M.A. (Psychology) / Divorce rates have escalated dramatically since the early sixties and indications are that it will continue to do so. Although divorce has become a common experience, it remains one of the most stressful life events and a potential source of significant adjustment problems. A review of literature indicates that a relationship between divorce and psychopathology is widely accepted. The most critical question about divorce has not been answered fully, namely: what are the factors that facilitate a good outcome? More often researchers focused on the factors contributing to continued problems and pathology. The purpose of this study is to determine what relationships exist between degree of mental health in divorced people and two factors suggested by literature. These two factors are assertiveness and internal locus of control. Ideally, a holistic view of a person in his/her unique life situation should be taken. In order to limit the scope of this study only the two personal factors were studied, keeping in mind that there is an ecological interaction between many known and unknown factors and granting that it is artificial to isolate only two factors from the encompassing whole. It was postulated that a more internal locus of control orientation would facilitate an individuals adaptation after divorce. Furthermore, it was postulated that assertiveness would greatly enhance the individuals ability to adapt and adjust to the divorce. A person with these qualities would be able to realistically assess the demands of the divorce situation and address the demands in a confident and proactive way. The integrated model of mental health states that a mentally healthy individual would have the following attributes: a positive identity, flexibility, emotional sensitivity, the ability to form intimate interpersonal relationships and altruism. These attributes were used in this study as an indication of the degree of mental health in divorced people...

M.A. / The literature research focuses on the psycho-emotional impact of divorce, with reference to the primary school development life stage of the child. Of all age groups, Lakebrink (1989:327) found that the primary school child feels the most intense sense of sadness during the divorce process, due to the use of denial and fantasy, suffering without a means to relieve it, inability to sublimate feelings and an appearance of immobilisation. Children in this age group are particularly vulnerable to continuous parental conflict, have an intense need to maintain a constructive relationship with both parents and become pawns of co-parental struggle, and are vulnerable to loyalty ambivalence. The rationale for conducting the study and the aims to be achieved, are elaborated in the first section of this chapter. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to the introductory information to the study, namely, problem formulation, aims and objectives, research methodology, conceptualisation and summary of this chapter of the study. An overview of the structure and presentation of the study is also included.

The thesis is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores the psycho-social and legal constructions of family, parenting and children that have influenced judicial decision-making in parenting disputes following separation and divorce. Particular attention is paid, first, to the circumstances surrounding the shift from paternal to maternally-based presumptions about the parenting of children; and second, to the more recent and somewhat puzzling shift to a presumption of gender neutrality. The extent to which fault has continued as a less overt decision-making criterion is also considered. In Section 2, judgements in recent closely contested parenting cases in the Family Court of Australia are analysed as contemporary socio-legal narratives. A systematic, in-depth examination of a heterogeneous sample of publicly accessible cases revealed that gender-based assumptions continue to dominate judicial thinking about parenting and family structure. In particular, it was found that outcomes that favoured mothers correlated with perceived evidence of conformity to a maternal stereotype of self-sacrifice on behalf of the child(ren). Outcomes favouring fathers usually resulted from situations in which mothers were judged to fall short of these stereotyped expectations. Fathers� roles, even in cases in which their applications were successful, generally continued to be equated with breadwinning and support. Their capacities as nurturers to their children were either not mentioned or treated with scepticism. In the light of the findings, tensions between continuing gender-based roles in families, public attitudes to parenting and preferred family structure, and recent changes in our scientific knowledge base regarding gender and parenting are reviewed. Implications of the persistence of the breadwinning/nurturing dichotomy both within the Australian culture and family court judgements are discussed. Particular attention is drawn to the impact of the confused circumstances in which gender-neutral parenting principles came about in the 1970s.

