechanisms.

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This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European-American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change trajectories for sublimation and suppression showed that their use increased from adolescence to late middle age and early old age, and remained mostly stable into late old age. The change trajectory for intellectualization showed that the use of this defense mechanism increased from adolescence to middle age, remained stable until late midlife, and started to decline thereafter. The defense mechanisms of doubt, displacement, and regression showed decreases from adolescence until early old age, with increases occurring again after the age of 65. Linear age-related decreases were found for the coping mechanism of ego regression and the defense mechanisms of isolation and rationalization. Gender and socioeconomic status were associated with the mean levels of several coping and defense mechanisms, but did not moderate age-related changes. Increases in ego level were associated with increased use of the defense mechanism intellectualization and decreased use of the defense mechanisms of doubt and displacement. Overall, these findings in a European-American sample suggest that most individuals showed development in the direction of more adaptive and less maladaptive coping and defense strategies from adolescence until late middle age or early old age. However, in late old age this development was reversed, presenting potential challenges to the adaptive capacity of older adults.