This research was aimed at determining the psychometric properties of the Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI; Boyle, Borg, Falzon & Baglioni, 1995) and in doing so enabling the possible development of a much needed, more culture sensitive inventory for the measurement of teacher stress as it manifests in the South African context. A review of international literature revealed that the stress associated with the teaching profession is a well-known phenomenon, and has received increasing recognition and research attention in recent years (e.g., Brown, Howcroft & Jacobs, 2010; Chaplain, 2008; Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Olivier & Venter, 2003; Schwarzen & Hallum, 2008; Sharplin, O‘Neill & Chapman, 2011; Vandeyar, 2005). However, only a few studies on teacher stress in the South African context could be found. The studies that were done within the South African teaching context (Ferreira, 2008; Lund & Fisher, 2006; Møller, 2007) did report various and specific challenges that add to the stressors South African teachers need to overcome in order to maintain psychological well-being. Furthermore, these studies mostly implemented scales that were developed within a Eurocentric context, and thus did not incorporate cultural and contextual factors that are known to impact directly on both the construction and experience of psychological well-being (Temane & Wissing, 2008; Wissing & Temane, 2008; Wissing, Wissing, Du Toit, & Temane, 2006) and stress. The need for a teacher stress scale which will be valid in the South African context became apparent. Therefore, the aim of this study is to validate the TSI for use in a South African context. A cross-sectional design for data collection was used as part of the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood pressure in Africans (SAPBA) study. The research sample consisted of urban Caucasian (n=209) and African (n=200) teachers subsiding in the North-West Province of South Africa. The TSI, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) were administered to all participants, together with physiological measures of stress that were taken under controlled circumstances. Based on the results from the exploratory factor analysis and item analysis that was conducted separately on the different ethnic groups, it was decided to omit items 1, 3 and 6 due to evidenced problematic psychometric properties in this study population. A further factor analysis that was conducted on the total study group showed sufficient communalities and yielded a two-factor model, with a robust factor structure and satisfactory reliability indices for both extracted factors, namely (1) General circumstance related stress and (2) Learner related stress. Satisfactory criterion-related validity was determined by correlating the TSI with other measures of psychological health, the GHQ and the MHC-SF, as well as physiological measures of health. In conclusion, the TSI proved to be a useful, brief self-report questionnaire for the assessment of occupational stress within this cohort of South African teachers. If replicated within a sample more representative of the South African context, the findings of this study will allow the impact of different sources of teacher stress to be determined and compared within the South African context. It further holds promising possibilities for influencing public policy with regard to the education system in South Africa and to contribute to the exploration of teacher stress in this context, with the aim of contributing to the psychological well-being of South African teachers. Further psychometric evaluation is however necessary before the TSI can be considered to be a valid instrument in the broad South African context. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

One key focus in the 21st century is adjusting work and personal life in order for individuals to find a rhythm to help them combine work with other responsibilities and aspirations in their personal lives. Over the past few decades it has become evident that work and personal life are interrelated domains and that employed individuals experience interaction between these domains. Although the amount and extent of work-family research studies in South Africa have progressed considerably over the past decade, it is not clear how the experiences of the interference between work and nonwork roles compare to the experiences of employees in other countries. There is also no South Africa instrument that measures the interference between work and different nonwork roles in both directions (work-to-nonwork and nonwork-to-work). This could pose potential problems for organisations and future workfamily studies in South Africa. The objectives of this research were 1) to gain insight into the interaction between work and personal life in the South African context and how South African employees experience this interaction; 2) to develop a new work-nonwork interference instrument that is suitable for the South African context and that addresses measurement and theoretical issues relating to previous work-family instruments; and 3) to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed work-nonwork interference instrument. The empirical study consisted of three phases. During the first phase, exploratory interviews (i.e. 92 interviews) were conducted in order to gather information regarding the interaction that individuals experience between their work and their personal lives. Thereafter, a new instrument that measures work-nonwork interference was developed and tested with a pilot study (n = 245) in order to overcome some of the measurement limitations relating to previous work-family instruments. During the final phase, the psychometric properties of the newly developed work-nonwork interference instrument were tested (Le. construct validity, discriminant validity, convergent validity and external validity; n = 366). Results from the exploratory phase indicated that South African employees experience various forms of interaction between their work and