Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Långvarig smärta innebär ofta stora påfrestningar för individen med konsekvenser på många livsområden vilket utgör en utmaning för hälso- och sjukvården gällande bemötande utifrån ett helhetsperspektiv. En central aspekt av att leva med långvarig smärta är hur stress och påfrestningar hanteras exempelvis genom användning av psykologiska försvar. Syftet med denna studie var att bidra till ökad kunskap om psykologiska försvar hos personer med långvarig smärta utifrån frågeställningen:  vilka psykologiska försvar och psykologiska försvarsstrukturer framkommer när vuxna personer med långvarig smärta intervjuas om personligt relevanta områden. Datainsamlingen bestod av tio telefonintervjuer som transkriberades och analyserades med Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS). Resultaten visade på en varians av psykologiska försvar i deltagargruppen. Mest förekommande var högadaptiva försvar, särskilt humor och anknytning.  Utmärkande var även förekomsten av flertalet medeladaptiva försvar såsom annullering, samt det lågadaptiva försvaret nedvärdering av sig själv. Resultaten kan bidra till ökad förståelse om omedvetna hanteringsstrategier som kan påverka upplevelsen av smärta och även vara av vikt för hälso- och sjukvårdens bemötande av patienter med långvarig smärta. Vidare forskning inom området behövs för att undersöka samband mellan psykologiska försvar och andra relevanta faktorer såsom smärtdiagnos, smärtsymtom och behandlingsutfall. / Chronic pain is associated with extensive distress for the individual with consequences on several areas of life and constitutes a challenge for the healthcare system in approaching chronic pain from a holistic perspective. How individuals cope with distresses for example by using psychological defences is of significance for the chronic pain condition. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding psychological defences that are used by individuals with chronic pain. The research question was: what psychological defences and structures of psychological defences appear when adults with chronic pain are being interviewed on personally relevant topics.  Ten telephone interviews were conducted, the material from interviews was transcripted and analysed using Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS). The results showed a variety of different psychological defences used by participants. High adaptive defences such as humour and affiliation were the most appearing. Furthermore, the occurrence of middle adaptive defences such as undoing was also detected in the material. Among the low adaptive defences devaluation of self stood out the most. The results contribute to the understanding of involuntary coping-strategies that may influence the experience of chronic pain. In addition, the results are important for the treatment of chronic pain patients within the healthcare. Further research in this field is needed to study links between defence mechanisms and other relevant aspects such as pain diagnosis, pain symptoms and treatment outcome.

Volunteering - one of the topics which are still present in the society, as it can be perceived as a unique instrument to solve social challenges or organizing society with its specific conditions. The topic of my diploma thesis, based on the grounded theory method, is the process of building and maintaining the relationship of the volunteer to their voluntary work from the volunteers' perspective. I was curious as to what circumstances or limits accompany the forming of such a relationship in the social context and if certain "prototypes" can be found, which would differ in negotiating their role to their surroundings. In my thesis, I focus exclusively on those volunteers who have been given the "Křesadlo" award for the volunteer of the year, which provides the framework of this relationship. I would like to use my results to enrich the knowledge of volunteering's image, which could be used both on the academic field and when working with volunteers. Keywords: civic sector, volunteering, self-perspective, role, identity, "looking-glass self", norm, defence mechanisms, information management, Křesadlo.

Group relations events are intended to enable transformation through learning, but such collective experiential events are not explicitly focused on enabling individual group members to derive meaning from them. This research aims to explicate individual learning from the experiences of a group relations event, in order to formulate a process for meaning-making post an intensive experiential event. Literature reviewed provides construct definitions of systems psychodynamic aspects, as well as insight, meaning-making, coaching methods and other approaches to facilitating meaning-making. Systems psychodynamics is the theoretical paradigm that informs a qualitative phenomenological research approach. Data analysis adopted hermeneutic phenomenology to allow for the interpretation of the rich data collected. Multiple case studies were adopted using multi-pronged data collection methods, including semi-structured interviews conducted before the event, as well as both a focus group and Free Association Narrative Interviews (FANI) conducted after the event. The results are reported by case, and this is followed with an interpretation of results by various systems psychodynamic themes. Furthermore, the relationship between personality types and defences mechanisms, with the associative techniques to use for each, have been set forth as additional findings in the thesis. The research hypothesis produced by the study is a meaning-making model to facilitate post-group relations event reflections and debriefing, with the aim of enabling insight formation, learning and adaption by individuals who have participated in such events. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