The thesis is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores the psycho-social and legal constructions of family, parenting and children that have influenced judicial decision-making in parenting disputes following separation and divorce. Particular attention is paid, first, to the circumstances surrounding the shift from paternal to maternally-based presumptions about the parenting of children; and second, to the more recent and somewhat puzzling shift to a presumption of gender neutrality. The extent to which fault has continued as a less overt decision-making criterion is also considered. In Section 2, judgements in recent closely contested parenting cases in the Family Court of Australia are analysed as contemporary socio-legal narratives. A systematic, in-depth examination of a heterogeneous sample of publicly accessible cases revealed that gender-based assumptions continue to dominate judicial thinking about parenting and family structure. In particular, it was found that outcomes that favoured mothers correlated with perceived evidence of conformity to a maternal stereotype of self-sacrifice on behalf of the child(ren). Outcomes favouring fathers usually resulted from situations in which mothers were judged to fall short of these stereotyped expectations. Fathers� roles, even in cases in which their applications were successful, generally continued to be equated with breadwinning and support. Their capacities as nurturers to their children were either not mentioned or treated with scepticism. In the light of the findings, tensions between continuing gender-based roles in families, public attitudes to parenting and preferred family structure, and recent changes in our scientific knowledge base regarding gender and parenting are reviewed. Implications of the persistence of the breadwinning/nurturing dichotomy both within the Australian culture and family court judgements are discussed. Particular attention is drawn to the impact of the confused circumstances in which gender-neutral parenting principles came about in the 1970s.

D.Ed. / World-wide, as well as in South Africa, divorce is on the increase. Divorce appears to be an intensely emotional experience, whilst the problems of families in the process of divorce are unique in each instance. The trauma resulting from divorce is intensified when disputes arise over the distribution of property, the payment of maintenance, and custody of and access to children. Three questions for research arise, namely: "How do the members of a family in the process of divorce interact in their daily lives? How will an educational psychologist's knowledge of this contribute towards a conceptual framework in order to diminish the trauma of divorce and to facilitate adjustment after divorce? and "In what way can the educational psychologist make a contribution in custody disputes that will be in the best interests of the children?" The purpose of this research is, therefore, to examine and describe the process of divorce, to utilise this information to develop an educational-psychological approach towards families in the process of divorce, and, thirdly, to formulate guidelines for handling custody disputes. This qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research focusses on the lives of four groups of respondents in the divorce situation, namely divorced adults, children under the age of 8 years, adolescents whose parents have already divorced, and adolescents from homes where the marriage is in the process of breaking up. The research was carried out in three phases. Phase one comprised the exploration and description of the process of divorce, and this data was used in phase two to generate an approach for educational psychologists. In phase three guidelines were developed for an educational-psychological approach to families in the process of divorce. During phase one the collection of data was done by using explorative multiple case studies. The data was analysed using Giorgi's phenomenological approach and Kerlinger's guidelines for a content analysis. To further augment the data a review of the literature and comparison of the information with similar research has been done. Various themes were identified with regard to divorce as phenomenon and the way the different parties experienced and coped with divorce. During phase two these themes were highlighted as areas that should form part of an educational-psychological approach to families in divorce. During phase three guidelines were developed down for the handling of families-in-divorce. The focus had been especially on the role of the educational psychologist as therapist, mediator end evaluator before, during and after the divorce. Emphasis was specifically placed on the interests of the children, which should take precedence. Criteria for the determination of the best interests of children were also developed. This research aims at contributing to a better understanding of families-in-divorce and also provides a comprehensive approach with guidelines for an educational-psychological approach with regard to divorce referrals.

Divorce is a phenomenon that affects the emotional, physical and social wellbeing of the divorcees and those close to them. The situation becomes complicated if the affected person has a responsibility of providing caring and nurturing services to the sick, either as a manager or as a practitioner. The extent of how the impact of divorce affects the performance of professional nurses in their roles as carers and as managers was unknown. The nature and quality of services that they render to their patients, their coping strategies and the support systems were unknown. The purpose of the study was to describe and explore the impact of divorce on work performance of professional nurses at the East London Hospital Complex with the aim of ensuring high quality patient care. The objectives of the study were to: explore and describe the lived experiences of female divorced professional nurses with regard to the impact of divorce on their work performance; identify their coping strategies and their support systems. An exploratory descriptive and contextual qualitative research design was used. A phenomenological approach was used. The participants were twelve (12) divorced female professional nurses. The purposive and snowball sampling as non-probability sampling techniques were used. An interview guide was used to conduct the interviews. Audiotape was used for recording the data. Tesch’s steps (1990) of analyzing qualitative data guided the data analysis process. According to the lived experiences of the participants, divorce is traumatic and painful with emotional, physical, financial and social impact. It had a negative impact on the professional nurses’ work performance. The coping strategies included acceptance of the reality, studying, involvement with club and church activities. Support was available from the families, church, friends, and colleagues. Recommendations are that: the employee assistance program be marketed more effectively by hospital management and be included in the hospital, departmental and unit orientation programmes; that a dedicated psychologist, as well as preventive intervention programs, be made available to employees dealing with divorce.