By developing strong, self-sustaining individuals in organisations, employees will need to withstand the forces of stressors and be able to cope with continuous changes within their working environment. To move the equilibrium level from the current to the desired condition, the field of forces must be altered - by adding driving forces and by removing restraining forces. An individual's sense of coherence may either alleviate or aggravate reactions to a stressor and moderate the impact of occupational stressors on the individual's affective outcomes. The objectives of this study were to validate the 13-item version of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) (Antonovsky, 1987) and to determine the experience of employees with high levels of sense of coherence regarding helping and restraining factors within the workplace (compared to that of those with a low sense of coherence). A cross-sectional s w e y design was used. The total population (N = 2 678) of employees in a financial institution in Gauteng was used in this study. Random samples of groups with a strong (n = 300) and low (n = 300) sense of coherence were taken for purposes of the qualitative study. The OLQ (Antonovsky, 1987) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The scale showed acceptable reliability and construct validity. The study set out to determine the applicability of the theoretical model of sense of coherence to employees in a financial institution. Reliability analysis revealed that the three subscales of sense of coherence were sufficiently internally consistent. The reliability of the measuring instrument were assessed with the use of Cronbach alpha coefficients. Descriptive statistics (e.g. mean and standard deviations) were used to analyse the data. By using the structural equation modelling approach, a one-dimensional factor structure for sense of coherence amongst employees in a financial institution emerged. The reliability analysis revealed that the alpha scores were acceptable. It can therefore be concluded that the 13-item version of the OLQ is a reliable and valid measuring instrument. The results showed that although employee groups with high and low levels of sense of coherence are experiencing similar helping and restraining factors within their working environment, helping factors are being experienced with a higher frequency by groups with high levels of sense of coherence and restraining factors with a higher frequency by groups with low levels of sense of coherence. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

Emotional intelligence is a growing area of behavioural research; it recently grabbed the attention of some of the major organisations worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between wellness and emotional intelligence in order to develop a structural model of psychological well-being. The following constructs were looked at, Optimism, Sense of Coherence, Life Satisfaction, Emotional Intelligence are all seen as good indicators of Psychological well-being. A cross-sectional design was used for this study. The participants (N=324) were students within the field of economic science. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Life Orientation Test Revised, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Orientation to Life scale were administered. Using a principal component analysis, a six-dimension factor structure for emotional intelligence among students emerged, explaining 45,24% of the variance. These factors were labelled positive affect, emotions-others, happy emotions, emotions-own, nonverbal emotions and emotional control. The most significant correlations found in this study was that Sense of Coherence is significantly positively related to Emotions Management and Life Satisfaction and significantly positively related to Emotions-Own, Happy Emotions, Positive Affect and Optimism. Sense of Coherence was negatively related to Pessimism. Emotions Management is significantly positively related to Emotions-Own, Happy Emotions, Positive Affect, Optimism and Life Satisfaction. Positive affect is significantly positively related to Optimism. Pessimism is significantly negatively related to Life Satisfaction. Optimism is significantly positively related to Life Satisfaction. After conducting a second factor analysis on the factors of the SEIS, LOT-R, SOC and SWLS, two factors were extracted, namely interpersonal and intrapersonal mastery. Using these factors, along with the results of the product-moment correlations, a psychological well-being model was designed and compiled. The results showed that Interpersonal mastery consisted of Positive Affect, Emotional Management, Sense of Coherence, Life Satisfaction and Optimism. Intrapersonal mastery consisted of Emotions-Others, Emotions-Own, Happy Emotions and Non-Verbal Emotions. It is evident from the above that the psychological well-being model consisted of intrapersonal mastery and environmental mastery. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

Since the change in the political dispensation in South Africa in 1994, South Africans are under increasing pressure to accept the new, changing order as a given. The institution where the research was carried out, the South African Secret Service (SASS), has also not escaped these changes and there have been various developments which indicate that some employees are not adjusting to these changes. The purpose of this research has been to determine to what extent a relationship exists between the presence or absence of certain psychological forces in individuals and the coping strategies which they use. The psychological forces were researched and analysed from the fortigenic paradigm, which is aimed at focusing on the origin of certain forces/strengths within man that are of cardinal importance for effective functioning. In the literature study the main focus was on aspects such as coping with change, after which the coping p cess and the various coping types and strategies were addressed. An important element of the literature study consisted of the profiles of copers and non-copers, which focused on the cognitive, emotional and conative fields/areas. Three different psychological approaches, namely pathogenesis, salutogenesis and fortigenesis were addressed, with emphasis on the latter. The fortigenic approach was analysed from the perspective of a number of forces, as identified by Strümpfer. A combination of a quantitative survey design and a qualitative research design (the phenomenological method) was used, with a sample population of 50 persons from the research environment within the SASS. In the research five qualitative measuring instruments (the Locus of Control Questionnaire of Scheepers, the Life Orientation Questionnaire of Antonovsky, the Personal Views Survey of Kobasa, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Sherer & Maddux and the Self-Control Scale of Rosenbaum) and a qualitative instrument (the phenomenological interview) were used to determine the presence or absence of the fortigenic forces in the respondents. The measuring instruments were applied to the whole population, after which a stanine scale was used to identify persons with low and high scores according to the fortigenic construct. An interview based on the phenomenological approach was done with five persons with low and five with high scores. According to the results of the empirical study a statistically significant difference exists between the stanine scores of the five respondents with the highest scores and the five with the lowest scores and it is possible to subject these respondents to the qualitative measuring instrument. According to the qualitative measuring instrument (interview) there is a moderate to strong relationship between the strength of the employees' fortigenic forces and their ability to cope with organisational change. Three of the five employees with low stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a non-coper, while two of the respondents showed a moderate resemblance. All five the respondents who achieved high stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a coper. Recommendations are made for future study. / Thesis (MCom)--PU for CHE, 1999.