other dimensions in their personal life (e.g. domestic, leisure, exercise, studies, community, extended family and religion/spirituality). In addition, South African employees experience various stressors in their work environment that contribute to this interaction (i.e. general stressors such as pressure, overload, workload, stressful working arrangements, and strenuous relationships at work, and more occupation-specific stressors such as stressful nature of the job and not being valued in an unsupportive work environment). Additional supportive aspects present in their work environment included supportive work arrangements, supportive relationships at work and occupation satisfaction. Results also indicated consequences specifically related to all the forms of interaction (e.g. time-based consequences, build-up and spillover of emotions, and energy depletion) and consequences that are more related to a specific form of interaction (e.g. mental preoccupation, strain on relationships, managing responsibilities, limiting of work opportunities, energy generation, learned skills). From the exploratory study, very similar findings were obtained and some unique contributions were made to existing workfamily literature. The antecedents mentioned are in line with international literature (physical workload, time pressures, physical stressors, shift work and recipient contact) and the consequences are very similar to categorised consequences reported in international research (i.e. physical, psychological, behavioural, attitudinal, organisational consequences or work, nonwork and health-related consequences). During the second phase a new work-nonwork interference (W-NWI) instrument was developed which differentiates among interference between work and various specific roles in an individuals' personal life (i.e. work-parent interference, parent-work interference, workspouse interference, spouse-work interference, work-religion/spirituality interference, religion/spirituality-work interference, work-domestic interference, domestic-work interference). During the evaluation study various problematic items were eliminated using the Rasch measurement model. The fmal phase included the validation study where the psychometric properties of the new instrument were investigated. The results provided evidence for constrUct, discriminant and convergent validity, reliability and significant relations with external variables. Tills study provides evidence for the psychometric properties of the new instrument, which researchers and managers can use to investigate the specmc interference between work and different nonwork roles in employees' private lives. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

This research was aimed at determining the psychometric properties of the Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI; Boyle, Borg, Falzon & Baglioni, 1995) and in doing so enabling the possible development of a much needed, more culture sensitive inventory for the measurement of teacher stress as it manifests in the South African context. A review of international literature revealed that the stress associated with the teaching profession is a well-known phenomenon, and has received increasing recognition and research attention in recent years (e.g., Brown, Howcroft & Jacobs, 2010; Chaplain, 2008; Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Olivier & Venter, 2003; Schwarzen & Hallum, 2008; Sharplin, O‘Neill & Chapman, 2011; Vandeyar, 2005). However, only a few studies on teacher stress in the South African context could be found. The studies that were done within the South African teaching context (Ferreira, 2008; Lund & Fisher, 2006; Møller, 2007) did report various and specific challenges that add to the stressors South African teachers need to overcome in order to maintain psychological well-being. Furthermore, these studies mostly implemented scales that were developed within a Eurocentric context, and thus did not incorporate cultural and contextual factors that are known to impact directly on both the construction and experience of psychological well-being (Temane & Wissing, 2008; Wissing & Temane, 2008; Wissing, Wissing, Du Toit, & Temane, 2006) and stress. The need for a teacher stress scale which will be valid in the South African context became apparent. Therefore, the aim of this study is to validate the TSI for use in a South African context. A cross-sectional design for data collection was used as part of the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood pressure in Africans (SAPBA) study. The research sample consisted of urban Caucasian (n=209) and African (n=200) teachers subsiding in the North-West Province of South Africa. The TSI, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) were administered to all participants, together with physiological measures of stress that were taken under controlled circumstances. Based on the results from the exploratory factor analysis and item analysis that was conducted separately on the different ethnic groups, it was decided to omit items 1, 3 and 6 due to evidenced problematic psychometric properties in this study population. A further factor analysis that was conducted on the total study group showed sufficient communalities and yielded a two-factor model, with a robust factor structure and satisfactory reliability indices for both extracted factors, namely (1) General circumstance related stress and (2) Learner related stress. Satisfactory criterion-related validity was determined by correlating the TSI with other measures of psychological health, the GHQ and the MHC-SF, as well as physiological measures of health. In conclusion, the TSI proved to be a useful, brief self-report questionnaire for the assessment of occupational stress within this cohort of South African teachers. If replicated within a sample more representative of the South African context, the findings of this study will allow the impact of different sources of teacher stress to be determined and compared within the South African context. It further holds promising possibilities for influencing public policy with regard to the education system in South Africa and to contribute to the exploration of teacher stress in this context, with the aim of contributing to the psychological well-being of South African teachers. Further psychometric evaluation is however necessary before the TSI can be considered to be a valid instrument in the broad South African context. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

