Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 195 p. Includes bibliographical references.

This research case was divided into five facets (amacala) and was carried out in Mthatha at the Eastern Cape Province and in the University of Pretoria in Gauteng Province. The first phase of this project was aimed at introducing a general introductory chapter to this study, the second phase was a research methodology, the third phase was literature review of the related publications, the fourth phase was the pastoral therapeutic process and interviews, the fifth phase was the final phase that cycled off this dissertation with the summary of findings and the conclusions of the research project with recommendations. The uniting factor to help these weak three grouping families would be the theocentric family based on Trinitarian unconditional love covenant, grace, empowering and intimacy. The pastoral care narrative counseling should be based on narrative therapy supported by the Word of God basically in Acts 4.10&12, John 1: 12-13. The marriage question seemed to be source or relationship counselling which also needed theocentric approach to return to family origin of God. The Eurocentric, Africentric and Asiacentric approaches are not the answers to the infected and affected African families experiencing loss and grief and both European and Asian families have the same origin as that of African family, the theocentric family of God. This need further investigate especially to the extended family in Africa and Asia and Asiatic family on Asiatic side. Polygamy also would need much attention since it could be a source of traumatic event to both African and Asian families. Church involvement to counselling was not yet clear how parishioners were trained to help the pastor in the therapeutic activities. / Dissertation (MA(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Thesis (Ph. D. (Clinical Psychology)) -- Univesity of Limpopo, 2019 / The aim of the study was to determine the experience of ambiguous loss and grief reactions in adolescents affected by parental diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, and the identification of potential resilience factors that moderate the grieving symptoms. A convenient sample of 159 adolescents ninety-five (95) from families with a parental diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and a control group of sixty-four (64) adolescents whose parent(s) were diagnosed with cancer, participated in the study. The age of the participants from both families fell in the following ranges: 11-14 (n=45), 14-17 (n=65), 17-18 (n=45), 18 and above (n=2). Eighty-nine (89) were females whereas seventy (70) were males. A triangulation method of data collection was used wherein a biographical questionnaire designed by the researcher, a TRIG questionnaire to assess the level of grief in the participants and resilience scales were used in the quantitative phase. The family resilience scales included Family attachment and changeability Index 8 (FACI-8), Family Crisis Orientated Personal Evaluation Scale (F-COPES), Family Hardiness Index (FHI), and Relative and Friend Support Index (RFS). The Pearson correlation was used to identify the significance of potential resilience factors present in the affected families. Regression analysis was used to determine the predictability of variables to show moderating effect of resilience factors on the impact of experience of an ailing member of the family. Interviews were held with the adolescents in the qualitative phase using semistructured interview schedule. The questions elicited qualitative responses on the participants’ feelings towards the illness of the parents, the role they are playing and feelings towards the role, experience of feelings of loss, disclosure and the family qualities perceived to be helping them adapt to the stress of having a sick parent. The results showed that the two groups experienced ambiguous loss in the form of boundary ambiguity marked by enforced role changes following indisposed parent due to ill-health. Both groups of adolescents experienced forms of grief during the ailment of the parent(s). HIV/AIDS affected group experienced delayed grief whilst the control group of cancer affected individuals experienced acute and prolonged grief. Parental disclosure following diagnosis was higher among cancer affected families (75%) than those affected by HIV/AIDS (55%). There was, however, no significant difference between disclosure of disease status and the experience of grief, p=0.0120. Potential resilience factors in both families were F-COPES, FHI, and FACI-8. These factors were also found to have a moderating effect on the experience of grief in the HIV/AIDS affected families, but showed the opposite effect on the experience of grief in the cancer affected families. This shows the uniqueness of the study in the way the HIV/AIDs and Cancer affected families responded differently to the moderation of the resilience factors. The difference in the impact is in line with the shift in the status of HIV/AIDS from being a terminal condition to being manageable and considered chronic in contrast to cancer. The shift was seen occurring also in this study where previously high grief was associated with HIV/AIDS as its diagnosis was regarded as a death sentence. There was high stigma associated with HIV/AIDS diagnosis until recently when it was found to be controllable and also positively impacting on the life expectancy in South Africa that increased from 53 to 64 years post utilization of ARV’s.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2003. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-101). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ86319

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-86).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2006. / Title from second page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [2], vi, 165 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-158).

