published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Many researchers have argued that social factors such as poverty and urbanisation play a role in the experience of and may be risk factors for mental disorders. There is however a paucity of research examining this issue, particularly in developing countries, where the prevalence of mental disorders has been shown to be as high, if not higher than in developing countries. The present study aimed to begin to address this gap by collecting in depth exploratory data that could inform further study in the field. We conducted ten qualitative case studies consisting of semi structured interviews with family members of households caring for a member with a mental illness. The specific factors of interest were the role of structural factors, namely, municipal and health services in the experience of mental illness. Data were analysed thematically, using an adaptation of Yin’s (2003) approach. The findings indicate that factors associated with service delivery and cost recovery in poor urban contexts may increase stress and burden on households who are caring for a member with a mental illness. This has implications for the course and experience of mental illness and the primary environment in which care is received. These claims are tentative and further research is needed to substantiate them.

Michel Foucault's archaeology of the silence of madness in the age of reason circumvents the discipline of psychiatry by refusing to contest the latter on its own terms. The success of Foucault's project of giving voice to the mad is achieved, however, at the expense of neglecting a long history of resistance to the silencing of madness, to which autobiographical writings by people said to be mad have contributed. The first phase of my dissertation focuses on mind-problem memoirs published since the late 1960s, a period in which an international psychiatric survivor movement has emerged. My readings of these memoirs examine how they elaborate ways of negotiating encounters with psychiatry in everyday life, and how they reveal the contingency of naturalized psychiatric practices. The second phase begins with the identification of certain questions that are not prominent among the concerns of political activists struggling to displace the psychiatric system. In the course of articulating a critique of narrative, I introduce the phrase "order of making sense" to describe a moral injunction—to respond and contribute to narrative reason—that acts as a regulative ideal. The third phase consists of fragmentary writing about personal experiences that, in spite of being framed by competing theoretical perspectives, destabilize boundaries. My increasing emphasis on the body, understood as a multiplicity of forces that are not amenable to the formation of coherent subjectivity, opens up the possibility of a revaluation of non-knowledge and the absence of work. The fourth phase concludes a dissertation whose unanticipated discontinuities are both caused by, and a mode of expression of, persistent mind problems. With the delineation of a post-Nietzschean aesthetic of the materialist sublime, the political strategies of psychiatric survivors, including my critique of narrative, are surpassed by the intensities of unproductive expenditure. Until mind problems are no longer pathologized as troubled being that stands in need of direction, the project of overcoming the condition of internal exile remains imperative. Yet it is the anti-project of exceeding sense—through an affirmation of being troubled by eternal recurrence—that most exposes the limits of the age of reason. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / Current understandings of mental illness are deeply rooted in a predominantly westernised paradigms of mental health. Constructs such as mental illness have been found to be socially constructed and rooted in historical contexts and informed by cultural and societal influences. Most of the existing research conducted on the knowledge and perceptions of tertiary-educated individuals towards mental illness have been quantitative in nature. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the knowledge and perceptions of undergraduates using Social Representation Theory as a theoretical framework. Purposive sampling was utilised to draw a sample of 16 undergraduate students between the ages of 18-25 years, at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus). Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used to analyse the semi-structured interviews which were used to collect data. The results of this study found that negative views and perceptions existed amongst the sample pertaining to mental illness and the mentally ill. It was also found that participants conceptualisations of mental illness were not wholly western or traditionally African. Participants perceptions were informed through their cultural and social experiences with the mentally ill. Generally, the study pointed towards a greater need for psycho-education on mental illness.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989. / Microfiche. / 2 v. leaves, bound ill 29 cm