In today’s rapidly changing world of work, where dramatic, unpredictable and complex change is redefining the way in which organisations are to be managed, a realisation has emerged that the intra- and interpersonal communication techniques of people are fundamental in organisational success. This study argues that Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) consists of the necessary techniques to impact on an organisation, while its communication model and leadership behaviour adds to achieving organisational success. Previous research in NLP has been done mostly in disciplines such as psychology and linguistics, but a call is made to apply NLP in an organisational context. Little empirical evidence exists with regards to the benefits of NLP techniques while even fewer evidence is available in a South African context. In this study NLP’s relationship with Emotional Intelligence, the development of leadership, the corporate world and several communication theories are explored so as to understand the value it can contribute in a time where the concept of organisational success is being re-defined. An integrated framework of organisational success, incorporating NLP, Emotional Intelligence and intrapersonal communication, is introduced that serves as an additional guideline to measure the elements of organisational success in organisations, leaders or communication models. This framework also leads to the conclusion that organisations, leaders and communication models making use of NLP are better off than those not making use of it. The benefits of NLP include motivating employees, managing conflict and self-motivation, managing emotional states, communicating effectively, building trust, increasing productivity, improving customer care, strategic planning, setting goals as well as aligning visions and better flexibility. This study establishes that intelligent leadership, the application of NLP techniques to the intra- and interpersonal communication behaviour and management approaches of leaders, can be correlated with organisational success. This is done by means of a case study on the Solidarity Movement, a large non-profit organisation in South-Africa, where five strategic leaders are analysed who are believed to be using and have implemented NLP in the organisation. The result is that evidence is found to support the notion that NLP improves the intra- and interpersonal behaviour of leaders and in turn contributes to organisational success by applying NLP in their communication and leadership behaviour. NLP is often presented as a magic toolkit for the self-improvement of individuals and have since recently relied more on presuppositions than either qualitative or quantitative research. This study adds to the credibility of NLP as an increasingly important instrument for communication management as a discipline. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Communication Management / Unrestricted

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and mental health within a cohort of black African teachers. A review of literature revealed that teachers frequently experience mental- and general health problems (e.g. Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Olivier & Venter, 2003; Johnson, Cooper, Cartwright, Donald, Taylor & Millet, 2005; Parker, Martin, Colmar, & Liem, 2012). However, very little could be found on personality traits and how this relates to the health and well-being of teachers, especially in the challenging South African context. This study forms part of the SABPA (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted within AUTHeR (Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research). The overarching purpose of this multidisciplinary project was to investigate the markers of bio-psycho-social health in urbanized teachers. This longitudinal project ran from January 2008 to November 2012 and involved a total of 409 Black and White secondary school teachers. The research was conducted in the North West province of South-Africa. This study focused on the 200 urbanized Black teachers who were recruited by means of convenience sampling from the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda educational district in the Potchefstroom area in the North West province during 2008. The sample included 101 men and 99 women, ranging between the ages of 25 and 60 years. Ethical permission for the SABPA and FORT3 projects was obtained from the ethics committee of the North-West University (ethical clearance numbers NWU-00036-07-S6 and NWU-00002-07-A2 respectively). Participants filled out informed consent forms prior to data collection, and after the objectives of the study and the research procedures were explained to them, all their questions were answered. Data collection for the baseline phase of the project lasted for 50 days during February to May 2008. Four participants arrived at the North-West University (NWU) Metabolic Unit on the Potchefstroom campus after work each day. After being welcomed and oriented, a battery of psychometric tests was administered in English. A secondary analysis was performed on data obtained by means of the Basic Traits Inventory-Short, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and the General Health Questionnaire-28 in order to determine the relationship between personality functioning and mental health of the participants. Results showed that this cohort of teachers from the North West province experience distress in the workplace, but that they also experience surprisingly high levels of mental health. The findings suggest that there are few differences between