Syfte med uppsatsen var att redogöra för hur individer som vuxit upp i familjer där en förälder missbrukat och/eller varit psykisk sjuk, beskriver sig själva i då och nutid, hemförhållanden och uppväxtförhållanden samt deras överlevnadsstrategier. Uppsatsen är av kvalitativ karaktär och utgörs av en innehållsanalys av tre biografier inom detta område. Genom att läsa tre biografier som belyser denna problematik samt med KASAM begreppen begriplighet, hanterbarhet, meningsfullhet och den dramaturgiska teorin har uppsatsen kunnat svara på frågeställningarna om hur individerna begriper sin barndom, hur har individerna hanterat sin barndomssituation samt om individerna kan se sin barndom som något bra. Uppsatsen har resulterat i förståelse för hur viktiga vuxna individer är för barn med sådan här problematik, samt hur viktigt det är att ha fritidsintressen. / The main purpose of this paper is to describe how individuals, who has grown up with parents who abused drugs or been mentally ill, describes themselves in the past as well as in the present, concerning their upbringing, home life, and their strategies of survival. The paper is qualitative in nature and consists of a content analysis of three biographies concerning this area. By reading these biographies that illustrates this problem and the concepts of KASAM; comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness and the dramaturgical theory, the paper has been able to explain how the individuals look back at their childhood, how they've been able to cope with it, and if they can see their childhood as a positive experience. The conclusions drawn from the paper are how important adult figures are in the life of these children and the importance of leisure activities.

In the past few years we have seen the near collapse of the world financial system, and we still have yet to find solutions for world poverty or the food crisis. People have started looking for new solutions in order to solve these problems and are considering new employment options besides the traditional for-profit business sector. Employees are increasingly looking for work in organizations that have a more sustainable approach to business. One organization type that fits these criteria is a social business. Most of the research in social entrepreneurship and social businesses, however, has concentrated on the social entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process so far. Only few studies have explored the employee side. Similarly, research on perceived employee motivation has mainly concentrated on the traditional for-profit businesses and on non-profit organizations. Although employee motivation is considered as crucial to the success of any business, perceived employee motivation in established social businesses has scarcely been researched yet. The purpose of this thesis is to understand why people choose to work in a social business, and what motivates them to work there. This research was conducted as a single case study following Stake (1995). It was carried out in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre Ltd in Finland. In order to achieve our goal, we have found it helpful to combine relevant motivation theories such as intrinsic motivation, task significance, prosocial motivation, value congruence, and meaningfulness, with current social business theories. As a result of our research, we have developed a model that elaborates how employees make their decision on employment and what influences their perceived motivation. Our findings suggest that both, the distinct business model and the mission of a social business have a great impact on people’s choice of employment. Moreover, the company values, which are partly derived from the mission of a social business, also influence prospective employees’ choice of employment. In addition, the employees’ educational background impacts their choice as their values reflect their education. They are also looking for such work, whose content fits their education. In our study we have tried to point out that perceived employee motivation in a social business is also strongly influenced by value congruence. Moreover, the perceived meaningfulness that derives from the social business’ mission has an impact on the perceived employee motivation. The employees feel that their work is positively affecting people, society, and the environment, which results in task significance and prosocial motivation. Finally, the flexibility of the work, the ability to influence the work content, and the work atmosphere, are also shown to exercise a great influence on perceived employee motivation.

