<p>We live in a society that continually reinforces the connection between femininity and maternity and for the majority of women, attempts to experience motherhood are successful. However, for others the world of motherhood is not so easy to enter. To date, research regarding the needs and life satisfaction of women who are unsuccessful in becoming mothers, is fairly limited. The purpose of this study was to explore the transitional phase women endure from potential motherhood to non-motherhood and to highlight some of the complexities underpinning infertility and its impact on the lives of women in South Africa. The main objective was to gain deeper insight into how women incorporated this experience into their lives and relationships and how they began to create a future life without their own biological children. A secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether the women viewed aspects such as age and finances as having had an effect on their decision to discontinue treatment for infertility. Feminist standpoint theory served as a theoretical framework for the study that recognized that each individual voice be heard. This study was a qualitative exploration, utilizing a short demographic questionnaire and an in-depth semi-structured interview. Five interviews were conducted with women from diverse backgrounds. These interviews were recorded / transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis of the data was conducted.</p>

<p>We live in a society that continually reinforces the connection between femininity and maternity and for the majority of women, attempts to experience motherhood are successful. However, for others the world of motherhood is not so easy to enter. To date, research regarding the needs and life satisfaction of women who are unsuccessful in becoming mothers, is fairly limited. The purpose of this study was to explore the transitional phase women endure from potential motherhood to non-motherhood and to highlight some of the complexities underpinning infertility and its impact on the lives of women in South Africa. The main objective was to gain deeper insight into how women incorporated this experience into their lives and relationships and how they began to create a future life without their own biological children. A secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether the women viewed aspects such as age and finances as having had an effect on their decision to discontinue treatment for infertility. Feminist standpoint theory served as a theoretical framework for the study that recognized that each individual voice be heard. This study was a qualitative exploration, utilizing a short demographic questionnaire and an in-depth semi-structured interview. Five interviews were conducted with women from diverse backgrounds. These interviews were recorded / transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis of the data was conducted.</p>

The nature of, indications for, and aims of amputation and prosthetic rehabilitation are described. The influence of those procedures on patients' physical, psychological and social states are examined over time. Psychological theories of the coping techniques of surgical patients are used to develop an understanding of the influence of patients' pre-surgical characteristics on their post-operative rehabilitation. The Roehampton Functional Assessment Scale has been developed and validated on three separate samples of primary lower-limb amputees. The developmental sample consisted of 121 patients, the reliability sample of 50 amputees and the validity sample of 25 patients. The 10-point Body Barrier Test, Family Environment Scale, General Health Questionnaire, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Roehampton Functional Assessment Scale were used to assess patients' pre- and post-operative physical, psychological and social parameters. 109 patients were assessed before their amputation, whom were re-assessed six months after amputation, and 27 followed-up at eighteen months or more after their operation. The results indicated that patients' psychological profiles differed at each assessment stage, and the changes observed were not always in the same direction. Patients appeared to suffer from worse physical symptoms, sleep disturbances, State Anxiety and body-image before their amputation than after, while still functioning independently from their family environment. At the first post-operative assessment, amputees wore found to fare better than at any other assessment stage. Nevertheless, inter-personal difficulties, indicated by reduced Individuality scores, became evident at this stage. At the final stage, amputees appeared to continue physically and psychologically functioning on levels similar to the previous stage, except for significantly increased Trait Anxiety scores. The three pre-operative variables accounting for most of the variance in the first post-operative assessment variables were Trait Anxiety, Anxiety and Dysphoria and Sleep Disturbances [the later two are subscales of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)]; while for the second post-operative assessment the variables were State Anxiety, Somatic Symptoms (a subscale of the GHQ) and Chance Locus of Control. Male and non-vascular patients and those with below-the-knee amputations achieved the best physical rehabilitation and lowest levels of psychopathological disturbances at both re-assessment stages. Additionally, younger patients were found to do better that older amputees at the first post-operative assessment. This clear age difference was not maintained at their second post-operative assessment. Explanations of the possible relationships of the results obtained and a comparison with the results of previous research studies are provided. Clinical applications and recommendations for future research are also included.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / We live in a society that continually reinforces the connection between femininity and maternity and for the majority of women, attempts to experience motherhood are successful. However, for others the world of motherhood is not so easy to enter. To date, research regarding the needs and life satisfaction of women who are unsuccessful in becoming mothers, is fairly limited. The purpose of this study was to explore the transitional phase women endure from potential motherhood to non-motherhood and to highlight some of the complexities underpinning infertility and its impact on the lives of women in South Africa. The main objective was to gain deeper insight into how women incorporated this experience into their lives and relationships and how they began to create a future life without their own biological children. A secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether the women viewed aspects such as age and finances as having had an effect on their decision to discontinue treatment for infertility. Feminist standpoint theory served as a theoretical framework for the study that recognized that each individual voice be heard. This study was a qualitative exploration, utilizing a short demographic questionnaire and an in-depth semi-structured interview. Five interviews were conducted with women from diverse backgrounds. These interviews were recorded; transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis of the data was conducted. / South Africa