the male and female subgroups in this regard. The study also found that there is indeed a relationship between personality traits and the general- and mental health of participants. Neuroticism showed a significant positive correlation with psychological distress, while Conscientiousness showed a significant negative correlation. All five personality traits showed significant correlations with the mental health of educators. Neuroticism correlated negatively with mental health, while Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness correlated positively with mental health. Furthermore, certain personality traits (i.e. Neuroticism and Extraversion) were shown to be significant predictors of teachers’ levels of general and mental health. The strong association found between this cohort of teachers’ personality functioning and their general and mental health contributes toward an understanding of the processes that underlie the distress and mental health of teachers, and could play an important role in future attempts toward health promotion. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and mental health within a cohort of black African teachers. A review of literature revealed that teachers frequently experience mental- and general health problems (e.g. Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Olivier & Venter, 2003; Johnson, Cooper, Cartwright, Donald, Taylor & Millet, 2005; Parker, Martin, Colmar, & Liem, 2012). However, very little could be found on personality traits and how this relates to the health and well-being of teachers, especially in the challenging South African context. This study forms part of the SABPA (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted within AUTHeR (Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research). The overarching purpose of this multidisciplinary project was to investigate the markers of bio-psycho-social health in urbanized teachers. This longitudinal project ran from January 2008 to November 2012 and involved a total of 409 Black and White secondary school teachers. The research was conducted in the North West province of South-Africa. This study focused on the 200 urbanized Black teachers who were recruited by means of convenience sampling from the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda educational district in the Potchefstroom area in the North West province during 2008. The sample included 101 men and 99 women, ranging between the ages of 25 and 60 years. Ethical permission for the SABPA and FORT3 projects was obtained from the ethics committee of the North-West University (ethical clearance numbers NWU-00036-07-S6 and NWU-00002-07-A2 respectively). Participants filled out informed consent forms prior to data collection, and after the objectives of the study and the research procedures were explained to them, all their questions were answered. Data collection for the baseline phase of the project lasted for 50 days during February to May 2008. Four participants arrived at the North-West University (NWU) Metabolic Unit on the Potchefstroom campus after work each day. After being welcomed and oriented, a battery of psychometric tests was administered in English. A secondary analysis was performed on data obtained by means of the Basic Traits Inventory-Short, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and the General Health Questionnaire-28 in order to determine the relationship between personality functioning and mental health of the participants. Results showed that this cohort of teachers from the North West province experience distress in the workplace, but that they also experience surprisingly high levels of mental health. The findings suggest that there are few differences between the male and female subgroups in this regard. The study also found that there is indeed a relationship between personality traits and the general- and mental health of participants. Neuroticism showed a significant positive correlation with psychological distress, while Conscientiousness showed a significant negative correlation. All five personality traits showed significant correlations with the mental health of educators. Neuroticism correlated negatively with mental health, while Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness correlated positively with mental health. Furthermore, certain personality traits (i.e. Neuroticism and Extraversion) were shown to be significant predictors of teachers’ levels of general and mental health. The strong association found between this cohort of teachers’ personality functioning and their general and mental health contributes toward an understanding of the processes that underlie the distress and mental health of teachers, and could play an important role in future attempts toward health promotion. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

There is widespread concern for the mental well–being of adolescents. Various studies have indicated the deleterious consequences of bullying for both victims and bullies, implying the serious need for interventions to lower the incidence of bullying in schools. Descriptive data must inform the development of intervention programmes. The present study aimed to provide such data and to add to existing research on bullying in South African schools. This quantitative study investigated bullying behaviour in a parallel–medium, multi–racial high school in the North–West Province. The specific research aims were to examine the total incidence of bullying experiences and, specifically, frequency levels of being bullied according to age group and race group. Furthermore, gender differences in frequency levels of individual and group bullying, as well as gender–specific frequency levels of use of direct and indirect bullying tactics were examined. A one–shot cross–sectional survey design was employed. A randomly selected representative sample of 635 learners, comprising 274 boys and 361 girls, completed a self–report survey instrument, the Peer Relation Questionnaire (Neser, Ladikos and Prinsloo 2004), with regard to their bullying experiences. