Thesis (DPhil (Psychology))—University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Statistics show that young, heterosexual, low-income women are the fastest growing HIVinfected population in South Africa and in the rest of the world. Despite the rapidly growing numbers of women with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), there is a scarcity of research that focuses primarily on how poor minority and disadvantaged women of colour experience being HIV-positive, how these women actually live and cope with their diagnosis. Furthermore, no research studies on minority groups, such as the Coloured women in the Western Cape, exploring these issues have been reported. Consequently, there is an urgent need for research studies in South Africa to explore the range of discourses revealed by low-income and minority women regarding their lives and experiences of HIV/AIDS, in order to generate understanding and knowledge which could contribute to possible interventions, support and care. The present study aimed to: 1) explore the psychosocial concerns and mental health needs of HIV-infected low-income Coloured mothers in everyday life; 2) construct a testable Grounded Theory regarding the illness experience of low-income Coloured mothers; and 3) recommend guidelines for health workers. The study was a systematic analysis and documentation of how the illness (HIV/AIDS) was constructed in narratives of one particular group of women in South Africa. Eleven suitable and willing HIV-infected Coloured mothers were recruited by means of convenience and theoretical sampling. The research study was conducted within a socialconstructionist framework where the focus was on how HIV-infected, low-income Coloured women make sense of their world and illness experience. Grounded Theory was applied within the framework of qualitative research to analyse the data and to explore the participants’ constructions of the illness. As qualitative measure, a semi-structured in-depth interview schedule was developed according to Grounded Theory protocol. To reach the aims of the present study, questions focused on specific behaviours, experiences, thoughts and feelings that related to living with a positive HIV-diagnosis. In the participants’ accounts of their illness experience, two dominant discourses were identified: a discourse of HIV/AIDS, within which the illness was constructed as an stigmatised, incurable and deadly illness; as a shameful illness that someone should be blamed for; and as being associated with secrecy, silence, separation, pain and suffering, loss, and loneliness, as well as a discourse of mothering, what it means to be a “good” woman/mother; constructed as someone that should primarily take care of her children and family, and not be separated from them, or neglect or abandon them through illness or death. It is suggested that the two dominant discourses found in the participants’ accounts of their illness experiences, namely the meaning of HIV/AIDS as an illness (a stigmatised, incurable, and deadly illness, a shameful and blameworthy illness, an illness of secrecy, silence, separation, pain and suffering, loss, and loneliness), and the imperatives of mothering, what it means to be a “good” woman/mother (the primary caregiver of children, someone who is connected, physically strong, healthy and productive, and someone who is able to cope with her caregiving responsibilities even when in distress herself) are irreconcilable. It seems that these distressing and disempowering experiences of being HIV-infected, while also being a primary caregiver and mother of children, caused the participants in the present study severe psychological distress and suffering. Given these discourses and the context of the participants’ lives within their specific socio-economic circumstances, namely their lack of emotional and social support from friends and family, abusive relationships, substance abuse, economic hardships, absence of treatment options, as well as their experience of an incapacitating, incurable, stigmatised illness causing them severe physical and psychological distress, it was argued that the majority of the participants in the present study were in some state of depression and were in need of psychosocial support and mental healthcare.