Bakgrund: Personer med psykiska funktionsnedsättningar lever ofta i utanförskap och befinner sig ofta utanför den reguljära arbetsmarknaden. Avsaknaden av arbete eller meningsfull sysselsättning kan medföra en försämrad hälsa och försämrade möjligheter till återhämtning. Föreliggande studie handlar om personer med psykiska funktionsnedsättningar som har en arbetsinriktad sysselsättning. Studien utfördes på ett Fontänhus då en avgränsning till en specifik verksamhet behövde ske.Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka vad sysselsättning har för betydelse för återhämtning hos personer med psykisk funktionsnedsättning. Frågeställningarna var vilka faktorer i sysselsättning som kan främja respektive hindra återhämtning, med fokus på delaktighet och meningsfullhet i sysselsättning.Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats. Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer har skett med personer som deltar i arbetsinriktad sysselsättning och har en psykisk funktionsnedsättning utifrån en administrativ definition. Analysarbetet har skett med hjälp av meningskoncentrering och empirin har analyserats utifrån de teoretiska utgångspunkterna återhämtning, delaktighet och meningsfullhet.Resultat: Det framkommer av resultatet att en individanpassad meningsfull sysselsättning, där individen fyller en funktion och känner sig kompetent samt blir erbjuden delaktighet och gemenskap bidrar till att främja återhämtning. Resultatet visade vidare att sysselsättning kan bidra till en förändrad självbild och en struktur som bidrar till att vardagen fungerar. Resultatet visar också att en faktor i sysselsättning som kan hindra återhämtning är konflikter, då risken finns att delaktigheten och gemenskapen drabbas om personer väljer att stanna hemma på grund av dem. Det framgår att frånvarandet av ekonomisk ersättning i sysselsättning kan upplevas negativt och utgöra en hindrande faktor för återhämtning. Kunskapen om vilka faktorer i sysselsättning som kan främja eller hindra återhämtning skulle kunna tillämpas för att utveckla och förbättra olika sysselsättningsverksamheter. / Background: People with mental disabilities often live in exclusion and regularly find themselves outside of the regular labour market. The lack of work or a meaningful occupation can lead to a deterioration in both health and opportunities for recovery. The present study deals with people with mental disabilities that have a work-focused occupation. The study was carried out in a Fountain House, as a demarcation had to be made to a specific division.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine what role occupation has in terms of recovery for people with mental disabilities. The questions asked were which elements in occupation might promote recovery and which might prevent, with a focus on participation and meaningfulness in occupation.Method: The study has a qualitative onset. Six semi-structured interviews have been carried out with people involved in a work-focused occupation and that have, as interpreted from the standpoint of an administrative definition, mental disabilities. The analysis work has been made with the help of sentence concentration, and the empiricism has been analysed according to the theoretical outsets of recovery, participation and meaningfulness.Result: As seen from the result, an individual-based meaningful occupation in which the individual fill a function and feel competent, as well as being offered participation and a feeling of community, contribute to a promotion of the recovery of the individual. Furthermore, the result showed that occupation can contribute to a changed self-image and a structure that is of use in a well-functioning everyday life. Another discovery is that conflict is an element in occupation that may prevent recovery, which in turn can affect participation and community negatively, as people may choose to stay at home because of it. It is shown that a lack of economic replacement in occupation can be perceived as negative and constitute an obstruction element for recovery. The knowledge of which elements in occupation that might promote or prevent recovery can be attributed to develop and improve different occupation activities.

Organisations across the world are faced with the same challenges of how to get employees to be totally immersed in their role at work. People occupy roles at work. There is no sense in engaging employees if management is not going to invest in the effort of placing these employees in appropriate roles and supporting them to be engaged in their work. There are generalised states that employees occupy: people are to some degree job involved, committed to organisations, or alienated at work in the form of self-estrangement. These concepts suggest that employees can use varying degrees of themselves, physically, cognitively and emotionally, in the roles they perform. The primary objective of this research was to explore the three psychological processes, meaningfulness, safety and availability to be determinants of work engagement. Another objective was also to explore the influence of the antecedent conditions, namely work role fit, co-worker relations, supervisor relations, co-worker norms, self-consciousness and resources on work engagement. The study also investigated whether the psychological processes mediate the relationships between antecedent conditions and work engagement. A survey design was used to reach the research objectives. The specific design used was the cross-sectional design. Employees across all levels (N=165)i n a chemical industry in the Vaal Triangle were targeted for this research. Four standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Psychological Processes Questionnaire, Antecedent Conditions Questionnaire, Work Engagement Questionnaire as well as a Biographical Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed that psychological meaningfulness mediated the relationship between work role fit and work engagement. A total of 32% of the variance in psychological meaningfulness was predicted by work role fit. Psychological meaningfulness predicted 29% of the variance in work engagement. Psychological availability mediated the relationship between available resources and work engagement. The analysis indicated that 11% of the variance in engagement was predicted by resources. Psychological availability predicted 3 1 % of the variance in engagement. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