Organisations world-wide, but most especially in South Africa, are exposed to radical change in the economic, political, social, demographical and technological arenas. They are also exposed to the effects of the world economy, structural reforms and international competition which lead to transformations in the labour market. Consequently job insecurity became more wide spread as organisations engaged in downsizing, rightsizing, restructuring; or all three simultaneously, in an attempt to survive these difficult economic conditions. This changing world of work is perhaps most evident in changes in the psychological contract. Employees are expected to give more in terms of time, effort, skills, and flexibility, whereas they receive less in terms of career opportunities, lifetime employment, and job security. This violation of the psychological contract is likely to have dire consequences such as a reduction in work engagement, because it erodes the notion of reciprocity, which is crucial in maintaining well-being. Long-ten job insecurity will M e r more impact an employee's overall life situation since economic as well as other highly valued aspects of life will be perceived as being under threat. Thus job insecurity has the potential of becoming more stressful than job loss in that the coping process may be inhibited by the uncertainty of the event. Although the experience of job insecurity is a reality in the South African context as well as worldwide. Only a limited number of programmes were implemented in the past to address the problem. Furthermore, there is a lack of research regarding the causal (dispositional and situational) factors in job insecurity and the relationship with the psychological forces (sense of coherence, work locus of control and dispositional optimism) in the financial industry in South Africa (Gauteng). The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between job insecurity and psychological well-being which was measured in the form of sense of coherence, work locus of control and dispositional optimism. The research method proceeded by using a cross-sectional research design with a survey technique to collect data from a stratified, random sample of employees within various job levels of a financial institution in Gauteng. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely the Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), The Work Locus of Control Scale (WLOC) and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) Questionnaire. The data analysis were conducted with help of the a SAS-programme to perform statistical analysis regarding reliability and validity of the measuring instruments, descriptive statistics, t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation coefficients and regression analyses. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the organisation and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Research on human resilience has attempted to uncover how certain individuals, even when faced with adverse working conditions can bounce back without serious psychological harm and continue their development. There is a paucity of information on the concept resilience as it pertains to professional nurses. Relevant information in this regard can equip nurses who are fleeing the profession, or who are becoming physically or mentally ill because they are not coping. Information on the prevalence of resilience in professional nurses and a better understanding of the coping skills and resilient adaptations of identified resilient professional nurses can lead to the formulation of guidelines with strategies for interventions that can facilitate growth in professional nurses and be of benefit to the health care service. This research investigated the prevalence of resilience in professional nurses and listened to the stories of identified resilient professional nurses in order to get a better understanding of their coping skills and resilient adaptations. The data was used to formulate broad guidelines with specific strategies that can be used by hospital managers for in-service training purposes and other programs to facilitate growth in professional nurses. The research was conducted in South Africa amongst nurses in private and public hospitals in the following suburban areas: Potchefstroom, Carletonvi1le, Randfontein and Krugersdorp. A sequential exploratory design was used where one phase is followed by another phase: the first phase was quantitative research conducted with validated psychometric instruments measuring aspects of resilience, namely: The Mental Health Continuum, The Coping Self-efficacy Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale. The Life Orientation Test-Revised, The Resilience Scale, and The General Health Questionnaire. The second phase was qualitative and explored the stories of the resilient professional nurses by requesting them to write their stories on how they manage to stay resilient and compassionate in the profession followed by focus group interviews also with resilient nurses. The prevalence of resilience in the professional nurses in the first phase indicated the following: 10% with low resilience, 47% as moderate and 43 % with high resilience, but with mostly negative feelings toward the profession and with many considering leaving their current job. The stories followed by focus group interviews with resilient professional nurses produced useful data that could be used to formulate guidelines with strategies for interventions to facilitate and enhance resilience and psycho-social well-being in professional nurses thereby improving the nursing profession and health care service overall. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