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Extensive research on the knowledge and attitudes of students regarding mental illness has been conducted among university students globally. Some of these studies have indicated that students’ attitudes are influenced by a number of factors such as gender, year of study and contact with people with mental illness. In addition, university students’ attitudes towards people with mental illness were found to vary based on the course that they were enrolled in. The present study sought to explore the knowledge and attitudes of university postgraduate students towards mental illness. A survey research design was adopted. Using systematic random sampling, 143 students enrolled for an honours degree in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Limpopo were selected and enlisted to participate in the study. The students completed a self-reported questionnaire including the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) and Attitude Scale for Mental Illness (ASMI). The results of the study indicate that nearly half of students (49.7%) have adequate knowledge about mental illness. Most students (mean = 38.55) were able to identify mental disorders and were familiar with various treatment modalities. Gender, study course, and previous contact with people with mental illness had no effect on the students’ knowledge of mental illness. A further exploration revealed that 50.3% of the students displayed favourable attitudes towards people with mental illness. 31.5% of the students reported having previous contact with people with mental illness. A majority (60%) of students who had previous contact with someone with mental illness displayed favourable attitudes compared to students (46%) with no previous contact. Lastly, there was no relationship between the students’ knowledge about mental illnesses and their attitudes. The results suggest that educational and awareness campaigns aimed at improving students’ knowledge about mental illness and attitudes should promote contact with the mentally ill. However, the contact should be the type that will cultivate positive attitudes.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Background- care of the mentally ill by family members is done with little or no supervision by skilled health workers. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the experiences of family members of patients living with mental illness in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province in South Africa. Objective- to explore and describe the experiences of family members caring for patients living with mental illness. Methods- A qualitative, descriptive and exploratory design was used. Non-probability sampling of the purposive and convenient type was used to explore and describe the experiences of family members of patients living with mental illness in the Capricorn District. Data were collected from fifteen family members caring for MHCUs, by using open-ended semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data were audio recorded and observations were done during interviews. Trustworthiness was ensured by applying credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability. Data were analysed using Tech’s open-coding method. Results- family members experience disruptive behaviour from MHCUs and they also have to adapt to new routines that are at times unfavourable. As a result, the family members’ health and quality of life are affected, thus making them susceptible to having mental illness and other medical conditions as well. Conclusion- There is a need for family members caring for persons living with mental illness to be given emotional and social support. community projects such as support groups for family members caring for MHCUs and goal directed standard operations procedures at the Psychiatric Ward – specifically designed and implemented for family members caring for MHCUs, are recommended.

Stigma has been described as the most significant obstacle to quality of life for individuals with major psychiatric diagnoses (Sartorious, 1998). Much of the psychological literature on stigma focuses on individual attributes and interactions at the micro level, rather than macro level dynamics. In critiquing this traditional focus, Link and Phelan (2001) present a model in which stigma ensues when labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination co-occur in a situation of power imbalance. Even as the model fills a gap in conceptualizing stigma, its emphasis on power is unidirectional and fails to account for power as a form of resistance to stigmatization. This study explores the question of how a consumer/survivor activist perspective can inform the Link and Phelan model of stigma. A semi-structured interview methodology was used to gather qualitative data on the perspectives of 10 activists who are both the targets of stigma and active change agents in resisting stigma. The content of the interviews was thematically analyzed based on an iterative coding approach in order to identify the points of overlap with and divergence from the Link and Phelan model. The results of the study support the applicability of the model for psychiatric stigma. The participants' experiences illustrate which aspects of stigmatization take precedence in this context, indicating significant points for intervention. The anti-stigma work discussed by the participants illustrates the power of grassroots resistance, expanding the understanding of power presented in the model. Emergent discursive themes include the importance of similarity, the rejection of negative portrayals of mental illness, and a focus on a shared continuum of human experience. Participants' emphasis on the importance of having their voices silenced was a particularly recurring motif. Several respondents challenge the premises of the Link and Phelan model. These participants emphasize the positive aspects of diagnosis and labeling, while several other participants reject the choice of the term stigma because it may obscure the structural aspects of discrimination. These findings can serve as a guideline for designing future interventions, and focusing on strategies for social change.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent of emotional alienation consistent with ecological and chronic pain patients and to assess differences on this dimension between these two patient populations. Ecological group included 100 ecological inpatients, chronic pain group, 30 spinal pain clinic patients. Tests administered were the Sixteen Personality Factor (16 PF) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) including Harris and Lingoes subscales. The ecological group was significantly higher on measures of alienation than the pain group or the standardization population. Results also indicated that the ecological group demonstrated more psychopathology. Emotional alienation appeared to be a consistent stressor in ecological and chronic pain patients. Treatment of these patients should include the reduction of this emotional correlate.

No description available.