This thesis provides an ethnographic account of the journey from diagnosis with a life-limiting illness to the end of life. It tracks the lives and eventual deaths of eight people and 83 family members for a period of three and a half years in total. Culture is located as a central element or lens by which to view this journey. The role, function and issues for social work as a profession are discussed in various chapters. The theoretical underpinnings of the thesis are informed by the ecological perspective combined with psychosocial theories of loss and grief. Drawing on a broad social systems theory, in conjunction with an ethnographic methodology and grounded theory analysis, contributes to the development of research which firmly takes culture into account. Four primary topic areas are presented: a narrative exploration of diagnosis, the changing landscape that participants encounter, the embodiment of new places and spaces, and finally, the journey’s end. The themes from the four topic areas contribute to the development of the two core categories “time and place” and “preparedness for death”. A schematic representation of the paths participants took is provided in the discussion of the core categories. Lastly, the New Zealand Palliative Care Strategy (Ministry of Health, 2001) is drawn on to aid the discussion of issues arising from the research and the implications for practice in this field.

[pt] Esta tese investiga a construção da parentalidade em famílias adotivas monoparentais. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, na qual foram entrevistados nove mulheres e três homens com idades entre 38 e 61 anos dos extratos socioeconômicos médios de quatro cidades brasileiras que adotaram crianças há mais de dois anos. Os resultados foram analisados segundo o método de análise de conteúdo em sua vertente categorial. Das análises realizadas emergiram nove categorias: além da infertilidade, motivações para o perfil, motivações emocionais profundas, reações iniciais da criança, sentimentos de perda e luto da criança, articulação de duas histórias, questões inter-raciais, narrativas da filiação adotiva, e transmissão da história das origens. Os resultados e suas análises são apresentados em quatro artigos. No primeiro, investigam-se as motivações na transição para a monoparentalidade adotiva. Os dados indicam que a ausência de um parceiro ou a falta de interesse em dividir a parentalidade ocupa um lugar central; as motivações para o perfil da criança se transformam por meio de um processo de releitura do desejo, mas também recebem a influência dos profissionais envolvidos na adoção. No segundo artigo investigam-se os impactos da adoção na construção da parentalidade. Constata-se que as experiências pregressas e os sentimentos de perda e luto da criança constituem os principais impactos. No terceiro artigo, investiga-se a transmissão geracional na construção da parentalidade. Os processos identificatórios e afetivos estão em primeiro plano e a história pessoal com os pais é articulada à da criança como meio para que ela elabore sua história adotiva. O quarto artigo investiga a transmissão geracional da história da criança. Constata-se que as crianças necessitam conciliar sua história atual com as suas origens; os pais devem levar em conta a curiosidade da criança e sua capacidade de absorver informações, confiar no vínculo estabelecido com os filhos e redefinir verdades traumáticas em um trabalho psíquico conjunto. Conclui-se que a construção da parentalidade adotiva em famílias monoparentais apresentou-se marcada por motivações que se diferenciam daquelas dos casais, caracterizando-se pela configuração do desejo de parentalidade em fase tardia da vida, com o predomínio de processos identificatórios e do desejo de transmitir. As motivações para o perfil da criança se renovam em um processo de releitura do desejo. Emergiram como principais impactos da adoção as reações iniciais da criança, percebidas de forma diferente entre adotantes masculinos e femininos, abrindo uma discussão sobre o contexto social que coloca o bem-estar infantil centrado na mulher. Adicionalmente, os sentimentos de perda e luto da criança desafiam os pais a lidarem com seus próprios sentimentos e as ambiguidades da adoção, e a desenvolverem uma abertura quanto aos sentimentos dos filhos. A transmissão intergeracional no grupo pesquisado é marcada por rupturas com o modelo biparental de família, com a homogeneidade racial intrafamiliar e com a família biológica da criança. As experiências individuais com os pais ganham intensidade, não recebendo a influência da parentalidade de um parceiro. O trabalho psíquico de inscrição da criança em uma genealogia não é afetado pelas hesitações próprias das famílias com casais. As