Organisations world-wide, but most especially in South Africa, are exposed to radical change in the economic, political, social, demographical and technological arenas. They are also exposed to the effects of the world economy, structural reforms and international competition which lead to transformations in the labour market. Consequently job insecurity became more wide spread as organisations engaged in downsizing, rightsizing, restructuring; or all three simultaneously, in an attempt to survive these difficult economic conditions. This changing world of work is perhaps most evident in changes in the psychological contract. Employees are expected to give more in terms of time, effort, skills, and flexibility, whereas they receive less in terms of career opportunities, lifetime employment, and job security. This violation of the psychological contract is likely to have dire consequences such as a reduction in work engagement, because it erodes the notion of reciprocity, which is crucial in maintaining well-being. Long-ten job insecurity will M e r more impact an employee's overall life situation since economic as well as other highly valued aspects of life will be perceived as being under threat. Thus job insecurity has the potential of becoming more stressful than job loss in that the coping process may be inhibited by the uncertainty of the event. Although the experience of job insecurity is a reality in the South African context as well as worldwide. Only a limited number of programmes were implemented in the past to address the problem. Furthermore, there is a lack of research regarding the causal (dispositional and situational) factors in job insecurity and the relationship with the psychological forces (sense of coherence, work locus of control and dispositional optimism) in the financial industry in South Africa (Gauteng). The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between job insecurity and psychological well-being which was measured in the form of sense of coherence, work locus of control and dispositional optimism. The research method proceeded by using a cross-sectional research design with a survey technique to collect data from a stratified, random sample of employees within various job levels of a financial institution in Gauteng. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely the Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), The Work Locus of Control Scale (WLOC) and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) Questionnaire. The data analysis were conducted with help of the a SAS-programme to perform statistical analysis regarding reliability and validity of the measuring instruments, descriptive statistics, t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation coefficients and regression analyses. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the organisation and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Research on human resilience has attempted to uncover how certain individuals, even when faced with adverse working conditions can bounce back without serious psychological harm and continue their development. There is a paucity of information on the concept resilience as it pertains to professional nurses. Relevant information in this regard can equip nurses who are fleeing the profession, or who are becoming physically or mentally ill because they are not coping. Information on the prevalence of resilience in professional nurses and a better understanding of the coping skills and resilient adaptations of identified resilient professional nurses can lead to the formulation of guidelines with strategies for interventions that can facilitate growth in professional nurses and be of benefit to the health care service. This research investigated the prevalence of resilience in professional nurses and listened to the stories of identified resilient professional nurses in order to get a better understanding of their coping skills and resilient adaptations. The data was used to formulate broad guidelines with specific strategies that can be used by hospital managers for in-service training purposes and other programs to facilitate growth in professional nurses. The research was conducted in South Africa amongst nurses in private and public hospitals in the following suburban areas: Potchefstroom, Carletonvi1le, Randfontein and Krugersdorp. A sequential exploratory design was used where one phase is followed by another phase: the first phase was quantitative research conducted with validated psychometric instruments measuring aspects of resilience, namely: The Mental Health Continuum, The Coping Self-efficacy Scale, Sense of Coherence Scale, The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale. The Life Orientation Test-Revised, The Resilience Scale, and The General Health Questionnaire. The second phase was qualitative and explored the stories of the resilient professional nurses by requesting them to write their stories on how they manage to stay resilient and compassionate in the profession followed by focus group interviews also with resilient nurses. The prevalence of resilience in the professional nurses in the first phase indicated the following: 10% with low resilience, 47% as moderate and 43 % with high resilience, but with mostly negative feelings toward the profession and with many considering leaving their current job. The stories followed by focus group interviews with resilient professional nurses produced useful data that could be used to formulate guidelines with strategies for interventions to facilitate and enhance resilience and psycho-social well-being in professional nurses thereby improving the nursing profession and health care service overall. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