En meningsfull tillvaro Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka i vilken grad en omsorgsmottagare upplever en meningsfull tillvaro utifrån beviljade hemtjänstinsatser. Studien har bedrivits genom en halvstrukturerad, kvalitativ intervjumetod med omsorgsmottagare, omsorgsgivare samt biståndshandläggare och analyser av empirin har utgått från symbolisk interaktionism och dramaturgisk rollteori. Vi har funnit att det som är centralt för den enskilde för att känna meningsfullhet är den sociala interaktionen tillsammans med andra människor, att boendemiljön är trivsam och önskvärd samt att den enskilde har en känsla av trygghet. Trots det faktum att omsorgs- och serviceinsatser, i olika grad, påverkar dessa aspekter är studiens viktigaste slutsats att de enskilda vanligtvis inte sammankopplar beviljade insatser med känslan av meningsfullhet. / A meaningful existence The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which a care recipient is experiencing a meaningful existence by established homecare services. The study was conducted through a structured, qualitative interview method with care recipients, carers and care managers, analysis of empirical data has been based on symbolic interaction and dramaturgical perspective. We have found that crucial for the individual to feel meaningfulness is social interaction with other people, that the living environment is satisfying and desirable, and that the individual also possesses a sense of security. Despite the fact that the home care services, to varying degrees, affect these aspects, the study's main conclusion is that individuals usually do not associate the granted proceedings with the sense of meaningfulness

BAKGRUND: Schizofreni är en allvarlig psykiatrisk sjukdom som innebär ett stort lidande för den drabbade. Sjukdomen kan leda till symtom så som hallucinationer, förvrängd verklighetsuppfattning, apati och tillbakadragenhet. Sammantaget innebär detta att patienter med schizofreni skattar sin Quality of Life lägre än genomsnittspopulationen. SYFTE: Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att belysa vilka faktorer som påverkar Quality of Life hos personer med diagnosen schizofreni och som behandlas i öppenvården. METOD: Undersökningen genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt. Tio vetenskapliga artiklar som stämde överens med studiens syfte ingick, de granskades kvalitémässigt och genomgick en strukturerad analys. RESULTAT: De identifierade faktorer som påverkade Quality of Life hos personer med schizofreni delades in i tre huvudkategorier som var synonyma med Anontonvskys KASAMbegrepp: begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet. Som underkategorier till dessa begrepp identifierades följande underkategorier: Positiva symtom, den kognitiva förmågan, den psykosociala situationen, att ha kontroll över vardagen, fysisk hälsa, stöd från vården och livsglädje och optimism. Sammanfattningsvis visar artiklarna att de tre huvudkategorierna identifierar områden där patienterna har en låg funktionsgrad. De sju underkategorierna identifierar i sin tur områden som direkt eller indirekt påverkar patientens Quality of Life. SLUTSATS: Sjuksköterskan kan på egen hand eller tillsammans med andra yrkeskategorier inom vården stärka Quality of Life hos personer med schizofreni, dels genom motiverande samtal men också genom samordnade insatser mellan olika samhällsaktörer. KLINISK BETYDELSE: Personer med schizofreni upplever socialt utanförskap, brist på sysselsättning och isolering som faktorer som påverkar deras livssituation negativt. Som vårdgivare är det av största vikt att möta patienten i dess upplevda problem för att få ett positivt behandlingsresultat. / BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric illness, which entails great suffering for the person afflicted. The illness may cause symptoms such as hallucinations, a distorted sense of reality, apathy and reclusiveness; in effect causing the schizophrenic patient to evaluate his or her Quality of Life as being lower than the average persons. PURPOSE: The purpose of the literature review, was to highlight which factors affect Quality of Life, for schizophrenic patients in outpatient care. METHOD: The study was carried out as a literature review. Ten scientific articles, well suited for the purpose of this paper, were critically reviewed and structurally analyzed. RESULT: The identified factors, influencing Quality of Life for patients suffering from schizophrenia, were divided into three main categories, synonymous with Antonovsky's concept of KASAM: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. Furthermore, seven concepts were identified as constituting subcategories: positive symptoms, the psychosocial situation, maintaining control of ones everyday life, physical health and support from health facilities and exuberance and optimism. In summary, the articles studied show that the three main categories identify areas, in which the patients are low functioning. The seven sub-categories in their turn identify areas that directly or indirectly affect the patients' Quality of Life. CONCLUSION: The nurse can improve Quality of Life in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, either on her own, or in collaboration with other professionals in the health care sector. This can be achieved through motivational talks, but also through coordinated efforts between various social actors. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Patients suffering from schizophrenia, perceive exclusion in the social arena, a lack of pursuit and/or employment and general isolation as factors negatively affecting their lives. Thus the ability of caregivers, to meet the perceived problems and needs of the patient, is paramount when striving for a positive outcome of treatment.

