Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Every year, a significant number of children are being traumatized by the divorce of their parents. The aim of this study was to provide a guideline for Gestalt play therapists to enhance the resilience of children in middle childhood who have been traumatized by the divorce of their parents. To achieve this goal, the researcher made use of both the qualitative and the quantitative method of data collection. Data were collected by means of a literature study, four case studies, a semistructured interview and two questionares. The integration of the data collected through the empirical investigation enabled the researcher to compile a guideline to assist Gestalt play therapists in enhancing the resilience of children in middle childhood, traumatized by the divorce of their parents. By utilizing this guideline, Gestalt play therapists can assist children to overcome the damaging effects of the divorce. Simultaneously, the children are being empowered with skills enabling them to successfully deal with future setbacks. / 'n Beduidende aantal kinders word jaarliks getraumatiseer weens die egskeiding van hul ouers. Die doel vir die studie was om 'n riglyn vir Gestaltspelterapeute saam te stel waarvolgens die emosionele veerkragtigheid van die egskeidingsgetraumatiseerde kind in die middelkinderjare bevorder kan word. Ten einde bogenoemde doel te bereik het die navorser inligting ingesamel aan die hand van sowel die kwalitatiewe as die kwantitatiewe benadering. Inligting is ingesamel deur middel van 'n literatuurstudie, vier gevallestudies, 'n semigestruktureerde onderhoud en twee vraelyste. Vanuit die prosessering en integrering van bevindinge tydens die empiriese ondersoek verkry, is 'n riglyn vir Gestaltspelterapeute saamgestel. Deur die riglyn te benut kan Gestaltspelterapeute egskeidingsgetraumatiseerde kinders help om die skadelike uitwerking van egskeiding te oorkom. Tegelyk word die kinders ook met vaardighede bemagtig wat hulle toerus om toekomstige teleurstelling, teenspoed en trauma effektief te hanteer. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

This study aims to present an alternative framework with which to view the phenomenon of parental divorce and its perceived consequences for adult children of divorce in committed relationships. Research done within the traditional Newtonian framework is reviewed and its limitations explicated. The epistemological presuppositions of the new epistemology are presented along with their implications for conducting research. The importance of description as research methodology is emphasised. Written descriptions from various adult children of divorce are presented. Metadescriptions, by the author, are presented. These metadescriptions, based on the presuppositions of the new epistemology, highlight the value of describing the patterns of organisation which characterise the committed relationships of adult children of divorce. It is concluded that an alternative approach, based on the new epistemology, enlarges our understanding of the adult child of divorce within the context of a committed relationship. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the possibility ofusingJlelational Theory as a basis for the design of a support group programme for divorced single-parent families. This programme aimed at improving their interpersonal relationships and then to form new identities realistically, thus helping them to self-actualise. The categories of involvement, experience and meaningful attribution as well as the stages of awareness, exploration, personalisation and change initiation formed the basis of the programme. The effects of marital disruption on the interpersonal relationships and identities of singleparent families were also examined through a literature review. Pre and posttest interviews were conducted individually with single parents and their children to evaluate the effectiveness of the support group programme. The pretest interviews were administered a month before the implementation of the programme and the posttest interviews done two months after to gauge the longitudinal effect of the programme. The interviews and the progranune included the following aspects : awareness, exploration and evaluation of relationships (including aspects such as parental and spousal conflicts, parent alignment and parent availability, sibling rivalry and parent-child interaction); awareness, exploration and evaluation of identities (including identity conflicts stemming from role strain, role reversals and parent alignment); self-evaluation and selfactualisation. The conclusions from the literature study, the outcome of the support group progranune and the results of the interviews confirmed that marital disruption does adversely affect the interpersonal relationships of single-parent families and their formation of new, realistic identities. Single-parent families attribute unrealistic meaning to relationships and identities causing problematic relationships and identity conflicts. The nature and quality of the relationships also affect the formation of realistic identities resulting in a failure to self-actualise. In conclusion, the support group programme helped the single-parent families to attribute realistic meaning to their relationships and identities, resulting in improved relationships and the formation of realistic identities / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Text in Afrikaans / Die Ontwikkelingsgefasiliteerde Groepmodel (OFG-model) is vir die doeleindes van hierdie navorsingstudie aangepas vir adolessente tussen die ouderdom van vyftien en agtien jaar. Die model is gebruik om die betekenisgewing, belewing en die betrokkenheid van 'n groep adolessente wat egskeidingsgetraumatiseerd is te ondersoek. 'n Literatuurstudie is onderneem waarin groepterapie, multikulturele terapie, die adolessent en egskeiding, en die konsepte betekenisgewing, belewing en betrokkenheid nagevors is. 'n Empiriese studie in die vorm van twaalf terapie sassies om die betekenisgewing,belewing, betrokkenheid van die adolessente te ondersoek, is onderneem. Die navorser stel ook vas hoe die proses van terapie met 'n groep multikulturele adolessente verloop. 'n Beplanning van die terapie sessies is gedoen. Ten einde die vertroubaarheid van die navorsing te bepaal, is Guba se model van vertroubaarheid toegepas. Die empiriese studie toon aan dat die Ontwikkelingsgefasiliteerde Groepmodel, terapeuties met sukses gebruik kan word met 'n groep multikulturele adolessente. Die betekenisgewing, belewing, betrokkenheid en die selfkonsep van egskeidingsgetraumatiseerde adolessente kan op die wyse ondersoek word. / The Developmental Facilitation Group Model (DFG-Model) was adapted for the purposes of this research study for adolescents between fifteen and eighteen years of age. The model was used to examine the meaning, experience, and involvement of a group of adolescents traumatised by divorce. A literature study was undertaken to research group therapy, multicultural therapy, the adolescent and divorce and the concepts of meaning, experience, and involvement. An empirical study in the form of twelve therapeutic sessions was undertaken to examine the meaning, experience, and involvement of the adolescents. The researcher also determined how the process of therapy evolved with a group of multicultural adolescents. The therapeutic sessions were planned. To determine the reliability of the research, Guba's model for reliability was applied. The empirical study shows that the Developmental Facilitation Group Model can be used successfully with a group of multicultural adolescents. The meaning, experience, involvement and self-concept of the adolescents traumatised by divorce can be determined in this way. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, 2001.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Grandparent-Grandchild Attachment as a Predictor of Psychological Adjustment among Youth from Divorced Families

