No description available.

No description available.

Throughout the life course, all family members can expect to find themselves in some type of caregiving role. Individuals may find themselves providing care for a child or for an older family member who needs assistance. With the increase in life expectancy and the shrinking family size, individuals may find themselves spending time providing care to older family members. Despite the fact that caregiving related issues are well researched in the field of gerontology, the developmental experiences of grandchildren caregivers and the meanings of their caregiving experiences have not been explored in previous empirical work. Influenced by symbolic interactionism theory and the life course and life-span perspectives, the research questions that guide this study are: What is the nature of caregiving from the perspectives of grandchildren in the grandparent-grandchild relationship? What meanings do grandchildren give to the caregiving role? A qualitative study was conducted to examine the experiences of adult grandchildren (21-29 years old) who were currently providing some type of care-related activity for at least one grandparent. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews, lasting 30-80 minutes, with 17 grandchildren caregivers were conducted one time to examine the participants' caregiving experience. All interviews were completed at a location of the participants' choice. Interviews were tape-recorded and tapes were transcribed verbatim to aid in data analysis. Grandchildren caregivers' experiences illustrate variation with the reasons for providing care and the amount of time engaged in care related activities. Grandchildren were assisting with instrumental activities of daily living and activities of daily living. Reasons for providing care included grandparents' chronic illness or gradual aging, a crisis or event that left grandparents needing assistance, and because they had been providing care since they were young children. The amount of time grandchildren engaged in care related activities ranged from daily to several hours a week during summer and winter breaks. Grandchildren caregivers reported that family values, making grandparents happy, and preparing for the future were how they made sense of their role. Grandchildren experienced benefits and drawbacks from assisting grandparents and discussed how parents served as mediators and distracters to their caregiving role. Grandchildren caregivers exhibited the ability to adapt to caregiving situations and develop coping mechanisms that allowed them to be successful caregivers. Service professionals may want to include grandchildren caregivers in established support groups, caregiver programs, and enhance caregiver resources to support the generational needs of grandchildren caregivers in their 20s. / Ph. D.

This article describes how young adult males experience relationships with older people in an economically deprived community. Intergenerational relations refer to the relationship between people who are either familially or non-familially related. Intergenerational relationships are important for communities in promoting connectedness, closeness and togetherness, which contribute to the well-being of all members. The relationships between generations are informed by the values and beliefs that underpin their interactions. Values and beliefs that guided intergenerational relations in this community in the past were that older people were regarded as the custodians of heritage, knowledge and wisdom, which they are expected to pass down to younger generations. Reciprocally, the younger generation was expected to take care of the older generation when they could not care for themselves. It is not clear, however, how young adult males in Africa experience their relationships with older people at the moment. An inductive, explorative approach was adopted to conduct this qualitative study. The research was conducted in Khuma, a township of Stilfontein in the North West Province of South Africa. The community is regarded as economically vulnerable community. Eleven male participants, aged between 18 and 35 years, participated in the research. Data were obtained by means of the Mmogo-method® (Roos, 2008; 2012), a visual data gathering method and group discussions about themuntil data saturation was achieved. The Mmogo-method® is a projective, qualitative data-gathering instrument which involves participants in the visual construction of their subjective and often subconscious experiences by using different materials (Roos, 2012). Participants in this research were asked to make visual representations based on the following open-ended instruction: “Use the materials provided to tell us about your experiences of your relationships with the older people in your community”. On completion, participants were asked to explain what they had done and why they had made specific objects so that the deeper meanings of their representations could be elicited. Their responses were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Ambivalence emerged as a predominant theme. Ambivalence refers to simultaneous, contradictory emotions towards older people and what they represent. One the one hand, the young people expressed appreciation for the way in which older persons cared for them physically and emotionally; and on the other hand, these young adults expressed feelings of dissatisfaction and hurt in relation to older persons. Ambivalence was also expressed in terms of traditional agriculatural practices. They realized the importance of being knowledgeable about traditional agricultural practices and customs as part of their heritage; but they were also negative and showed a disregard for traditional customs in the face of the realities of poor economic conditions, unemployment, HIV/AIDS and socio-political changes in? terms of their economic realities and they described conformity with traditional intergenerational arrangements of relationships. Ambivalence was also expressed in terms of terms of the way in which relationships were arranged. There as an acceptance of the leading position of older