Students’ intention to stay within the higher education system is decreasing by the year, and even though more students are enrolling at universities annually, the percentage of students completing their studies is not satisfactory. The low completion rate is a concern not only in South Africa, but worldwide. Trends are identified as to why students do not complete their studies. This study seeks to focus on perceived social support, the students’ academic fit, the psychological conditions of meaningfulness and availability as well as the students’ engagement levels, and then to investigate if these constructs will influence their intention to stay. The proposed engagement model of May, Gilson, and Harter (2004) originally designed by George Kahn (1990), was used to determine whether social support and academic fit correlates positively with the psychological conditions, which may lead to engagement and increase a student’s intention to stay. A quantitative research design was used to investigate the universal challenge at hand, and it was descriptive in nature in order to gather specific information from the first-year students. A crossectional design was used. The research method consists of a literature review and an empirical study, presented in one research article. A convenience sample was used, and a total of 304 students completed the questionnaires. These questionnaires were based on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Psychological Conditions Scale, Academic Fit Scale, the Work Engagement Scale and the Intent to Leave Scale. Structural equation modelling methods were used, and implemented in AMOS to test the measurement and structural models. The fit-indices used to test if the model fit the data included the absolute fit indices such as Chi-square statistic, the Standardized Root Mean Residual (SRMR), and the Root-Means-Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). The incremental fit indices which were used included the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and the Comparative Fit Index. It was found that social support did not have an impact on the psychological conditions of meaningfulness and availability, but it had a direct and indirect (via academic fit) effect on intention to stay. This implies that the amount of support students receive has an influence on their intention to stay, and also increased their sense of belonging in their field of study. Academic fit was positively associated with the psychological conditions of meaning and availability, which means that if the student’s personality and field of study is aligned the student will feel that the course is meaningful to him, and he will invest more energy in his studies. Academic fit had direct effects on students’ intention to stay, which means that students who feel they belong in their field of study will also be more likely to stay at the educational institution. It was also found that if students experience a sense of psychological meaningfulness and availability they will be more engaged in their studies, which impact their intention to stay / MCom, Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Organisations across the world are faced with the same challenges of how to get employees to be totally immersed in their role at work. People occupy roles at work. There is no sense in engaging employees if management is not going to invest in the effort of placing these employees in appropriate roles and supporting them to be engaged in their work. There are generalised states that employees occupy: people are to some degree job involved, committed to organisations, or alienated at work in the form of self-estrangement. These concepts suggest that employees can use varying degrees of themselves, physically, cognitively and emotionally, in the roles they perform. The primary objective of this research was to explore the three psychological processes, meaningfulness, safety and availability to be determinants of work engagement. Another objective was also to explore the influence of the antecedent conditions, namely work role fit, co-worker relations, supervisor relations, co-worker norms, self-consciousness and resources on work engagement. The study also investigated whether the psychological processes mediate the relationships between antecedent conditions and work engagement. A survey design was used to reach the research objectives. The specific design used was the cross-sectional design. Employees across all levels (N=165)i n a chemical industry in the Vaal Triangle were targeted for this research. Four standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Psychological Processes Questionnaire, Antecedent Conditions Questionnaire, Work Engagement Questionnaire as well as a Biographical Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed that psychological meaningfulness mediated the relationship between work role fit and work engagement. A total of 32% of the variance in psychological meaningfulness was predicted by work role fit. Psychological meaningfulness predicted 29% of the variance in work engagement. Psychological availability mediated the relationship between available resources and work engagement. The analysis indicated that 11% of the variance in engagement was predicted by resources. Psychological availability predicted 3 1 % of the variance in engagement. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The work of industrial/organisational (I/O) psychologists presents an interesting context for studying meaning and engagement (as eudaimonic components of happiness). (I/O) psychologists spend more than 88% of their working day with people, and they are primary role models for happiness and change in the workplace. Information about the manifestation of their meaning and work engagement is therefore needed. The aim of this study was to determine how (I/O) psychologists experience the meaning of their work and to investigate the relationships between their experiences of work-role fit, meaning of work, psychological meaningfulness, and work engagement. The research method consisted out of a literature review and empirical study. A survey design with a convenience sample (n = 106) was taken from a sample of registered (I/O) psychologists. A biographical questionnaire, the Work-role Fit Scale (WRFS), Work-life Questionnaire (WLQ), Psychological Meaningfulness Scale (PMS), Work Engagement Scale (WES) and a self-developed survey measuring the actual and desired time spent on six broad categories of work were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of SPSS (2009). Exploratory factor analyses showed one factor models for work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. A two factor model for the meaning of work (a job/calling and career orientation) was found. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0,80 to 0,93 were obtained. The results showed that a discrepancy exists between the actual time and desired time spent on the six broad categories of work (see Benjamin & Louw-Potgieter, 2008). Furthermore, the results showed that half the 1/0 psychologists view their work as callings. Whereas only 16% view their work as a career and 6,6% as a job. Regression analyses indicated that work-role fit predicts psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. The job/calling orientation predicted both psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. Work-role fit predicted the job/calling orientation. Psychological meaningfulness did not mediate the relationship between work-role fit and work engagement. Work-role fit mediated the relationship between the meaning of work and psychological meaningfulness. Work-role fit partially mediated the relationship between a calling orientation and work engagement / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The work of industrial/organisational (I/O) psychologists presents an interesting context for studying meaning and engagement (as eudaimonic components of happiness). (I/O) psychologists spend more than 88% of their working day with people, and they are primary role models for happiness and change in the workplace. Information about the manifestation of their meaning and work engagement is therefore needed. The aim of this study was to determine how (I/O) psychologists experience the meaning of their work and to investigate the relationships between their experiences of work-role fit, meaning of work, psychological meaningfulness, and work engagement. The research method consisted out of a literature review and empirical study. A survey design with a convenience sample (n = 106) was taken from a sample of registered (I/O) psychologists. A biographical questionnaire, the Work-role Fit Scale (WRFS), Work-life Questionnaire (WLQ), Psychological Meaningfulness Scale (PMS), Work Engagement Scale (WES) and a self-developed survey measuring the actual and desired time spent on six broad categories of work were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of SPSS (2009). Exploratory factor analyses showed one factor models for work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. A two factor model for the meaning of work (a job/calling and career orientation) was found. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0,80 to 0,93 were obtained. The results showed that a discrepancy exists between the actual time and desired time spent on the six broad categories of work (see Benjamin & Louw-Potgieter, 2008). Furthermore, the results showed that half the 1/0 psychologists view their work as callings. Whereas only 16% view their work as a career and 6,6% as a job. Regression analyses indicated that work-role fit predicts psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. The job/calling orientation predicted both psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. Work-role fit predicted the job/calling orientation. Psychological meaningfulness did not mediate the relationship between work-role fit and work engagement. Work-role fit mediated the relationship between the meaning of work and psychological meaningfulness. Work-role fit partially mediated the relationship between a calling orientation and work engagement / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.