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

Bullying is well known to have harmful effects on child development and mental health, so understanding the underlying factors involved in bullying behaviour is critical (World Health Organization, 2008). In the present study, mental health, parenting challenges, and children’s individual strengths were explored across different types of bullying involvement. In this cross- sectional study involving 91 children between the ages of four to 11 receiving services at a mental health agency, the results indicated significant differences on dependent variables across the four different bullying involvement groups: bully, victim, bully-victim, and non-involved. Children in the bully group were more likely to be experiencing externalizing behaviours and have fewer individual strengths whereas children in the victim group were more likely to be experiencing difficulties with internalizing behaviours and have fewer individual strengths. Children in the bully-victim group were more likely to be displaying externalizing behaviours, come from homes experiencing parenting difficulties, and have fewer individual strengths. In contrast, children who were non-involved in bullying were more likely to have greater individual strengths including stronger peer relations, greater self-expression, able to successfully adapt to change, and have stronger family units. The results of this study highlight the different behaviour patterns across the types of bullying involvement as well as shed light onto the needs and strengths of children accessing mental health services from a community agency.

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of resilience by means of a literature review (to obtain a theoretical view) and empirical research, particularly to understand why some adolescents with Intellectual disability (ID) were resilient. Firstly, my motivation was curiosity (as teacher of many years of adolescents with ID) about why some youths coped better with the daily challenges that ID brought than some of their peers with ID. Secondly, there was a gap in the existing literature. Although there were studies that, among others, reported the rights of adolescents with ID to quality service provision, the risks that they and their parents/caregivers could expect daily, and challenges and coping skills for teachers/parents and caregivers who worked with these learners every day, I could not locate any South African studies, and only five international studies, that reported the protective resources/processes in adolescents with ID. The purpose of the study was to hear the voices of the adolescents themselves regarding what they, from the reality/context of their life-world, viewed as that which supported them, intrinsically as well as extrinsically, towards resilience. I also asked the teachers (as secondary informants) who worked with the adolescents with ID every day to complete a questionnaire about what (risks as well as protective resources), in their opinion, had an influence on the resilience of these adolescents with ID. I did this qualitative case study with the help of 24 primary informants (that is, adolescents with ID) who all attended schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled in Gauteng province, South Africa, and 18 of their teachers. On account of the limited literacy of the adolescents with ID, I used a visual participatory research method, namely, draw-and-talk. This involved the primary informants drawing what made them “strong” in life. This was followed by informal conversations where the adolescent informants explained what they had drawn and why. The findings of this study were in agreement with existing literature that reported that resilience was a dynamic, socio-ecological, transactional process between the adolescent with ID (obtaining and using protective resources) and his/her surrounding environment (the ability of the community to supply these resources that could serve the adolescent with ID as buffer against daily risks). The findings included previously non-reported protective processes, namely a supportive social ecology that treated the adolescent as an agentic being (providing opportunities for socially appropriate choices and dreams for the future after school life) and the importance of providing safe spaces for adolescents with ID to be nurtured (children’s homes and/or school hostels). The study also considered what resilience processes there were in the currently existing schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled. These considerations were aimed at teachers with the hope that they would support teachers and schools to support the adolescent with ID towards resilience. In summary, the study hoped to capacitate teachers, parents, and caregivers to better understand the adolescent with ID and to be aware of how they could support the youth to be resilient. / MEd (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of resilience by means of a literature review (to obtain a theoretical view) and empirical research, particularly to understand why some adolescents with Intellectual disability (ID) were resilient. Firstly, my motivation was curiosity (as teacher of many years of adolescents with ID) about why some youths coped better with the daily challenges that ID brought than some of their peers with ID. Secondly, there was a gap in the existing literature. Although there were studies that, among others, reported the rights of adolescents with ID to quality service provision, the risks that they and their parents/caregivers could expect daily, and challenges and coping skills for teachers/parents and caregivers who worked with these learners every day, I could not locate any South African studies, and only five international studies, that reported the protective resources/processes in adolescents with ID. The purpose of the study was to hear the voices of the adolescents themselves regarding what they, from the reality/context of their life-world, viewed as that which supported them, intrinsically as well as extrinsically, towards resilience. I also asked the teachers (as secondary informants) who worked with the adolescents with ID every day to complete a questionnaire about what (risks as well as protective resources), in their opinion, had an influence on the resilience of these adolescents with ID. I did this qualitative case study with the help of 24 primary informants (that is, adolescents with ID) who all attended schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled in Gauteng province, South Africa, and 18 of their teachers. On account of the limited literacy of the adolescents with ID, I used a visual participatory research method, namely, draw-and-talk. This involved the primary informants drawing what made them “strong” in life. This was followed by informal