Since the change in the political dispensation in South Africa in 1994, South Africans are under increasing pressure to accept the new, changing order as a given. The institution where the research was carried out, the South African Secret Service (SASS), has also not escaped these changes and there have been various developments which indicate that some employees are not adjusting to these changes. The purpose of this research has been to determine to what extent a relationship exists between the presence or absence of certain psychological forces in individuals and the coping strategies which they use. The psychological forces were researched and analysed from the fortigenic paradigm, which is aimed at focusing on the origin of certain forces/strengths within man that are of cardinal importance for effective functioning. In the literature study the main focus was on aspects such as coping with change, after which the coping p cess and the various coping types and strategies were addressed. An important element of the literature study consisted of the profiles of copers and non-copers, which focused on the cognitive, emotional and conative fields/areas. Three different psychological approaches, namely pathogenesis, salutogenesis and fortigenesis were addressed, with emphasis on the latter. The fortigenic approach was analysed from the perspective of a number of forces, as identified by Strümpfer. A combination of a quantitative survey design and a qualitative research design (the phenomenological method) was used, with a sample population of 50 persons from the research environment within the SASS. In the research five qualitative measuring instruments (the Locus of Control Questionnaire of Scheepers, the Life Orientation Questionnaire of Antonovsky, the Personal Views Survey of Kobasa, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Sherer & Maddux and the Self-Control Scale of Rosenbaum) and a qualitative instrument (the phenomenological interview) were used to determine the presence or absence of the fortigenic forces in the respondents. The measuring instruments were applied to the whole population, after which a stanine scale was used to identify persons with low and high scores according to the fortigenic construct. An interview based on the phenomenological approach was done with five persons with low and five with high scores. According to the results of the empirical study a statistically significant difference exists between the stanine scores of the five respondents with the highest scores and the five with the lowest scores and it is possible to subject these respondents to the qualitative measuring instrument. According to the qualitative measuring instrument (interview) there is a moderate to strong relationship between the strength of the employees' fortigenic forces and their ability to cope with organisational change. Three of the five employees with low stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a non-coper, while two of the respondents showed a moderate resemblance. All five the respondents who achieved high stanine scores showed a strong resemblance to the profile of a coper. Recommendations are made for future study. / Thesis (MCom)--PU for CHE, 1999.

Denna studie, “Att leva ovetandes i det tysta”, är skriven av Elin Edman och Elina Hedin och handlar om personer som har varit medberoende. Medberoende är ett omdiskuterat begrepp inom vetenskapen, men har tidigare inte haft så stort fokus i samhället. Istället har fokus legat på exempelvis missbrukare eller psykiskt sjuka, men inte på deras anhöriga som också är drabbade. Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på om insikten om att vara medberoende, kan få anhöriga att hantera sin livssituation och relationen till den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka annorlunda. För att ta reda på detta har fem livsberättelser hållits med personer över 18 år som har varit medberoende till någon med en beroendeproblematik inom alkohol eller narkotika, och/eller till en person med psykisk ohälsa. De två teorier som användes för att förklara resultatet är känslan av sammanhang samt copingteorin. Det resultat studien visade är att insikten om att vara medberoende fick alla informanter att hantera både sin livssituation och relationen med den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka annorlunda. Detta kunde bland annat ta sig till uttryck genom att man valde att bryta kontakten med den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka, för att förbättra livssituationen, eller ändra sitt eget beteende i syfte att hantera relationen bättre. / The present study entitled ”Living in silence without knowledge” presents and analyses the life stories by some persons living in close relations to relatives with drug abuse or mental disorder. The study is drafted by Elin Edman and Elina Hedin. Previously the main interest in society has been focused on the individuals suffering from mental disorders or being dependent on various substances. The particular social situation of co-dependence has in the past been dealt with in certain research studies but only recently become an issue of public discourse, lifting up the distress endured in silence by the e.g. family members and people around the addicts. The present study wanted to investigate whether if and how the understanding of the role of co-dependent facilitated the coping with and improvement of the existing situation. Five persons older than 18 years with experience of living close to an addict and/or mentally ill person were interviewed and asked to tell their life stories. In analyzing the information obtained the two theoretical perspectives of coping and the sense of coherence were taken into account. The present study shows that the participants of this study, by achieving an understanding of their acting as co-dependent and thereby their impact on the situation, made them change their behavior and relation both to the dependent and the social circumstances. In general the changes made, resulted in better life conditions for the whole social group and often real improvements for the victim of co-dependence.