MSc (Nursing), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Anxiety, depressive and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms have been identified in many patients following ICU treatment (Rattray, Johnston & Wildsmith 2005). The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a stressful environment and patients may be left with long standing psychological symptoms that impair their quality of life (Scragg, Jones & Fauvel 2001). There is a dearth of research on early assessment of the psychological sequelae following treatment in ICU in South Africa and interventions required to aid in the recovery process. Post-traumatic stress symptoms do not appear to decrease over time after ICU discharge (Jones et al 2001, Rattray et al 2005), indeed they may endure for a number of years (Kapfhammer et al 2004) causing the patients significant suffering. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress in patients, at their first follow up visit in the outpatient department at a level one academic hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. A prospective, quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive format was used to investigate these variables. The total sample number was 98 and the instruments used in the structured interview were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Experience After Treatment in ICU –7 (ETIC-7). The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety in this sample population was 48%, depression 28% and post-traumatic stress 32%. Fifty-eight percent of the sample had combined anxiety and depression scores severe enough to have a ‘possible clinical disorder’.

Thesis (MSc.(Clinical Psychology))University of Limpopo, 2009. / The aim and objective of this investigation is to explore, on a preliminary basis, the psychological and social effects on a sample of women of having disclosed their positive HIV diagnosis. The study was conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A convenience sampling approach was used to collect the sample. Inclusion criteria included female, older than 18, with a positive HIV status. Participants’ disclosure of a positive HIV status (defined as having voluntarily disclosed to sexual partners, intimate or immediate family, extended family and or friends) was a key inclusion criterion. Semi-structured interviews were used in the collection of data. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Through collaboration with other trained researchers, the data was analyzed and interpreted using investigator triangulation. The independent clinicians identified and established the categories, themes or recurring processes separately using content analysis. The themes in the transcripts as well as from the literature review were utilized as a guide. The results of this study suggest that there are various factors that influence whether disclosure of a positive HIV diagnosis takes place, largely based on the initial adjustment to the positive HIV diagnosis, the individual’s socio-cultural context and the weighing of potential reactions (whether positive or negative) that disclosing a positive HIV diagnosis can induce. The psychological effects of disclosing a positive HIV diagnosis that were identified in this study were anger, fear of stigma/discrimination, shock and disbelief and a false sense of acceptance of the diagnosis. The social effects of disclosing a positive HIV diagnosis were satisfaction with support received following disclosure. However lack of partner support as well as experiences with stigma/discrimination were identified following disclosure.

MA, Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 2001

Adjustment to prison culture may influence the development of psychological issues for some individuals and may contribute to the difficulties of reentry to society, potentially contributing to the high rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore prisonization and its potential psychological effects from the perspective of individuals who experienced it. The theoretical foundation used to guide this study was the constructivist self-development theory, which can be used to explain how individuals may or may not have been affected by their traumatic experience. The participants for this phenomenological study included 10 individuals who experienced incarceration to fulfill the purpose of exploring psychological effects that may have developed during incarceration. The open-ended research questions that were used in this study were designed to obtain a full description of the prisonization and postincarceration experience, including any psychological issues that may have resulted from the incarceration experience. The process of explicitation, which included bracketing, extracting unique themes, and summarizing, was used to analyze the collected data. The interviews suggested that symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder may result from the prisonization experience. It is hoped that the results of this study may bring to awareness the psychological effects that can develop in some individuals during incarceration and may contribute to the difficulties of successful reentry to society.

Twenty-one male subjects volunteered to participate in this study of the effects of an u1tramarathon run under competitive conditions. Selected anthropometric measurements were made before and after the race. Blood samples were taken before, and within 10 min. of completing the race. Haematocrit and cortisol concentrations were analysed from each sample. Three ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) - local, central and overall, were obtained at two-hourly intervals throughout the race. The shortened form of the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) was administered before the race. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) test was completed both before and immediately after the race. The average running intensity was estimated to be about 32% VO₂max which would not have caused major lactate accumulation. Repetitive compressive forces as a result of heel-strike resulted in intervertebral disc fluid loss. This resulted in a significant (p<0.05) decrease in stature after the race. Mobilization of glycogen, trig1ycerides and protein for metabolism as well as fluid loss via sweat resulted in significantly decreased body mass after the race. Plasma volume and serum cortisol concentrations were significantly increased after the race compared to pre-race baseline levels. Local RPE responses were dominant throughout the entire race, followed by overall RPE. Running 160 km had an effect on mood state. "Depression", "fatigue" and "confusion" (profile of Mood states) were all significantly increased compared to pre-race scores. Sleep deprivation as a result of running through the night was probably an important contributing factor. The anthropometric profile of the ultramarathon runners in this sample was more like that of the general population than elite marathon runners from the literature. The ultramarathon runners were more extroverted than elite marathon runners, but exhibited a similar Profile of Mood state before the race. The stressor - running 160 km - resulted in a 'strain response'. This was evident in the decreased stature and mass, and increased serum cortisol, "depression", "confusion" and above all "fatigue".

Previous research into the psychological impact of miscarriage has taken a pathogenic approach, with limited research examining the factors that relate to enhanced psychological wellbeing. As a result, it is difficult to understand what predicts lower anxiety, depression and higher wellbeing. In order to address such gaps this study employed mixed methods, using a salutogenic perspective to investigate the effects of miscarriage on women's psychological wellbeing and to identify factors related to enhanced psychological wellbeing over time.