This study was undertaken to explore children's experiences in the aftermath of rape disclosure. A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study was conducted at a Durban Treatment Centre. Clinical interviews were conducted with 20 rape survivors by a Psychologist in the participants' language, namely isiZulu or isiXhosa. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Most children disclosed their rape initially to their mothers and received supportive reactions from their mothers and family as well as from the community in general. The data revealed some key points which highlighted the type of support received by children in the aftermath of rape disclosure. It seems as though the children received largely supportive reactions from mothers, families and the community. However, children described their experiences with the police, social worker or other helping professions as being mostly negative. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for policy and practice. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Since 2008 the prevalence rate of anxiety disorders has increased to 15,8%, thus putting them as the most prevalent class of psychiatric disorders in South Africa. This research firstly aimed to examine the relationship between Young’s Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) and four patterns of anxiety. The dimensions of anxiety included test anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety and trait anxiety. Secondly, it aimed to examine the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and perceived parental rearing styles, as these are believed to influence an individual’s susceptibility to developing the early maladaptive schemas. The interest of the study centered on the student population of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (UKZN-PMB) as these dimensions were correctly thought to be prevalent in a student sample. The research utilised three questionnaires: firstly, a multidimensional anxiety scale; Young’s Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S) and the Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran (EMBU-s): (My Memories of My Upbringing). The results of this study established that test anxiety correlated well with the EMS of achievement, that social anxiety correlated well with EMS of self-evaluation, and generalized anxiety was found to correlate with specific EMS that could be the direct focus of excessive worry for university students. Finally, trait anxiety was found to be all encompassing and pervasive with it having the most significant and highest correlations with more EMS. The results regarding the perceived parental rearing behaviours found that the higher the levels of perceived parental rejection and overprotection, and lower levels of emotional warmth, the more inclined an individual is to develop an EMS. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the role that maladaptive cognitive schemas play in developing anxiety as well as the role that perceived parental rearing behaviours play in an individual developing an early maladaptive schema. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Historically, the study of fantasy has been one of the innermost workings of the psyche, making it largely inaccessible to those unwilling to work with a psychoanalytic model of the mind. This means that an important area of study remains largely unexplored by those working within alternative paradigms. However, with recent work by theorists such as Billig (1999), Burkitt (2010a, 2010b) and Durrheim (2012) on the dialogic unconscious and repression, areas previously confined to psychoanalytic study are becoming more accessible to interactionist approaches. Building on works such as these, and those of theorists such as Butler (1990, 1993, 1997), this paper theorises the production of fantasy in talk, space and embodied practice. Fantasy is argued to be produced on the boundaries of that which is speakable or performable within a given context, referencing taboo in performative and dialogic disavowal or repression. This framework for the production of fantasy is then applied to talk around, and the performance of, a provocative, gendered practice known as the screaming orgasm, which is performed in club spaces in South Africa and abroad. This paper reports on an ethnomethodologically informed ethnographic study which took place at one South African night club over the course of several months. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

While there is considerable evidence that applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is an efficacious treatment for Autistic Disorder (AD) in a controlled research setting, the effectiveness of current applications of ABA in the South African context have not yet been established. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive ABA programme for a young child with AD. A single case study was conducted using a within-subject, repeated measures, evaluation design. The ABA treatment, an applied verbal behaviour version ofABA (AVB/ABA), was implemented by behaviour consultants and technicians at TRIAD (Therapy and Research in Autistic Disorders): a private centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, that specialises in the behavioural treatment of children with AD. The subject was a young boy, who was diagnosed with AD at the age of 21 months, initiated treatment at TRIAD at 22 month of age, and underwent 20 hours of treatment per week over a 22 month period. Cumulative outcome data across all learning domains was obtained using the standard outcome measure at the centre: the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS). The ABLLS was administered by a senior behaviour consultant on five occasions, namely at baseline (i.e., at 0 months); at various intervals throughout the intervention (at 2,3, and 14 