BAGGRUND: Antibiotikaresistens udgørentrussel mod folkesundheden. Antibiotikabruger hoveddrivekraften bag resistensudviklingen.Restriktiv antibiotikabrugi overens-stemmelse med de gældende retningslinjerer derfornødvendig. Tarmfloraenpåvirkes af antibiotika oghar betydning for helbredet.Den salutogene teori er et veletableretkonceptindenfor Public Health. Oplevelse af sammenhæng (OAS)udgør et centralt koncept indenfor den salutogene teori, afspejler en persons syn på livet og kapacitet til at respondere på stressfyldte situationerog indeholder komponenterne begribelighed, håndterbarhed og meningsfuldhed.OASudgøret værdifuldt værktøj ved problemstillinger, hvor målet er ”compliant”adfærd.Det kunne tænkes,at hvis befolkningen og lægerne manglede OAS vedrestriktiv antibiotikabrug, kunne dette bidrage til at derescompliance til retningslinjerne, der anbefaler forsigtig antibiotikabrug ikke var optimal. FORMÅL: At formulere forslag til, hvordan forsigtig antibiotikabrug kunne fremmes ved at optimere OAS. Baggrundener litteratur, der belyser (i) befolkningens og lægernesholdninger overfor antibiotika og antibiotikaresistens i Norden og (ii) antibiotikas påvirkning af tarmfloraen og mulige helbredsmæssige konsekvenser.Det undersøges om der er grund til at ændre holdning overfor antibiotika,hvilke faktorerderfremmer og hæmmer forsigtig antibiotikabrug og hvordan OASkunne optimeres. METODE: Litteraturstudie efter struktureret litteratursøgning i PubMed og PsychINFO. RESULTATER: Antibiotika betragtes som noget beskyttende. Det kan ikke udelukkes, at antibiotika ved at påvirke tarmfloraen, kan have negative konsekvenser for helbredet.Viden, vaner og kommunikation har betydning for hvordan antibiotika bruges og hvorvidt forsigtig antibiotikabrug opleves begribelig og håndterbar.Læger kan ved ordination af antibiotika opleve en konflikt mellem patienten,der skal behandles bedst muligtog samfundet, hvor tiltagende antibiotikaresistens skal begrænses. Dette kan være én grund til at forsigtig antibiotikabrug ikke opleves meningsfuld. KONKLUSION: Forsigtig antibiotikabrug kunne fremmes ved atfremme velfungerende kommunikationog ved atbruge antibiotikas påvirkning af tarmfloraenog mulige helbredsmæssige konsekvenser som motivation. Hensigtsmæssige vaneri sammen-hæng med antibiotikabrug skal støttes og uhensigtsmæssige vaner om lægges. Her kunnelæger følges af en mikrobiolog for en dag / BACKGROUND:Drug resistance resulting from the overuse of antibiotics poses a threat to public health. Consequently, antibiotics must be used more cautiously.Intestinal flora is important to health and antibiotics can disrupt intestinal flora. Salutogenic theory is a well-established concept in public health. Sense of coherence (SOC), which is a key concept insalutogenic theory, reflects a person ́s lifeviewand capacity to respond to stressful situations, includes three components: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. SOC is a valuable tool for problems that target “compliant” behavior. Lack of SOC in both physicians and the general public may contribute to poor compliance to current guidelines that recommend restricting the use of antibiotics. AIM: The study aimed to formulate proposals for promoting the prudent use of antibiotics by optimizing SOCbased on literature that illustrates(i) the attitudes of the general public and doctors regarding antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in Scandinavia and (ii) the influence and possible health consequences of antibiotics on intestinal flora. It is discussed whether there are reasons for looking at antibiotics in a different way, which factors that facilitate or hinder prudent antibiotic use and how SOC could be optimized. METHODS: A literature study aftera structured search of the PubMed and Psych INFOdatabases. RESULTS: Although antibiotics are generally considered protective, their effect on intestinal flora may have adverse health consequences. Knowledge, habits and communication affect how antibiotics are used and whether prudent antibiotic use is experienced comprehensible and manageable. Doctors may experience conflict when prescribing antibiotics between treating the patient in the best possible manner and the need to limit such treatment to protect the community from increased resistance to antibiotics. Doctors ́wish to guarantee that their patients receive the best possible treatment might be one reason why they do not adhere to guidelines that recommend more restrictive use of antibiotics. Doctors do not consider the cautious use of antibiotics as meaningful. CONCLUSION: Careful antibiotic use could be promoted by using the influence of antibiotics on intestinal flora as motivational strategy;promoting effective communication and supporting appropriate and unlearn undesirable habits related to antibiotic use. A possible approach would be teaming physicians with a microbiologist for a day / <p>ISBN 978-91-982282-8-1</p>