Considering the high incidence of suicide in the South African context, the fact that suicide is considered an occupational hazard for psychologists, with more than half experiencing the suicide of a patient in their career and the dearth of post-suicide qualitative research among psychologists, the purpose of this study is to explore and describe the experience of psychologists after the suicide of their patient, and to develop guidelines as a framework of reference to assist psychologists in dealing with the suicide of their patient. In keeping with a social constructionist ontological and ecosystemic epistemological theoretical framework, data was collected by means of meaning-making conversations with six purposively selected psychologists, with a minimum of five years‟ experience and at least one year having passed after the suicide of their patient. The data was analysed independently by the researcher and an independent coder using Tesch‟s open and descriptive method. The present study found that, following the suicide of their patient, the participants were propelled into a myriad of acutely distressing emotions. They often described a suffocating sense of responsibility for the suicide and the lingering presence of their patient. The participants experienced feelings of guilt and self-doubt, often questioning their own professional competence. The post-suicide process was described as being both a personally and professionally isolating event, due to the sense of having to carry the burden of the suicide alone for ethical reasons and fear of social stigmatisation. The participants appeared to grapple with the paradoxical dance between their personal emotional realities and what they perceived to be “clinically” or “professionally” acceptable. Having gone through the traumatic experience of losing a patient to suicide, most of the participants eventually found new wisdom, which helped them become wounded healers. Based on these findings, post-vention guidelines with practical actions were developed to assist psychologists in dealing with the suicide of their patient. Recommendations are made with regard to suicidology research, suicide education and psychologists‟ practice. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Thesis (MEdPsych (Educational Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / During the previous political dispensation, the educators in the Western Cape were captured in a process of ideological influencing. This crisis became evident in the 1976 and 1985 uproars. Although the educators attempted to act in the best interest of the learners, they were in many cases blamed by the ruling government as being liberalists. The subsequent experience of fear and anxiety endangered the emotional well-being of many educators. The election of the first democratic government in 1994 held promises of a better work environment for educators. Far-reaching transformations in education policies and the implementation of new curricula presented educators with new challenges. Disciplinary problems, multicultural classrooms, teaching in a language other than the home language, and the inclusive handling of various external as well as internal barriers to learning, became stressors that educators in the Western Cape were subjected to. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of stressors on the emotional wellbeing of educators in high schools in the Western Cape. I aimed to determine how educators in high schools perceived their own emotional well-being. Furthermore, I explored possible reasons for this and how their emotional well-being had influenced other dimensions of their wellness. I finally focused on educators’ recommendations to improve their emotional well-being. A qualitative research design, which was guided by an interpretive paradigm, was employed. During data analysis I operated in a critical paradigm. The data was collected by means of a literature review, interviews, reflective diaries, observations, documentation and artefacts. The research findings indicated that educators generally are experiencing low levels of emotional well-being. In extreme cases it is associated with emotional illnesses such as depression and burnout. It seems as if the low levels of emotional well-being experienced by educators have a negative influence on their social and physical wellbeing. Possible reasons that can explain the low levels indicate the impact of various role players, namely the type of school, an additional work load, the head master, the school management team, colleagues, learners, parents, the Western Cape Education Department, and educators’ families and friends. In spite of the experienced low levels educators were still at times committed to their occupation. Recommendations on improving emotional well-being were associated with factors in the workplace itself.

Recent South African research has confirmed that there is reason to be concerned about the mental health status and well-being of our youth. School-going youth are engaging in a wide array of risk behaviours that seriously threaten their well-being and hamper their chances of experiencing success in the future. The aim of this research was to explore factors relating to risk, resilience and health promoting schools in order to enhance the well-being of youth in South Africa.

Child sexual abuse and its potentially traumatizing consequences, over both the short- and longer term, has been increasingly recognized in the literature as a possible pathway to the development of intra- and interpersonal maladjustment, affecting the mental well-being of those affected. There is a paucity of local research investigating the systemic impact of a child's sexual abuse upon the caregiving and family systems in which the child is integrally embedded. The current research was conducted primarily in response to this, with the intention of illuminating the experiences of caregivers and families managing their child's experience of sexual abuse. More specifically, the research was interested in the experiences and perceptions of caregivers of children who had been sexually abused by an extrafamilial person. The phenomenological approach informed the planning, implementation, analysis and interpretation phases of the research. The sample included six mothers / female caregivers who had discovered their child's sexual abuse no less than three months and no longer than twelve months prior to the research being conducted. Maternal caregivers were the primary source of information regarding their own experiences, as well as spokespersons for the caregiving family unit and its members. Two semistructured interviews were planned for each respondent, the first interview aimed at eliciting their experiences and perceptions, and the second interview aimed primarily at providing debriefing and feedback. In view of the highly sensitive nature of the interview topic, the second interview was structured primarily out of ethical concerns for the respondent's well-being as a consequence of the interviewing. Results of the interviews suggest that these caregivers were faced with a host of complex experiences related to three broad thematic areas, namely: their involvement with the criminal justice system; managing the child's and family's distress; and themes around coping and support. A number of sub-themes were identified within and across these three broad thematic areas, representing a complex interaction between dominant experiences. Caregivers were typically faced with a series of dilemmas and decisions in their interactions with their child, family, and the criminal justice system. Based upon the findings, a number of suggestions have been made in terms of policy and protocol development for intervening with such families and their children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