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the relationship of the adolescent experience of parental death to the variables of identity formation, adjustment, and coping. The inclusion of adolescents who had experienced parental divorce and those who had not experienced either loss condition allowed for group comparisons.

Different family structures and levels of parental and financial stress were investigated in relation to children's overtly expressed fears, and secondarily, covertly measured fears and concerns. The family structures consisted of divorced and remarried families divided into those divorced less than two years and those divorced greater than two years. Intact families were used as the control group. One-hundred-twenty-one children from six to eleven years of age and their biological mothers from a semirural, southwestern town comprised the sample. The children were administered five instruments assessing overt fears, covert fears/concerns, and positiveness in family relationships. Mothers were given eight self-report measures which included a questionnaire, a report of their child's overt fears, and an indication of the positiveness in family relationships. Results indicated that the children of divorced, single mothers tended to report greater overt fears than remarried and intact families. Indications of covert fears of death and separation were also suggested. This was especially true for those single mothers divorced less than two years. Children of intact families did not generally differ from remarried groups although there were implications that remarriage too soon after divorce may impact covert fears as well as positive feelings toward the stepfather. Children of mothers reporting high levels of stress reported greater levels of overt fears than children of low stress mothers. Financial stress for mothers appeared to have greater implications for children's overt and covert fears than did parental stress. In contrast to the children of mothers reporting high levels of stress, mothers who reported low levels of stress tended to have children who reported fewer overt fears but greater covert fears and concerns. Recommendations for future research including adding parental measures to assess the coping styles as well as the effectiveness of such coping with divorce and remarriage, using different measures of overt and covert fears, and extending the study to include data from the biological fathers as well as families in which the father has custodial rights.

This study aims to provide a picture of how family administrators in Sweden describes mothers and fathers who are in a custody conflict and whether there is a difference in how they are portrayed. It is a qualitative content analysis of the custody investigation of 15 custody conflicts. This study is based on gender theory and social constructions. Previous research shows that there is a tendency among family law case workers to view the mother as the primary parent with the main responsibility to care for the child while the father is viewed as a supporting parent. On the other hand, research shows that verdicts in custody conflicts are based on factual reasons such as time spent with the child. Our study shows that although case workers may portray mothers and fathers differently in custody investigations, these descriptions of the parents can always be traced to on-topic reasons such as domestic violence or ability to care for the child. In cases were mothers and fathers are portrayed differently, it can be traced to differing discourses among case workers.