months); and in the final week of the study period (at 22 months). Results were tabulated and converted into linear graph format by the researcher. In addition, the caregiver was asked to rate the child's progress on a five point Likert scale as a means of establishing the social validity of the behaviour change. Visual inspection of the linear graphs revealed that the subject improved considerably across all ABLLS domains over the 22 month period and the child's caregiver rated that his behaviour had "significantly improved" since the onset of the intervention. In addition, at the end of the 22 month treatment period, the subject was enrolled in a mainstream school with the assistance of an aide and was engaging with same-age peers. The present study thus provides support for the effectiveness of the AVBIABA programme at TRIAD, contributes to the existing ABA outcome literature, and provides further evidence for the efficacy of the AVB approach to ABA. Furthermore, results confirm the role of predictor variables, such as age at onset, hours of treatment, skill acquisition rates, and parental involvement. Finally, given the gains made in the present study, it is suggested that the initial cost of intensive treatment may be economical in the long term. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

Clinical professionals in South Africa are generally unaware of the impact of obstructive sleep apnoea (OS A). The cost to the state of untreated apnoea may be extremely high. In primary health care encounters OSA often goes undiagnosed. The cascade of symptoms linked to OSA is profound, placing patients at risk for debilitating problems impacting on self and others. The aim of this study was to validate a questionnaire, which could be used at a primary health care level to identify patients with OSA thus cutting costs and improving efficient, effective and ethical service to patients. The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) (Netzer et al. 1999) was administered to a clinical sample of consenting patients at a private sleep laboratory in Durban, South Africa (N = 119)(completed n = 110). Home-based sleep studies (n = 116) on a portable cardio-respiratory screening device were also obtained for objective comparison. From the results obtained in this South African sample, the BQ showed low validity and reliability (Cronbach a = 0.62 - 0.84) to individual items of the BQ. The total BQ score and high-risk symptom category analysis showed mildly significant correlations with internationally approved protocols. The BQ identified 60% of the high-risk group (AHI >5). Furthermore, risk categories were useful in predicting AHI ratings in 64% of moderate OSA cases and 25% of severe OSA cases. The BQ therefore has useful psychometric properties as an adjunct assessment tool to screen for high-risk OSA cases where resources are scant. Clinical health psychologists are in an ideal position to recognise the risk factors and symptoms of OSA. The clinical assessment and the value of the correct diagnosis will alleviate the treatment of psychological symptoms at a superficial level in primary health care facilities. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Set in the mining sector, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences, insights and reflections of a particular group of peer educator's with regard to their organisation’s peer education programme. Using the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model (Green & Kreuter, 1991) as an organising framework, this study explored the pre-disposing, enabling and reinforcing factors that had an impact on this HIV/AIDS peer education programme. The specific objectives to be assessed in this study were the peer educator’s perceived impact on attitude and behaviour change amongst employees; the perceived organisational barriers and supports that peer educators encountered in programme delivery as well as further training needs of the peer educators. Using an interpretivist paradigm, the study was concerned with describing and interpreting people’s feelings and experiences with qualitative depth. Interviewees comprised of a non-probability saturation sample of five current adult peer educators and one adult ex-peer educator, employed in the Eastern Region of the Organisation (KwaZulu-Natal). In addition the regional manager and the human resource manager were interviewed. Semi-structured tape recorded interviews were used to collect data from the peer educators, and the data was transcribed verbatim from the digital recording. Themes were induced and coded by looking for reoccurring peer educator views, following which the researcher was able to induce potential predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors that the peer educators faced in programme delivery. Based on the findings of the study, appropriate recommendations are offered with a view to improving programme delivery and quality. Finally, the main constraints which limited the study findings are considered. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This qualitative study explores identity formation in contemporary society, through investigating the influence of the media on identity formation. The focus is on identity and what people attribute from the media as defining their view of themselves and their world. Seven people aged 25 to 35 years participated in individual, semi-structured interviews, specifically focusing on the participants’ media usage in their leisure time. The analysis revealed that the participants’ tendency to position themselves as agents that were immune to the media’s influence was reflective of the ideological discourse of the ‘self-contained’ individual. Evidently, the participants were unaware of the way(s) in which they had been interpellated to behave as subjects of an individual kind. The prevailing ideological discourse of individualism was challenged by highlighting the contradictions in the participants’ accounts. The analysis further confirmed that identity formation is a dynamic and contradictory process, and unavoidably shaped (even constituted by) history, culture, politics, and ideology. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This study proposed to assess the effects of a modified TAT in a multi racial South African sample. More specifically, it aimed to measure how different race groups responded to a variation of the TAT, as opposed to the original Murray TAT. It was hypothesized that a racially inclusive TAT, with more contemporary backgrounds, would enhance the narratives of South African respondents, and more especially those of black respondents. A new set of five TAT pictures (e-TAT) was designed, based upon five of the original Murray TAT (M-TAT) cards. As much as possible, the ambiguous style of the cards was left intact, but the characters (all originally white) were changed to represent African/black, Indian and coloured people as well. A factorial design was used to compare responses on the Murray TAT to responses on the experimental TAT in a sample of 207 first year psychology students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Each student was given a mean word count score. A randomly selected sub-sample of 40 students received a quality rating derived from Gerver's scoring level of response (as cited in Coleman, 1947), intended to measure the quality of their protocols. The statistical analyses revealed that (1) There is no statistically significant differences in the length of protocols between the M-TAT and the e-TAT. (2) There was no statistically significant difference in the length of stories between the race groups. (3) On the smaller sub-sample of participants who received quality ratings, black participants scored significantly higher on the e-TAT than on the M-TAT. (4) White participants scores on the M-TAT were significantly higher than black participants scores on the M-TAT. While the results are not yet conclusive, they are encouraging, and it is suggested that future research in this area is needed. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Aim: To explore parents’ experiences when caring for a child with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The coping mechanisms employed by the parents in such a situation were also investigated. Objectives: To gain an understanding of the parents’ experiences when their child has ADHD. The factors affecting these experiences include dealing with their child’s behaviours, receiving an ADHD diagnosis, deciding on treatment and coping resources. Research Design: Through a qualitative, phenomenological approach, this study is characterized by an interpretative style with the aim of facilitating an in-depth exploration of the participants’ experiences. Subjects: A non-probability, purposive sample was used. The sample consisted of 12 parents. The only requirements for the sample were: 1. The participant must be the primary caretaker of a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD and is being treated for ADHD. 2. The participant’s child must be 18 years old or younger. Data Collection: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used as an instrument for collecting the required data and were devised in order to appropriately address the objectives of this study. Data Analysis: The transcripts were analyzed thematically using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in order to identify relevant and common parental experiences. Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS) and Coping was utilized as a conceptual framework to help make sense of the emergent themes. Results: Participants in the present study displayed increased levels of stress and frustration when caring for a child with ADHD. The child’s difficult behaviours frequently induced a sense of incompetence in the parents and a desire to use physical punishment on the child. The participants employed various methods of coping in order to adapt to their child’s disorder. Such efforts included modifying daily routines and utilizing social support. Most of these coping efforts helped to diminish stress and anxiety and improved parent-child relationships. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban,2009.

Nikolas Rose, heavily influenced by Foucault's concept of "governmentality", has proposed that psychological expertise has come to play an important role in governing conduct in liberal democracies. This study was an empirical attempt to explore these theoretical arguments in South Africa, a developing democracy. Recent debates on the practice of psychology in South Africa, occurring amidst socio/political initiatives of reconstruction and development, have focused on the relevance of the discipline given its involvement in the apartheid context. The current study reflected on some of the changes in application that have resulted from calls for relevance. The participants of the study were Masters Graduates from the University ofKwaZulu-Natal, previously University of Natal and University of Durban-Westville, in the period from 19932003. Influenced by Rose's theoretical ideas advocating a history of problematizations, the data collection focussed on understanding the practical problems psychologists deal with in their work contexts and the practices used to solve these problems. Results suggest a growing application towards socially relevant problems, which include socio/economic and public health issues. Furthermore psychological expertise predominantly intervenes with individualized technologies of the self, encouraging "self-government". The governmentality framework exposes some limitations of the application of psychology in the developing world context. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.