diferenças inter-raciais ganham visibilidade em se tratando de famílias com uma única linha genealógica, observando-se o valor da rede de laços da família por propiciar identificações, favorecendo a construção de uma identidade racial positiva. As adoções inter-raciais promovem a experiência da alteridade racial, que transforma os valores familiares de uma geração à outra, tornando a parentalidade um lugar privilegiado de (re)socialização racial. A transmissão da história das origens revela-se altamente desafiadora, porém essencial para a constituição identitária da criança adotada e para a consolidação da parentalidade adotiva. No que tange às crianças menores, observa-se o valor de diferentes tipos de narrativas e da comunicação não verbal. / [en] This thesis investigates the construction of parenthood in single-parent adoptive families. A qualitative research was carried out, in which nine women and three men aged between 38 and 61 years old from the average socio economic strata of four Brazilian cities that adopted children more than two years ago, were interviewed. The results were analyzed according to the content analysis method in its categorical aspect. From this analysis, nine categories emerged: in additionto infertility, motivations for the profile, deep emotional motivations, child s initial reactions, feelings of loss and grief of the child, articulation of two stories, interracial issues, narratives of adoptive affiliation, and transmission of the storyof origins. The results and their analyzes are presented in four articles. In the first,motivations in the transition to single adoptive parenthood are investigated. The data indicate that the absence of a partner or the lack of interest in sharing parenting occupies a central place; the motivations for the child s profile are transformed through a process of reinterpreting the desire, but they are also influenced by the professionals involved in the adoption. The second article investigates the impacts of adoption on the construction of parenthood. It appears that the child s previous experiences and feelings of loss and mourning constitute the main impacts. In the third article, generational transmission in the construction of parenthood is investigated. The identification and affective processes are in thefore ground and the personal history with the parents is articulated with that of the child as a means for them to elaborate their adoptive history. The fourth article investigates the generational transmission of the child s story. It appears that children need to reconcile their current history with their origins; parents musttake into account the child s curiosity and their ability to absorb information, trust the bond established with their children and redefine traumatic truths in joint psychic work. It is concluded that the construction of adoptive parenthood insingle-parent families was marked by motivations that differ from those of couples, characterized by the configuration of the desire for parenthood at a later stage of life, with the predominance of identification processes and the desire to transmit. The motivations for the child s profile are renewed in a process of reinterpreting the desire. The child s initial reactions emerged as the main impacts of adoption, perceived differently between male and female adopters, opening a discussion about the social context that places child well-being centered on women. Additionally, the child s feelings of loss and grief challenge parents todeal with their own feelings and the ambiguities of adoption, and to develop openness regarding their children s feelings. Intergenerational transmission in the researched group is marked by ruptures with the two-parent family model, with intra-family racial homogeneity and with the child s biological family. Individual experiences with parents gain intensity, not being influenced by a partner sparenting. The psychic work of enrolling the child in a genealogy is not affected by the hesitations typical of families with married couples. Interracial differences gain visibility in the case of families with a single genealogical line, observing the value of the family s network of ties in providing identification, favoring the construction of a positive racial identity. Interracial adoptions promote the experience of racial otherness, which transforms family values from one generation to the next, making parenting a privileged place for racial(re)socialization. The transmission of the story of origins proves to be highly challenging, but essential for the constitution of the adopted child s identity and for the consolidation of adoptive parenthood. Regarding younger children, the value of different types of narratives and non-verbal communication is observed.