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate frequencies, cross–tabulations and chi–square statistical tests. Results indicated that 52% of participants reported to have been the victims of bullying. A significant difference in distribution of bullying frequency was indicated for race groups, but not for age groups. Black and coloured learners in this school experienced a higher frequency of bullying than white learners, which indicates that racial dynamics has an important impact on bullying behaviour in this school. Bullying frequency in this high school is not significantly lower in senior secondary learners (learners 16 years and older) than in junior secondary learners (learners between 13 and 15 years), as was predicted by literature. In terms of gender differences, boys in this school were found to bully significantly more than girls. Furthermore, group bullying was found to be more prevalent than individual bullying in both genders. In this school boys and surprisingly girls too were shown to favour direct verbal bullying tactics (unpleasant teasing) and direct physical bullying tactics (hitting, kicking or pushing). This finding is a cause for concern as it is contradicted by literature which describes girls as preferring indirect bullying tactics (isolating the victim or threatening harm) to direct physical tactics, indicating that girls in this school use higher levels of physical aggression in bullying than the findings of other literature. The found high incidence levels of being bullied and bullying behaviour trends indicate a need for an anti–bullying intervention in this school, which includes learners of all age and race groups. The study's findings imply that such an intervention should include a focus on bullying of black and coloured learners and address racial dynamics in bullying. Furthermore intervention should address group and individual bullying, as well as the use of direct bullying tactics among both boys and girls, particularly direct physical tactics. Altough these findings are not generalisable to other South African schools, the need for further South African research to investigate unique trends in bullying behaviour is stressed. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

There is widespread concern for the mental well–being of adolescents. Various studies have indicated the deleterious consequences of bullying for both victims and bullies, implying the serious need for interventions to lower the incidence of bullying in schools. Descriptive data must inform the development of intervention programmes. The present study aimed to provide such data and to add to existing research on bullying in South African schools. This quantitative study investigated bullying behaviour in a parallel–medium, multi–racial high school in the North–West Province. The specific research aims were to examine the total incidence of bullying experiences and, specifically, frequency levels of being bullied according to age group and race group. Furthermore, gender differences in frequency levels of individual and group bullying, as well as gender–specific frequency levels of use of direct and indirect bullying tactics were examined. A one–shot cross–sectional survey design was employed. A randomly selected representative sample of 635 learners, comprising 274 boys and 361 girls, completed a self–report survey instrument, the Peer Relation Questionnaire (Neser, Ladikos and Prinsloo 2004), with regard to their bullying experiences. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate frequencies, cross–tabulations and chi–square statistical tests. Results indicated that 52% of participants reported to have been the victims of bullying. A significant difference in distribution of bullying frequency was indicated for race groups, but not for age groups. Black and coloured learners in this school experienced a higher frequency of bullying than white learners, which indicates that racial dynamics has an important impact on bullying behaviour in this school. Bullying frequency in this high school is not significantly lower in senior secondary learners (learners 16 years and older) than in junior secondary learners (learners between 13 and 15 years), as was predicted by literature. In terms of gender differences, boys in this school were found to bully significantly more than girls. Furthermore, group bullying was found to be more prevalent than individual bullying in both genders. In this school boys and surprisingly girls too were shown to favour direct verbal bullying tactics (unpleasant teasing) and direct physical bullying tactics (hitting, kicking or pushing). This finding is a cause for concern as it is contradicted by literature which describes girls as preferring indirect bullying tactics (isolating the victim or threatening harm) to direct physical tactics, indicating that girls in this school use higher levels of physical aggression in bullying than the findings of other literature. The found high incidence levels of being bullied and bullying behaviour trends indicate a need for an anti–bullying intervention in this school, which includes learners of all age and race groups. The study's findings imply that such an intervention should include a focus on bullying of black and coloured learners and address racial dynamics in bullying. Furthermore intervention should address group and individual bullying, as well as the use of direct bullying tactics among both boys and girls, particularly direct physical tactics. Altough these findings are not generalisable to other South African schools, the need for further South African research to investigate unique trends in bullying behaviour is stressed. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

