M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study explores the possible influence of twenty children on their 'parents', with a view to better understanding the potential 'multiplier effect' of children regarding environmental responsibility. The criteria employed to study the potential influence included certain of the environmental activities learnt by the children during an Environmental Education programme. The programme was undertaken by the researcher with a Std 4 class from Ryneveld Primêreskool in Graaff-Reinet. An action research approach was adopted and results were analysed qualitatively. Due to the short duration and exploratory nature of the project, these results should be viewed as tentative. Proposals are made for increasing the impact of Environmental Education programmes in peri-urban township communities, and recommendations are put forward to help facilitate related studies in the future.

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Clinical Psychology Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2017 / Bowlby (1979, p. 129) posited that “attachment behaviour characterises the human being from the cradle to the grave.” These intimate attachments to other human beings are the hub around which a person’s life revolves, not only in childhood but throughout adolescence, the years of maturity and into old age (Bowlby, 1980). Much of Bowlby’s work focused on the early years of childhood and the attachment formed with caregivers at this time. With the development of the ‘Strange Situation’ procedure, researchers were able to empirically test Bowlby’s theory and have since been able to produce studies that looked at how the quality of attachment behaviours changed or remained stable over time (McConnell & Moss, 2011). A substantial amount of this research has been conducted on the effect of maternal employment and mother-child attachment. However, the research that has been conducted has only looked at the effect of maternal employment in the early years of the child’s life. No research could be found that measured the influence of early maternal employment status beyond second grade and into early adulthood. Furthermore, this research has not explored whether there are any reported differences between the employment status of mothers and the romantic attachments in young adults, internationally or in the South African context. A substantial focus has also been placed on exploring the possibility that the attachment styles identified in infancy continue into adulthood and play a role in romantic relationships, with Hazan & Shaver (1987) proposing romantic love as an attachment process. Research has shown that the quality of attachment relationships experienced in early childhood are related to the nature of later adult romantic relationships (Simpson, Collins, Tran, & Haydon, 2007). This study aimed to ascertain whether any associations existed between the romantic attachment styles of young adults, aged between 18-24 years old, and their mothers’ employment status during their childhood (i.e.: between ages 0 and 5). A sample of 446 participants completed an online questionnaire containing two sections: the first section ascertained demographic information while the second contained the Attachment Style Questionnaire (Feeney, Noller & Hanrahan, 1994). A series of Pearson chi-square were used to measure associations between a) the participants’ romantic attachment styles and their mothers’ early employment status, b) the participants’ age at which their mother returned to work and their romantic attachment style and c) maternal employment status and participants’ preference for their mothers to work or stay-at-home. Results for the overall romantic attachment style showed that regardless of early maternal employment status, the majority of the sample was avoidant in their romantic attachment style. Only 18.83% of the sample was securely attached and 1.79% was ambivalent in their romantic attachment. Results for the chi-squareds were all significant, indicating that an association does exist between the various constructs. Thematic content analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse data gathered on participants’ feelings toward their mothers’ employment status. Findings showed that participants with working mothers felt that their mothers were less available to them and provided less emotional and physical nurturance than they would have liked. Those with stay-at-home mothers indicated that they often experienced financial difficulty due to reliance on one income and that their mothers were sometimes perceived as too controlling; not allowing them enough space to explore the world for themselves. / XL2018

Parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s Internet use significantly influences the parental mediation strategies they choose to use with their children. The motivation for this explorative research study was to understand the impact of psychological and social influences on users of the Internet in South Africa. Both locally and internationally, there is a focus on the use of digital Internet devices to facilitate education. Access of South Africans to the Internet, whether for social or educational use does not exist in a vacuum, exempt from the bidirectional forces of the individual and the environment they use the Internet in, whether it is family or academic. This study firstly focusses on how parents perceive their adolescent children’s Internet use, and secondly, how they parent their children’s use of the Internet. The common topics and themes that emerged from this study allow for the development and provision of professional services that individuals, couples, families, and groups require for the use of, or exposure to the Internet. This study uses an explorative-descriptive qualitative research design with an interpretive paradigm and snowball sampling. The qualitative research design focussed on the concepts of self-reflexivity, context, and thick description while utilizing multivocality of 1) international and South African research on cyber citizenship, including cyberbullying, cyber harassment, and legal consequences, with 2) psychological aspects of the psychosocial developmental challenges of adolescents from the iGeneration including the benefits, risks, and dangers of using the Internet, and 3) qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with parents from Generation X who are raising and educating a generation of children on the other side of the Digital Divide. Tracy’s 8 ‘Big-Tent’ criteria for guiding excellence in qualitative research and Tesch’s model of content analysis was used during the content analysis process. Themes and sub-themes that emerged from the analysis of the participants’ narratives included 1) experiences: positive and negative, 2) observations: behavioural changes and gender differences, 3) parenting methods: parental interaction, rules, and limits, 4) concerns: risks, and 5) opinions: personal views. This research study provides a thick description of South African and international literature and combines the literature with the voices of the participants and the researcher to produce discussions based on the findings of this qualitative study. Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of this study informed future research on cyber citizenship by providing a detailed understanding of the context of South African parents and children, the psychosocial developmental challenges of adolescents and, how educational programmes can be best created to effectively impact on the generations of parents, teachers and children in South Africa.

Parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s Internet use significantly influences the parental mediation strategies they choose to use with their children. The motivation for this explorative research study was to understand the impact of psychological and social influences on users of the Internet in South Africa. Both locally and internationally, there is a focus on the use of digital Internet devices to facilitate education. Access of South Africans to the Internet, whether for social or educational use does not exist in a vacuum, exempt from the bidirectional forces of the individual and the environment they use the Internet in, whether it is family or academic. This study firstly focusses on how parents perceive their adolescent children’s Internet use, and secondly, how they parent their children’s use of the Internet. The common topics and themes that emerged from this study allow for the development and provision of professional services that individuals, couples, families, and groups require for the use of, or exposure to the Internet. This study uses an explorative-descriptive qualitative research design with an interpretive paradigm and snowball sampling. The qualitative research design focussed on the concepts of self-reflexivity, context, and thick description while utilizing multivocality of 1) international and South African research on cyber citizenship, including cyberbullying, cyber harassment, and legal consequences, with 2) psychological aspects of the psychosocial developmental challenges of adolescents from the iGeneration including the benefits, risks, and dangers of using the Internet, and 3) qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with parents from Generation X who are raising and educating a generation of children on the other side of the Digital Divide. Tracy’s 8 ‘Big-Tent’ criteria for guiding excellence in qualitative research and Tesch’s model of content analysis was used during the content analysis process. Themes and sub-themes that emerged from the analysis of the participants’ narratives included 1) experiences: positive and negative, 2) observations: behavioural changes and gender differences, 3) parenting methods: parental interaction, rules, and limits, 4) concerns: risks, and 5) opinions: personal views. This research study provides a thick description of South African and international literature and combines the literature with the voices of the participants and the researcher to produce discussions based on the findings of this qualitative study. Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations of this study informed future research on cyber citizenship by providing a detailed understanding of the context of South African parents and children, the psychosocial developmental challenges of adolescents and, how educational programmes can be best created to effectively impact on the generations of parents, teachers and children in South Africa.

Educational Studies / MED (EDUC MANAGEMENT)

A multidimensional approach, using individual, social structural and process and system theories, is applied to examine the role of drugs in child abuse within the dysfunctional family system. By means of a saturation sample seventeen files were selected from Phoenix House and the South African National Council For Drug and Alcohol Abuse. A research schedule was developed and an analysis of the seventeen cases was done. The drug dependent parent is discussed and abuse in the family system are identified. Throughout, the influence of (the) parental drug dependency is illustrated and it is shown how dependency in a parent may influence family functioning and parenting skills. A literature study brought to light aspects in families which contribute to child abuse. Recommendations are made for further research on aspects highlighted by the findings. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)

A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, / The idea of psycho-immunity stands as a relatively new field of inquiry focusing on resilience and coping instead of breakdown and pathology. In line with this shift in the literature, the present research has attempted to explore the relationship between the quality of mothering experienced by the child and subsequent patterns of perceived competence revealed by that same child. Black township children were selected as subjects as they are deemed to be a population "at risk" due to the cumulative political and socio-economic exigencies that have affected this community for many years. A total of 72 township children between the ages of 12 -17 were assessed. Both structured and supplementary unstructured instruments were employed in order to measure the quality of the maternal relationship on the one hand, and the child's perception of his/her own competence (or resilience) on the other. Results converged to indicate that for the sample investigated, it was the specific "holding" capacity, availability and involvement of the affectively engaged mother-figure that was most highly correlated with competence of a scholastic nature in early adolescence. Conversely, the intrusive mother who wields power as a parenting style was shown to be more likely to raise a child with a poor sense of social acceptance and competence. These findings provide penetrating insights regarding the potency of the maternal dyad in fostering resilience and competence in off-spring. They offer further understanding of the role of black parenting styles in either promoting or demoting the development of psychologically healthy youths who have the potential to become active participants in a new and more just South Africa. / Andrew Chakane 2018

Educational Studies / MED (EDUC MANAGEMENT)

A multidimensional approach, using individual, social structural and process and system theories, is applied to examine the role of drugs in child abuse within the dysfunctional family system. By means of a saturation sample seventeen files were selected from Phoenix House and the South African National Council For Drug and Alcohol Abuse. A research schedule was developed and an analysis of the seventeen cases was done. The drug dependent parent is discussed and abuse in the family system are identified. Throughout, the influence of (the) parental drug dependency is illustrated and it is shown how dependency in a parent may influence family functioning and parenting skills. A literature study brought to light aspects in families which contribute to child abuse. Recommendations are made for further research on aspects highlighted by the findings. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)