Existing literature on resilience portrays middle-born children as vulnerable. Middle-born children have to face many risks, such as a tendency towards delinquent behaviour, having poor relations with family members, being low achievers and harbouring negative feelings. Many children who face risk and who consequently are in danger of maladaptive outcomes manage to bounce back from these risks. Such children are called resilient. Research suggests that resilience among children is a common phenomenon, but no literature exists that focuses specifically on resilience among middle-born children. Because of personal experience, I as the researcher believe middle-born children can display resilience in the face of their particular risks. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore, by means of a literature study and empirical research, what the antecedents of resilience among middle-born children might be. This was done by using a concurrent triangulated mixed method design: Six resilient middle-born children completed a self-report questionnaire (RSCA) and participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings were mixed and allowed understanding of what encourages resilience in middle-born children. This study contributes to theory by identifying the resilience-promoting processes (both intra- and interpersonal) which contribute to resilience among middle-born children. This study's findings also transform the stereotypical view of middle-born children as vulnerable only. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

Existing literature on resilience portrays middle-born children as vulnerable. Middle-born children have to face many risks, such as a tendency towards delinquent behaviour, having poor relations with family members, being low achievers and harbouring negative feelings. Many children who face risk and who consequently are in danger of maladaptive outcomes manage to bounce back from these risks. Such children are called resilient. Research suggests that resilience among children is a common phenomenon, but no literature exists that focuses specifically on resilience among middle-born children. Because of personal experience, I as the researcher believe middle-born children can display resilience in the face of their particular risks. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore, by means of a literature study and empirical research, what the antecedents of resilience among middle-born children might be. This was done by using a concurrent triangulated mixed method design: Six resilient middle-born children completed a self-report questionnaire (RSCA) and participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings were mixed and allowed understanding of what encourages resilience in middle-born children. This study contributes to theory by identifying the resilience-promoting processes (both intra- and interpersonal) which contribute to resilience among middle-born children. This study's findings also transform the stereotypical view of middle-born children as vulnerable only. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

M.A. (Clinical Social Work) / This research involves exploring how middle childhood boys at a primary school experience the phenomenon of growing up with an absent father both functionally and psychosocially. The absent father being defined as a living father who does not live with his son and has chosen to be uninvolved in a financial, physical, emotional or spiritual way and has little contact with his son. The goal of the study was to investigate the effect of absent fathers on middle childhood boys and to gain an understanding of how they view the absence of a father in their lives. The objectives included exploring the experience of the boys in growing up with an absent father, to determine the boy’s perception of how their father’s absence has impacted on their lives, as well as to make recommendations for social work and other social service practitioners. A qualitative approach was selected for this study with a view to allowing participants to give rich descriptions of their individual experiences of growing up with an absent father. It is an exploratory study, informed by phenomenology. Exploratory, as it necessitated gaining insight into a situation and phenomenological as it entailed describing the participants experience of their life story. The research population for this study was defined as all boys in Grade Seven at the primary school. The boys were aged between twelve and thirteen. Purposive sampling was used as it allowed the researcher to select the participants based on necessary and relevant criteria. Five participants were selected as the researcher believed that it would give a sufficient overview of the phenomenon being researched and would reach data saturation. The interviews were all started with the same request namely, “Tell me about your relationship with your father?” Thereafter a semi-structured interview schedule was used as a backup tool when relevant questions needed to be asked. Participants were prepared for the interviews prior to the commencement of the study. Data was analysed according to a phenomenological method namely, Familiarisation; Immersion/Bracketing; Inducing Themes; Coding; Elaboration and Interpretation. These procedures were followed until a full description of the participants’ experience of absent fathers was disclosed. Four themes namely, emotions, loss, self-esteem and the single mother were identified ...