Text in English / Zimbabwe‘s economic and political instability has resulted in the migration of over four million of its people. Many of those who join the Diaspora leave their children behind in the home country, a phenomenon known as ―Diaspora orphans‖. Little is known of the experiences of these Zimbabwean adolescents affected by parental out-migration. A Pilot Study in 2011 highlighted emergent themes and explored the use of defence and coping mechanisms, by thematically analysing in-depth interviews carried out with these youngsters. This study re-examined these interviews and carried out follow-up ones, with a view to establish whether longitudinal changes take place. Resilience levels of participants were also measured, using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure ‒ 28, in individual, relational and contextual areas, to establish whether high resilience results in better coping and adjustment to parental absence. Findings confirm this and evidence that multiple stressors result in lower resilience levels and seem to indicate that a reciprocal relationship exists between resilience levels and optimal coping. Recommendations on how best to help these youngsters to cope with their altered circumstances, with special emphasis on the role of educational establishments, and suggestions for further research in this field conclude this study. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / Pendelhuwelike is aan die toeneem en het verskeie invloede op die jong kind in die gesin. Die primêre doel van die studie was om emosionele en sosiale intelligensie as basis te gebruik om die invloed van ʼn pendelhuwelik op ʼn jong kind tussen 7 en 11 jaar te bepaal. ʼn Gemengde navorsingsontwerp is as empiriese ondersoek gedoen. Vyf deelnemers het deelgeneem in drie sessies elk. Die data-insamelingsinstrumente was: waarneming en veldnotas; projeksiemedia; ʼn vraelys, en ʼn semi-gestruktureerde onderhoud met elk van die betrokke moeders. Die meting van emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling met behulp van die vraelys toon dat, ongeag van die afwesigheid van die deelnemers se vaders, en die konflikte, vrese en behoeftes wat hulle ervaar volgens die projeksiemedia, die deelnemers se emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling oorwegend gemiddeld tot hoog is. Die uitkomste bied hopelik ʼn insiggewende bydrae hoe pendelhuwelike vyf jong kinders se emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling beïnvloed het. / Commuter marriages are increasing and have various influences on the young child in the family. The primary aim of this study was to determine the influences of a commuter marriage on a young child between 7 and 11 years, using emotional and social intelligence as a basis. A mixed method empirical research design was used. Three sessions were conducted with five participants individually to obtain data through: observations and field notes, projection media, a questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview with each mother. The measurement of emotional and social development through the use of the questionnaire shows that, despite the absence of the participants’ fathers, and the conflicts, fears and needs they experienced according to the projection media, the participants’ emotional and social development are predominantly average to high. The study hopefully provides a significant contribution to the understanding of how commuter marriages influenced five young children’s emotional and social development. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

Text in Afrikaans / Pendelhuwelike is aan die toeneem en het verskeie invloede op die jong kind in die gesin. Die primêre doel van die studie was om emosionele en sosiale intelligensie as basis te gebruik om die invloed van ʼn pendelhuwelik op ʼn jong kind tussen 7 en 11 jaar te bepaal. ʼn Gemengde navorsingsontwerp is as empiriese ondersoek gedoen. Vyf deelnemers het deelgeneem in drie sessies elk. Die data-insamelingsinstrumente was: waarneming en veldnotas; projeksiemedia; ʼn vraelys, en ʼn semi-gestruktureerde onderhoud met elk van die betrokke moeders. Die meting van emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling met behulp van die vraelys toon dat, ongeag van die afwesigheid van die deelnemers se vaders, en die konflikte, vrese en behoeftes wat hulle ervaar volgens die projeksiemedia, die deelnemers se emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling oorwegend gemiddeld tot hoog is. Die uitkomste bied hopelik ʼn insiggewende bydrae hoe pendelhuwelike vyf jong kinders se emosionele en sosiale ontwikkeling beïnvloed het. / Commuter marriages are increasing and have various influences on the young child in the family. The primary aim of this study was to determine the influences of a commuter marriage on a young child between 7 and 11 years, using emotional and social intelligence as a basis. A mixed method empirical research design was used. Three sessions were conducted with five participants individually to obtain data through: observations and field notes, projection media, a questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview with each mother. The measurement of emotional and social development through the use of the questionnaire shows that, despite the absence of the participants’ fathers, and the conflicts, fears and needs they experienced according to the projection media, the participants’ emotional and social development are predominantly average to high. The study hopefully provides a significant contribution to the understanding of how commuter marriages influenced five young children’s emotional and social development. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)