M.Ed. / Child sexual abuse is a deep social concern in South Africa. Its impact affects all areas of development, which warrants a need for appropriate therapeutic intervention. Despite a need for such an intervention, many children, especially boys from disadvantaged African communities, are still without such services. This made me wonder, as an intern-Educational Psychologist, how to help such children. In my search to help them I found that available literature does not document sexual abuse among boys, especially from disadvantaged African communities. Instead it focuses on sexual abuse among girls, women and men. Hence, this study was proposed. The aim of this study is to describe and explore, from an Educational Psychology perspective, the life stories of boys who have been sexually abused. The study presents an in-depth exploration of how the five boys in the research group made meaning of their experiences with sexual abuse. The qualitative research paradigm with a phenomenological design was followed in this study. Data was mainly collected through Narrative Therapy sessions and other complementary methods. In analyzing data, the narrative method of data analysis categorical content mode, was followed. The findings were presented as metaphorical stories, which include: The story of ‘The Rubbish’, “it mixes up my mind” and “it tears what you like”. The conclusion was that boys who have been sexually abused can be aided in their healing process through psychotherapy. Therefore, further research should be done on an appropriate psychotherapy approaches for boys who have been sexually abused and as well as on strategies to encourage the boys to report the abuse immediately. The findings of this study may be helpful to educational psychologists and other therapists working with boys who have been sexually abused. / Dr. E. Fritz

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Phil. (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-307).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-114) Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-114).

Theses (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains iv, 32 pages. Bibliography: p. 29-32.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Jan. 15, 2009). PDF text: iv, 82 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 591 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3323492. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Most adult childhood sexual abuse survivors in counselling and discussed in the literature are Caucasians of western ethnicity, and most counselling for survivors is based on western counselling theories. Whether the experience of childhood sexual abuse and counselling for its after-effects among Caucasian western survivors accurately reflects the experience of survivors of differing race and/or ethnicity has been little explored. Data specific to the experience of adult survivors of Asian ethnicity is very limited. To investigate this underexplored issue, a single revelatory case study was undertaken which used a phenomenological approach. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with a female adult South Asian Ismaili Canadian childhood sexual abuse survivor, and based on adjunctive sources of evidence, a narrative life history was developed (and validated by the survivor) which described the survivor's experience of childhood sexual abuse and its aftermath and the meaning she made of her experience. Upon analysis, it was found that the survivor's narrative was not only the account of a South Asian woman who had been sexually abused in childhood, but the account of a woman who had experienced emotional neglect, physical abuse, and racism. The analysis revealed an overall narrative structure and a number of themes which indicated that the meaning the survivor made of her cummulative experiences was to self-identify as a victim and to develop a victim script which permeated most aspects of her life, which continued into adulthood, and which was inextricably linked to her identity as an Indian female. This study found that the survivor's cultural/religious environment seemed to exacerbate her victimization experience and healing opportunities, while her personal religious beliefs appeared to offer her support. Both cultural and religious elements influenced the meaning the survivor made of her experiences.