persons with the younger people in a following position, but they also expressed a need to negotiate different rules for engagement. The relational experiences of the young adult males are embedded in their financial situation. Young males who find themselves trapped in financially dependent relationships with older persons do not have much bargaining power. They find themselves in a position where, even if they want to challenge the traditional arrangement of intergenerational relations, they are bound to norms and values associated with their past and heritage. The question needs to be answered: What is the older generation‟s perspective on the possibility of renegotiation of the norms and values that guide intergenerational relations? This question is important for promoting social cohesion, particularly in economically deprived communities. It is recommended that a community-based intervention be developed to create awareness of the strengths of both generations. Enabling interpersonal space can assist generations to adopt a flexible attitude in the face of changing views of intergenerational relationships. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This article describes how young adult males experience relationships with older people in an economically deprived community. Intergenerational relations refer to the relationship between people who are either familially or non-familially related. Intergenerational relationships are important for communities in promoting connectedness, closeness and togetherness, which contribute to the well-being of all members. The relationships between generations are informed by the values and beliefs that underpin their interactions. Values and beliefs that guided intergenerational relations in this community in the past were that older people were regarded as the custodians of heritage, knowledge and wisdom, which they are expected to pass down to younger generations. Reciprocally, the younger generation was expected to take care of the older generation when they could not care for themselves. It is not clear, however, how young adult males in Africa experience their relationships with older people at the moment. An inductive, explorative approach was adopted to conduct this qualitative study. The research was conducted in Khuma, a township of Stilfontein in the North West Province of South Africa. The community is regarded as economically vulnerable community. Eleven male participants, aged between 18 and 35 years, participated in the research. Data were obtained by means of the Mmogo-method® (Roos, 2008; 2012), a visual data gathering method and group discussions about themuntil data saturation was achieved. The Mmogo-method® is a projective, qualitative data-gathering instrument which involves participants in the visual construction of their subjective and often subconscious experiences by using different materials (Roos, 2012). Participants in this research were asked to make visual representations based on the following open-ended instruction: “Use the materials provided to tell us about your experiences of your relationships with the older people in your community”. On completion, participants were asked to explain what they had done and why they had made specific objects so that the deeper meanings of their representations could be elicited. Their responses were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Ambivalence emerged as a predominant theme. Ambivalence refers to simultaneous, contradictory emotions towards older people and what they represent. One the one hand, the young people expressed appreciation for the way in which older persons cared for them physically and emotionally; and on the other hand, these young adults expressed feelings of dissatisfaction and hurt in relation to older persons. Ambivalence was also expressed in terms of traditional agriculatural practices. They realized the importance of being knowledgeable about traditional agricultural practices and customs as part of their heritage; but they were also negative and showed a disregard for traditional customs in the face of the realities of poor economic conditions, unemployment, HIV/AIDS and socio-political changes in? terms of their economic realities and they described conformity with traditional intergenerational arrangements of relationships. Ambivalence was also expressed in terms of terms of the way in which relationships were arranged. There as an acceptance of the leading position of older persons with the younger people in a following position, but they also expressed a need to negotiate different rules for engagement. The relational experiences of the young adult males are embedded in their financial situation. Young males who find themselves trapped in financially dependent relationships with older persons do not have much bargaining power. They find themselves in a position where, even if they want to challenge the traditional arrangement of intergenerational relations, they are bound to norms and values associated with their past and heritage. The question needs to be answered: What is the older generation‟s perspective on the possibility of renegotiation of the norms and values that guide intergenerational relations? This question is important for promoting social cohesion, particularly in economically deprived communities. It is recommended that a community-based intervention be developed to create awareness of the strengths of both generations. Enabling interpersonal space can assist generations to adopt a flexible attitude in the face of changing views of intergenerational relationships. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The interaction patterns of 4 parent readers and 4 senior readers were investigated using grounded theory methodology during an intergenerational shared book reading activity with 16, 5 and 6 year olds. Parent and senior volunteers were observed during one on one reading with two different children who were divided up by gender using stratified random assignment to read with either a parent aged reader or a senior reader. To capture authentic interactions between the volunteer readers and children no preliminary training took place. Data were collected during pilot, pre-program, program, and post-program conditions. Open coding using a constant comparison method was used to establish patterns across conditions in the early phases of data collection. During open coding provisional categories were identified. Data from video observations, parent journals and interviews were then interpreted using axial coding methods to analyze the context, conditions and action/interaction strategies that were present and to determine connections between categories. From this information, broad categories were recombined based on trends and the observed antecedent and situational features. Selective coding was then used to test the provisional phenomenon. This was done using coding to identify any changes that took place between volunteer readers and each of the two children that he or she read with. The central phenomenon of scaffolding was identified across intervening conditions. The phenomenon of scaffolding was defined as a query and response pattern initiated by the adult, and used to direct the child's focus of attention during the literacy act. This took place as part of a transactional process where the elements of (a) the book being read, (b) the child and (c) the volunteer reader mutually conditioned and were conditioned by the other elements. The qualities that the reader brought to the transaction tended to differ when comparing senior and parent readers. The main differences observed occurred in three clusters of (a) Timing, Responsiveness, and Pace, (b) Use of Expression, Colloquialisms, Articulation and (c) Gestures, Feedback Methods and Range of Strategies. The pace of the senior readers was found to be slower than that of the parent aged readers. The senior readers also tended to make use of distinct pronunciation and did not use colloquialisms. They were also more inclined to use a wider range of supportive strategies. Both the senior readers and the parent readers were unaware of most of the strategies that they used to support the children. Further research on the question of the transactional process and the qualities brought to the shared reading experience by senior volunteer readers is required. Replication of the present study is suggested across a variety of conditions with different types volunteer readers and children. / Graduate

Intergenerational (IG) research has been a growing area of study, however, further study is recommended. The intergenerational physical activity leadership (IPAL+) program examined the feasibility of bringing together elementary school students (ESSs), high school students (HSSs), and older adults (OAs) on the playground to teach playground games to ESSs during lunch recess. A mixed methodology was used with concurrent triangulation collecting data through both means of qualitative (n = 26) and quantitative (n = 118) methods. Qualitative data gathering methods included one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and written responses interpreted through NVivo 11, hand-coding, and Colaizzi’s seven-step thematic analysis identified four emerging themes: Structure, IG Opportunities, Leadership Opportunities, and Enjoyment. Pre- and post-surveys were completed for quantitative data and analyzed through the statistical program IBM SPSS 24; a comparison of mean scores were examined to measure changes in leadership confidence, intergenerational attitudes, and social connectedness. Significance was set at p < .05 and discovered that ESSs experienced significant changes in levels of IG attitudes and social connectedness. / Graduate

No description available.

This study aims to explore locus of control and care from the perspective of older people (aged 60 years and older) in relation to younger people. Nine older people (8 female and 1 male) living in the Vaalharts community in the Northern Cape province of South Africa participated in the research. From the perspective of older persons, locus of control in intergenerational relations refers to how they subjectively evaluate the control they exert in relation to the younger generation and the broader environment. The extent to which older persons subjectively evaluate rewards and punishments from the interpersonal context and the broader environment will inform the manifestations of control (internal or external). Internal locus of control refers to the subjective evaluation by older people: that they are in control of their lives and the environment, and that they can give and receive care. Older people with an external locus of control believe that their lives and environment are uncontrollable and governed by external factors. Little research has focused on locus of control and care in intergenerational relationships. The research was approved by the human research ethical committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences in the North-West University. Guidelines provided by the Health Professions Council of South Africa for psychologists were followed during and after the research process. A qualitative research approach was used. The participants were first selected by using purposive sampling. Data were gathered over three days by using the Mmogo method®. The older people were asked to make something using these materials to illustrate their experiences or the way in which they experienced care in relationship to younger people. The participants had the opportunity to explain their presentations and prompting questions were asked. The data were analysed by using thematic and visual analyses. Trustworthiness was ensured by testing for credibility, transferability, dependability and comformability. The data revealed four themes. First, the older people expressed internal locus control in relation to the younger people by accepting responsibility to care for them. In relation to the environment, they used the land proactively. In doing so, they demonstrated the expectation of being rewarded for their efforts: the land would provide them with the food as a reward. Second, older people demonstrated strategies associated with internal locus of control in relation to the younger people and the environment. They