conversations where the adolescent informants explained what they had drawn and why. The findings of this study were in agreement with existing literature that reported that resilience was a dynamic, socio-ecological, transactional process between the adolescent with ID (obtaining and using protective resources) and his/her surrounding environment (the ability of the community to supply these resources that could serve the adolescent with ID as buffer against daily risks). The findings included previously non-reported protective processes, namely a supportive social ecology that treated the adolescent as an agentic being (providing opportunities for socially appropriate choices and dreams for the future after school life) and the importance of providing safe spaces for adolescents with ID to be nurtured (children’s homes and/or school hostels). The study also considered what resilience processes there were in the currently existing schools for the physically and severely intellectually disabled. These considerations were aimed at teachers with the hope that they would support teachers and schools to support the adolescent with ID towards resilience. In summary, the study hoped to capacitate teachers, parents, and caregivers to better understand the adolescent with ID and to be aware of how they could support the youth to be resilient. / MEd (Learner Support)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The present study is designed to address the problem of risk behaviors among adolescents, in an effort to promote positive developmental trajectories. Previous studies have resulted in divergent findings pertaining to the predictors of adolescent engagement in risk behaviors. In addition to considering this divergence, the focus of the study is the nature of bidirectional individual ó contextual relationships and their influence on adolescent engagement in risk behaviors. The study tested two models that considered whether parent-adolescent relationship or peer relationship mediated the relation between theory and research-based predictors and the endogenous variable, co-occurring substance use and sexual activity. Participants were 396 demographically diverse multi-problem adolescents from an archived dataset derived from an HIV risk reduction outpatient treatment program for alcohol and other drug use. Participants responded to questions that measured family structure, parent-adolescent relationship quality and communication, religiosity, school connectedness, peer relationship, and engagement in substance use and sexual activity. The study found that the model with peer relationship as the mediator fit the data better than the model with the parent-adolescent relationship mediator, and that the mediated model provided a better fit to the data than direct relations between the exogenous and endogenous variables. The results suggested also that primary caregiver was not a significant predictor of adolescent participation in co-occurring substance use and sexual activity. The present study provides a holistic theoretical and conceptual framework that highlights a constellation of factors determined to contribute significantly to co-occurring substance use and sexual activity, and thereby reshape existing models of risk behavior among adolescents.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an acquired physical disability through traumatic injuries such as car accidents and shooting incidents, and non-traumatic injury such as a tumour on the spinal cord, amongst others. Unlike other parts of the body, the spinal cord does not have the ability to repair itself if it is damaged. Consequently, a person who has acquired an SCI will have a physical disability and will be either a paraplegic – paralysis of the lower part of the body, including the legs, or a quadriplegic, which is paralysis of all four limbs. Acquiring a spinal cord injury (SCI) has devastating long-term negative outcomes for the injured person as well as his/her cohabiting partner on a physical, psychological, psychosocial and socio-economical level. Exposure to such prolonged adversity and resulting negative outcomes calls for resilience, namely the ability to positively adapt despite the adversity being exposed to. Not all individuals have the natural ability to “bounce back”, and consequently resilience promotion is imperative. In South Africa, the focus of service delivery in rehabilitation centres is mainly centred on the injured person and consequently the well-being of the spinal cord injured person’s partner (SCIPP) is neglected. Little information is available on resilience-promoting programmes for SCIPPs; thus the main aim of this study was to design and develop a group resilience-promoting programme (GRPP) for SCIPPs. The researcher mainly followed a qualitative research approach and included a small quantitative component. In the context of applied research, an intervention research model comprising six phases was employed. Phase 1, Problem analysis and project planning, was reported on in section A. Manuscript 1 reports on phase 2 (information gathering and synthesis), and consists of a qualitative research synthesis, and mainly aimed at organizing and synthesizing previous research on resilience-promoting processes in order to inform the design and development of a group resilience-promoting programme (GRPP) for SCIPPs. After a systematic review and quality appraisal a total of 74 papers were selected to be quality appraised after abstracts and titles were assessed for relevance. Twenty-one studies were included and synthesized where after an outline for the content of a GRPP for SCIPPs was formulated. Conclusions and recommendations highlight that the formulated GRPP for SCIPPs needs to be further developed into an intervention that could be implemented with SCIPPs. As such, the researcher therefore proceeded with the study (see manuscript 2), aiming in developing small-group programme content and activities (using knowledge gathered from pre-existing interventions; resilience literature; consultations with experts; people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) and personal experience) to promote resilience in SCIPPs. By means of purposive sampling six advisory panel members from a diverse background were interviewed before and after the pilot study with two SCIPPs and one observer to contribute towards the further development of the GRPP for SCIPPs. A six-session GRPP for SCIPPs was formulated, including the following: (1) Information on SCI and resilience; (2) Help SCIPPs understand that their reactions to/emotions regarding these huge changes are normal; (3) Caretaking and support; (4) My dual role; (5) Own caretaking by SCIPPs; and (6) Termination and way forward. The newly developed GRPP for SCIPPs however had to be formally evaluated. Recommendations were made by professionals in the