In 1982, a new model of psycho-educational assessment, called the Initial Assessment and Consultation Approach (IAC), was introduced into the Education Clinic of the Division of Specialised Education at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS). It has continued to be used in the new Emthonjeni Centre at WITS University. The IAC assessment model was developed in response to criticisms and limitations of existing assessment practices. It represents an approach that is client oriented, in that it encourages consultants and clients to arrive together at their own decisions. Key to the model is a joint problem-solving approach, where the concept of the client’s control, consent and commitment are imperative. The aim of this study was to explore student consultants’ perceptions of the IAC model of assessment. More specifically, the study explored the perceptions of the effectiveness of the IAC as a tool for psycho-educational assessment; the student consultants’ opinion regarding the model and lastly past students’ use of the IAC approach at internship sites or places of work. The results of the study were qualitatively examined through the use of thematic content analysis, which provided rich description participants’ opinions. The sample consisted of forty respondents. Information letters were distributed to all participants and data was gathered through the use of an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was structured specifically to elicit the participants’ perceptions of the IAC model of psycho-educational assessment. The results indicate that the IAC is perceived as an effective approach to psycho-educational assessment, by student consultants at WITS University, and many of the principles of the approach are continued to be adopted by past students at their internship sites or places of work.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of coping behaviour on the stress and psychological well-being as experienced by South African teachers. A review of relevant literature revealed that the teaching profession is an extremely stressful occupation globally. Factors contributing to the stress that teachers experience include the downsizing of the number of teachers in schools and insufficient training being provided for teachers. Exposure to these chronically stressful conditions has psychological and physical consequences for some teachers. Numerous studies, however, have also pointed out that some teachers, in the same teaching environment, experienced less stress and had better physical health than others. In an effort to gain clarity on these contradictory findings, many studies regarding the effect of various coping behaviours have been undertaken. No literature could, however, be found regarding the different coping behaviours used by African teachers and which strategies proved a success. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect that coping behaviour had on the level of stress, as well as psychosocial well-being, experienced by black South African teachers. The current study was conducted as part of the SABP A (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted at the North-West University. Data for this sub study was collected through a cross-sectional design and the statistical consulting services of the university were involved in the analysis of the raw data. The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglioni, 1995), the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) (Amirkhan, 1990), and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) (Keyes, 2006) were administered to 200 urban African teachers residing in the Kenneth Kahunda district in the North West Province. The TSI was administered as a self report measure of occupational stress in teachers. The CSI was administered to all the participants in an attempt to establish what coping strategies were employed by them. It consists of three subscales (problem solving, avoidance, and seeking social support) which are independent of one another and, according to the authors, free from demographic influences. The MHC-SF was administered to all the participants as a measure of well-being. The MHC-SF places individuals on a continuum which ranges between complete mental health (flourishing) to incomplete mental health (languishing). Those who are neither flourishing nor languishing are said to be moderately mentally healthy. All the measures that were administered proved to be reliable and thus interpretable, except for the subscales of the TSI. Therefore, only the TSI total scale score was used for interpretation. Results indicated that this group of teachers were experiencing high levels of stress and were making above average use of all three coping behaviours to deal with their stressors. 70% of the teachers were reportedly moderately mentally healthy, while 2% of them were languishing, and only 28% of them were flourishing. Of these teachers, those who reported smoking and alcohol use as a coping behaviour were experiencing less stress than those who abstained. These results were, however, only of small to medium practical significance. Intercorrelational results indicated that, although stress levels were high, stress had no direct and significant relation to either coping or well-being. The use of certain coping strategies, however, correlated positively with some aspects of mental health. In order to elucidate the nature of the relationships that seemed to exist between these constructs, path analysis was conducted. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) results revealed a strong negative path between the use of avoidance as a coping strategy and the emotional well-being of participants. A direct significant path was reported between seeking social support and the social well-being of this group of teachers. Another significant finding was the existence of a direct path between problem solving and the social and psychological well-being reported by participants. The implications of these results, as well as the possible shortcomings of the current study and its limitations, were discussed. In conclusion, the results indicated that coping behaviour had little effect on the amount of stress that the teachers experienced, although it seems that coping behaviour does have a significant effect on some aspects of mental health. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.