HIV/AIDS is the biggest challenge facing humankind today and can no longer be compared to other health disasters. One of the greatest challenges it presents is that of nurturing healthy children to become competent, adaptive adults despite the numerous negative effects of the pandemic. Of concern is the lack of interventions that address the psychosocial needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS, poverty and violence. The present research study aims to evaluate a group therapy programme that has been developed to address this lack. The therapy programme used in this study is embedded in Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model, which focuses on the interaction between person and environment. The model proposes that this interaction is two directional and reciprocal. It also draws on the literature concerning risk and resilience in children, which aims to understand personal, familial and social factors that create and sustain resilience in children. Thus, the programme aims to intervene on many levels and to give the children the opportunity to deal with and gain mastery over their past experiences and feelings. In addition, it aims to develop resilience, self-esteem and internal coping resources and enables them to access external support systems in the future. In order to evaluate the programme, a sample of 43 vulnerable children was drawn from a peri-urban community in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The sample was randomly divided into a control group and two experimental groups, that later merged into one experimental group. Pre-test data was collected from all the participants in the form of a questionnaire consisting of 4 quantitative tools: the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), the Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI), the Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS) and a Social Support Scale (SSS). The group therapy programme, consisting of 15 sessions was then run with the experimental group. The control group engaged in 15 sessions involving games, singing, III drawing and other activities. Post-test data using the same questionnaire was collected from all the participants. The data was analysed quantitatively. No statistically significant differences were noted between any of the overall pre- and post-test data, except that of the TSCC. The graphical representations of the results showed a reduction in trauma symptoms and depression, and a raise in self-esteem, however the p-values were not significant. This is thought to be the result of the small sample size. The result also indicated that the CFSEI cannot be considered a reliable tool in this study. This study emphasises the need for further research in the field of vulnerable children in South Africa and the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions for this subgroup. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Recent South African research has confirmed that there is reason to be concerned about the mental health status and well-being of our youth. School-going youth are engaging in a wide array of risk behaviours that seriously threaten their well-being and hamper their chances of experiencing success in the future. The aim of this research was to explore factors relating to risk, resilience and health promoting schools in order to enhance the well-being of youth in South Africa.

Educational Studies / (M.Tech. (Inclusive Education))

The aim of this study was to demonstrate how postgraduate students cope with the stress induced while adjusting to the various proposal and research report writing phases they are involved in. It is further purported that difficulties in adjusting to the various proposal and research report writing phases and lack of support lead to students experiencing stress. The population consisted of 815 students enrolled for masters and doctoral programmes at Unisa for the 2012 academic year. This study employed the Stress and Support Questionnaire for University Students to determine the stress postgraduate students encountered while adjusting to the proposal and research report writing phases they were in. Furthermore, this questionnaire was also used to understand how these students use support as a coping mechanism. The various research hypotheses were tested using an explanatory mixed method research design. The population consisted of 815 students enrolled for masters and doctoral programmes at Unisa for the 2012 academic year. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Strata software and Microsoft Excel. Statistical analyses included tests, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests. The results demonstrated that students experience stress during the adjustment process to the various research report writing phases. However, masters students showed higher levels of stress while adjusting to the research report writing phases, compared with doctoral students. Some of the doctoral students reported that they felt fewer levels of stress, because they were already exposed to postgraduate studies and were aware of what is expected. Furthermore, students who reported feeling stress to a large extent indicated the reasons to be a lack of support from supervisors, delayed and insufficient feedback, lack of financial support, lack of social support, procrastination, and balancing work and studies. Some of the students iv indicated that they do not feel any stress at all because they have surrounded themselves with people who have travelled the path, and their environment is conducive to study. Support from colleagues at work, supervisors, friends and family have also shown to help students adjust to the research report writing phases of their programmes. Although some of the students indicated that they do not experience stress, it is imperative that interventions be designed for those students who do experience challenges when adjusting to the research report writing phases. / Psychology / MA (Psychology)

Text in English / Police workers have to contend with a variety of traumatic incidents in their daily work. This includes work, personal and socio-economic stressors. These, if not managed, may lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study was to develop guidelines to assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) organisation to provide appropriate interventions for workers diagnosed with work and non-work-related PTSD in the Mahikeng area of the North West Province in South Africa. The study further sought to assist the workers’ immediate family members to cope with living with a member diagnosed with PTSD. A qualitative research method was used. Data was collected using self-administered in-depth interviews. The study sample comprised of 19 SAPS workers and 23 family members. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The Excel computer program was used to identify and analyse common themes. A lower PTSD prevalence rate of 0.76% was yielded by the results. Work-related traumatic incidents were linked to possible PTSD development for most SAPS workers. Exposure to traumatic incidents might have had a substantial effect on participants’ health and social lives as most developed varying health conditions post to the PTSD diagnosis. Living with a member diagnosed with PTSD brought trauma, financial problems and constant worry among families. Families coped by supporting each other. The provision of counseling services and active participation in PTSD support groups and sport activities were identified by most participants as fundamental in coping with the effects of PTSD. The provision of sufficient integrated family counseling and life skills programmes by the SAPS organisation was identified as crucial by most families in coping with the effects of living with a member diagnosed with PTSD. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)