field that the GRPP for SCIPPs should first be subjected to peer review prior to implementing it with the target population. Therefore in manuscript 3 (reporting on phase 5 – evaluation ) the evaluation purpose was to subject the GRPP for SCIPPs to peer review by means of an empirical study with professional role-players (social workers and psychologists) in the field of spinal cord injury, prior to exhibiting it to the target population. The six group sessions were presented to professional role-players (n=12) working within the field of SCI during two 2-day workshops, whereby they were requested to evaluate the content and procedural elements of the GRPP for SCIPPs mainly by means of qualitative research, with a small numerical (quantitative) component. Thematic content analysis and basic descriptive statistics were employed. Overall positive feedback regarding the newly developed intervention was received, with suggested adjustments that needed to be made to the GRPP for SCIPPs prior to formal evaluation with the target group. The GRPP for SCIPPs will further be subjected to expert review in other provinces in South Africa, as the current participants were all from Gauteng. Furthermore, postgraduate students will be recruited to test the programme with the target-population in South Africa for possible further improvement and suggestions, as well as possible expansion to adjust this intervention to meet the needs of male SCIPPs; SCIPs themselves; children of a parent/s living with SCI; and also for post-injury cohabiting relationships, as this intervention might be a starting point for above-mentioned research-opportunities.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an acquired physical disability through traumatic injuries such as car accidents and shooting incidents, and non-traumatic injury such as a tumour on the spinal cord, amongst others. Unlike other parts of the body, the spinal cord does not have the ability to repair itself if it is damaged. Consequently, a person who has acquired an SCI will have a physical disability and will be either a paraplegic – paralysis of the lower part of the body, including the legs, or a quadriplegic, which is paralysis of all four limbs. Acquiring a spinal cord injury (SCI) has devastating long-term negative outcomes for the injured person as well as his/her cohabiting partner on a physical, psychological, psychosocial and socio-economical level. Exposure to such prolonged adversity and resulting negative outcomes calls for resilience, namely the ability to positively adapt despite the adversity being exposed to. Not all individuals have the natural ability to “bounce back”, and consequently resilience promotion is imperative. In South Africa, the focus of service delivery in rehabilitation centres is mainly centred on the injured person and consequently the well-being of the spinal cord injured person’s partner (SCIPP) is neglected. Little information is available on resilience-promoting programmes for SCIPPs; thus the main aim of this study was to design and develop a group resilience-promoting programme (GRPP) for SCIPPs. The researcher mainly followed a qualitative research approach and included a small quantitative component. In the context of applied research, an intervention research model comprising six phases was employed. Phase 1, Problem analysis and project planning, was reported on in section A. Manuscript 1 reports on phase 2 (information gathering and synthesis), and consists of a qualitative research synthesis, and mainly aimed at organizing and synthesizing previous research on resilience-promoting processes in order to inform the design and development of a group resilience-promoting programme (GRPP) for SCIPPs. After a systematic review and quality appraisal a total of 74 papers were selected to be quality appraised after abstracts and titles were assessed for relevance. Twenty-one studies were included and synthesized where after an outline for the content of a GRPP for SCIPPs was formulated. Conclusions and recommendations highlight that the formulated GRPP for SCIPPs needs to be further developed into an intervention that could be implemented with SCIPPs. As such, the researcher therefore proceeded with the study (see manuscript 2), aiming in developing small-group programme content and activities (using knowledge gathered from pre-existing interventions; resilience literature; consultations with experts; people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) and personal experience) to promote resilience in SCIPPs. By means of purposive sampling six advisory panel members from a diverse background were interviewed before and after the pilot study with two SCIPPs and one observer to contribute towards the further development of the GRPP for SCIPPs. A six-session GRPP for SCIPPs was formulated, including the following: (1) Information on SCI and resilience; (2) Help SCIPPs understand that their reactions to/emotions regarding these huge changes are normal; (3) Caretaking and support; (4) My dual role; (5) Own caretaking by SCIPPs; and (6) Termination and way forward. The newly developed GRPP for SCIPPs however had to be formally evaluated. Recommendations were made by professionals in the field that the GRPP for SCIPPs should first be subjected to peer review prior to implementing it with the target population. Therefore in manuscript 3 (reporting on phase 5 – evaluation ) the evaluation purpose was to subject the GRPP for SCIPPs to peer review by means of an empirical study with professional role-players (social workers and psychologists) in the field of spinal cord injury, prior to exhibiting it to the target population. The six group sessions were presented to professional role-players (n=12) working within the field of SCI during two 2-day workshops, whereby they were requested to evaluate the content and procedural elements of the GRPP for SCIPPs mainly by means of qualitative research, with a small numerical (quantitative) component. Thematic content analysis and basic descriptive statistics were employed. Overall positive feedback regarding the newly developed intervention was received, with suggested adjustments that needed to be made to the GRPP for SCIPPs prior to formal evaluation with the target group. The GRPP for SCIPPs will further be subjected to expert review in other provinces in South Africa, as the current participants were all from Gauteng. Furthermore, postgraduate students will be recruited to test the programme with the target-population in South Africa for possible further improvement and suggestions, as well as possible expansion to adjust this intervention to meet the needs of male SCIPPs; SCIPs themselves; children of a parent/s living with SCI; and also for post-injury cohabiting relationships, as this intervention might be a starting point for above-mentioned research-opportunities.