M.A. / This study explores the narratives of six women who were subjected to peer abuse, or bullying, during their school years and attempts to discover the legacy of such persecution. The literature on bullying is discussed together with gender differences in the expression of bullying, various hypotheses about these differences, and the importance of peer relationships during childhood and adolescence. The process of enquiry is embedded in a social constructionist perspective, in particular within a narrative frame, and uses narrative analysis of the content of participants’ stories to elicit common themes. Themes that emerged relate mainly to participants’ social interaction. Use of a variety of defensive techniques in social settings, vigilance extending to hypervigilance, inability to trust, inability to accept from others, social anxiety, wariness around females and self-esteem issues surfaced. Other manifestations of distress, for example depression and loneliness, are not experienced by all participants. Some of the discourses around bullying that may inform participants’ stories and the researcher’s interpretations are explored. Similarities to other forms of abuse and psychological trauma are considered, for example loss of memory, hypervigilance and emotional numbing. The implications for therapy are considered, together with the importance of peer relationships in childhood and adolescence. The need for unequivocal adult intervention in preventing peer abuse is emphasised.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Marriage and Family Therapy, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-153).

Thesis (M.A. (Play therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of verbally aggressive messages on women's self-concepts within romantic relationships. Through a qualitative methodological approach, this study examined the effects of such messages in the role of control negotiation, effects on women's self-concepts, and effects on future communication patterns. Through one-on-one interviews, women who have previously been in verbally abusive relationships were given the opportunity to share their individual stories through a narrative analysis. In addition, the theories of Communication Theory of Identity and Relationship Scripts were applied to understand the relationship between the effects of the messages on attitudes, behaviors, sense of identity, and communication patterns of the participants.The results indicated negative effects on victims who have experienced verbally abusive relationships. The need for control exemplified by the male aggressors resulted in compliance by the participants. The participants also experienced lower self-esteem and change or loss of personal identity, which affected communication in subsequent romantic relationships. / Department of Speech Communication

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Acadia University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-136). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Little research has addressed the degree to which domestic violence is mutual and whether patterns are stable across women's relationships. Studies that exist have conflicting results. This study addressed these issues and the effects of sustaining past violence on women's expressions of violence in their current relationship. Archival data from a sample of severely psychologically abused community women (N = 92) and a sample of low-income community women (N = 836) were analyzed. Results showed the presence of mutual violence in women's current relationships which was not related to past partners' violence. Results regarding the stability of violence are weak, but indicate that the frequency and severity of violence across relationships sustained by women does not decrease across relationships. Overall, results supported the hypothesis that violence is mutual in the relationships of community women, although specific patterns may differ by ethnicity.

M.A.(Psychological Research) / Child maltreatment has occurred over the ages, but has been recognised as such only during the present century. The concept of maltreatment is culturally bound and therefore dependent on value judgements within a community. What is acceptable in one society may be rejected in another. Medical professionals discovered skeletal injuries in young children that was eventually traced to harsh treatment by parents. Physical abuse was thus identified, resulting in public and professional awareness and involvement. Later neglect and sexual abuse was identified as variations of maltreatment and legislation was instituted for the protection of children. Maltreated children manifest symptoms of behavioural, emotional and scholastic problems, and antisocial behaviour such as crime is being ascribed to child abuse. Research shows a tendency of placing emotional factors at the centre of maltreatment and the concept of psychological maltreatment was thus born. The present study was an attempt at indicating the relationship between maltreatment by parents and their children's ability at forming personal attachments. A questionnaire was developed in an attempt to operationalize the concept of psychological maltreatment and make it quantifiable. A comparison between this questionnaire and the PHSF relationship questionnaire indicated that a damaged capacity to form personal attachments may be traced back to psychological maltreatment. The implications of these findings were briefly discussed.

This study was designed to determine the effects of play therapy on the adjustment of children identified as socially and psychologically maladjusted. The effects of play therapy on six variables were investigated. Those variables were: social adjustment, personal adjustment, self-concept, school-related self-concept, behavioral maturity as rated by the teacher, and inferred self-concept as rated by the parent. The general nature of the research hypotheses was that play therapy would effect positive change in the children on the six variables. The results of the study led to the conclusion that during a fifteen-week period play therapy effects statistically significant change in social adjustment, but not in personal adjustment, self-concept, or behavior as perceived by others. Implications of the study based on observations of the experimenter were that all changes made during the therapy process were not reflected by the tests which were available. It was recommended that further research on the effects of play therapy place special emphasis on the selection or development of instruments to measure changes made during therapy.

Thesis (M. A. (African Languages)) -- University of the North, 2004 / Refer to the document

Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / As the topic states, the research is about the abuse of men in the society (Northern Sotho society in particular). Men, like women and children, are also abused, but unlike in the case of women and children, this abuse is not taken seriously. In most of the cases, this abuse is not reported. It is the aim of this study to scrutinize man abuse as depicted in the following Northern Sotho novels: Nonyana ya tokologo (Kekana, 1985), Ke nako ya ka (Molefe, 2001) and Ngwana Magana go botšwa (Motloutsi, 2004).