modelled expected behaviour, educated the younger people and monitored their school work. It is only in relation to disciplining younger people that older people demonstrated external locus of control. They sought external assistance to discipline the younger people, which included appeals to the police, God and the researchers. Third, the outcomes of the strategies to exercise control over the younger people were not effective, as the subjective expressions of disappointment and the rejecting behaviour of the younger people showed. Last, the older people tried to gain control over the younger people by applying escalating attempts at corporal discipline. These findings, in contributing to an understanding of locus of control and care, may be used to facilitate positive relationships between younger and older people, which are vital for both generations‟ well-being. / MA (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Previous research on respect in intergenerational relations showed a significant association with the sustainability of the relationship that exists between generations. Respect in intergenerational relationships is a relational phenomenon. As such, respect is defined as subjective experiences of interpersonal interactions between members of different generations. For the purpose of this study, intergenerational relationships refer to interactions between people older than 60 years (G1-first generation in a family) and younger people (between the ages of 20 and 30) who constitute the third generation (G3-third generation in a family). The theoretical frameworks that informed this study are a combination of the Interpersonal Theory, Interpersonal Communication Theory that informs the principles of the Self-Interactional Group Theory (SIGT). The Interpersonal Theory and the Interpersonal Communication Theory conceptualise interactions between people on an interpersonal level. The SIGT however gives meaning to interactions specifically between members of different generations. SIGT theory conceptualizes that intergenerational relations and its principles are rooted in the idea of stimulating effective relationships and supporting intergenerational cohesion. According to this theory, interactions between members of different generations always occur within an interpersonal context shaped by continuous interaction between them. This interpersonal context also determines the significance of communication within the interactions between generations. Extensive work on respect in intergenerational relationships has mostly been done in Asian and Western regions, with a specific focus on the typological forms of respect from the perspectives of younger generations. This resulted in the identification of 14 typological forms of respect for older people. Research on respect in Africa conducted in Ghana revealed that respect is a reciprocal construct, while a study in South Africa on respect between Zulu grandmothers and their grandchildren reported a decline in grandchildren‟s respect for their grandmothers. Little to no literature was found on young adults‟ in transition experiences of respect in their relations with older people which constitutes a conceptual gap in the field of contemporary intergenerational research in South Africa and motivates the focus of this study. This study explores respect from the perspective of Afrikaans speaking young adults‟ in their relations with people older than 60 years. Before conducting the research, ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Council (HREC) of the North-West University, and the researcher adhered to the ethical guidelines prescribed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). This research was conducted in a higher educational context, at the North-West University‟s Potchefstroom campus in South Africa. A qualitative approach was used to explore 23 (22 female and 1 male) Afrikaans-speaking young adults‟ experiences of respect in their relations with older people. This group was purposively chosen as being in transitional life phase-from dependence to independence and autonomy. Data were collected over the course of three days by means of the Mmogo-method®, a visual projective data-collection technique. The Mmogo-method® enables the researcher to collect culture sensitive data embedded in the lived experiences of the participants. Participants are provided with materials consisting of a lump of clay, grass straws, colourful beads and piece of fabric in a closed container. Participants were asked to use the material in the container to construct something that could demonstrate how they experienced respect in their relations with a person older than 60 years. The projections participants built served as the focus for subsequent discussion, in the course which they explained what they had made and its relevance to the research question. In addition, prompt questions were asked to stimulate a focus group discussion. Textual data were analysed by means of thematic analysis, and by incorporating the symbolic meaning of the visual representation with the text of each participant. To ensure the quality and enhance the trustworthiness of this study, credibility, transferability, conformability, dependability and integrity of the researcher were applied throughout the research process. Findings revealed that the young adults described their experiences of respect within a specific relational context which they share with older people. Furthermore, their respect for older people is supported by normative values that motivate the young adults to offer them respect. The young adults experience respect in the relational context as reciprocal: they give respect to older people by means of altruistic actions and by being present in the lives of older people. In turn, they receive emotional and material care from older people as a form of respect. The findings of this study inform research into the relational nature of intergenerational respect which may be drawn upon for the development of intergenerational programmes to promote sustainable cohesion in intergenerational relationships. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015