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A dissertation submitted to the Faculty, of Arts, University of the Witwatetsrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology). Johannesburg, 1981 / The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using parents as change agents for their children. This was based on the thesis that the early familial environment and the tone of the parent child relationship is crucial in influencing the development of personality and psychological adjustment. Self-esteem is viewed as the personality factor central to adjustment, and its development is traced in the family. Parent education is viewed by community psychologists as an effective and primary technique in reducing psychopathology and promoting mental health. This approach focuses on changing the person within his environment. Within this approach, however, orientations differ and it is necessary to determine which is most effective. This study evaluates three methods of parent education: the didactic, discussion and training approaches. A no-intier.venti on control was included. Twenty-four mothers and their children were divided into four equal groups. The variable of z/elf-esteem was used as a basis on which to compare the three approaches. All mothers were assessed before and after the six-week programmes on the following measures: Self-esteem Inventory, Confidence in Parental Role, the Relationship Change Scale and Satisfaction Change Scale, and the Incomplete Sentences Test. Children were rated by their mothers and teachers on the Behavior Rating Form and Semantic Differential . Analysis of Variance demonstrated no significant findings. A trend analysis revealed an increase in both maternal and child esteem for the training group when compared with the other groups. These results were then discussed and shortcomings and limitations in the research elaborated upon. Finally, suggestions and implications for further research were proposed.

Egalitarian liberal theories of justice – so this dissertation argues – fail to take into accountthe full implications of the way citizens’ socio-cultural backgrounds work to undermine theequal opportunities these same theories demand. While egalitarians support extensiveredistribution of income and wealth from the privileged to the less privileged, and advocateequal opportunities for all, they do not properly attend either to how our shared societalcultures structure social esteem and related advantages, or to how our individual socioculturalenvironments structure the very act of choice. They thus fail to acknowledge ourunequal opportunities to make choices which bring us esteem and related advantages,particularly the advantages that flow from our having established for ourselves lives thatothers consider good. Alternative approaches to the interplay between justice, culture, and choice are rejected forillegitimately restricting the right to go our own way (communitarianism), or for regulatingpolitically that which cannot legitimately be regulated politically (recognition theory).Against the former position it is argued that we should draw on our culturalunderstandings, not to restrict free choice, but to identify opportunities to be safeguarded.Against the latter it is argued that we should not renegotiate prevailing cultural structurespolitically, but rather acknowledge these same structures and ensure that no one falls too farbehind in the competition for the advantages they generate. Suggesting that one of the more thoroughgoing hierarchies of esteem and disesteem is thatattached to our occupational positions, broadly construed, the dissertation concretizes theclaims defended in relation to this hierarchy in particular. It is argued that the just societyowes it to its citizens to protect them from involuntary occupation of positions that comewith potentially harmful disesteem attached. It is not for society to overrule theindependent choices of citizens, however, but rather to provide enduring opportunities totraining and education for more highly regarded positions, thus both equalizingopportunities to esteem and related advantages, and ensuring that those who continue tooccupy positions at the lower end of the hierarchy in question do so through their owngenuinely free choice.

This paper studied whether threats to self-esteem and goal orientation affected an individual?s propensity to ask for help. Eighty-two undergraduate students from the University of Waterloo completed a self-esteem and goal orientation questionnaire in addition to completing two tests. One test was designed to be more self-relevant than the other, making that test more potentially threatening to an individual?s self-esteem. In each test, subjects were given the opportunity to ask for help on each question. The results show that the use of social comparison motivates individuals to engage in self-protection by reducing their willingness to ask for help. In situations where many others had asked for help, help seeking behavior increased. These results extend other research in showing the impact of social comparison on individual behaviour.

This paper studied whether threats to self-esteem and goal orientation affected an individual?s propensity to ask for help. Eighty-two undergraduate students from the University of Waterloo completed a self-esteem and goal orientation questionnaire in addition to completing two tests. One test was designed to be more self-relevant than the other, making that test more potentially threatening to an individual?s self-esteem. In each test, subjects were given the opportunity to ask for help on each question. The results show that the use of social comparison motivates individuals to engage in self-protection by reducing their willingness to ask for help. In situations where many others had asked for help, help seeking behavior increased. These results extend other research in showing the impact of social comparison on individual behaviour.

Competence based self-esteem (CBSE) refers to a disposition where an individual strives for self-worth by achievements to compensate a low basic self-esteem (BSE). This kind of self-attitude is linked to burnout. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on self-ratings of CBSE, BSE, burnout and mindfulness. Four MBSR groups were enrolled and a total sample comprised 29 participants. Results of repeated measures ANOVAs showed a significant decrease in CBSE and burnout as well as significant increases in BSE and mindfulness. It was further found that pre test - post test change in mindfulness was significantly associated with reduced CBSE. These results indicate the effectiveness of MBSR to reduce burnout and suggest the program’s applicability in treating self-esteem related problems.