This study explores the perceptions of care and support for those with HIV/AIDS by community members within the KwaNgcolosi community who are currently not involved in such care and support, and have no current perceived obligation to do so. The Social Capital framework was used to understand the current community perceptions and dynamics related to current care and support for those who are ill with HIV/AIDS. This was followed with suggestions for how this could be improved, current obstacles to this, and possible personal contributions towards improving the current situation. Data was collected by means of six semi-structured, in-depth focus groups, which were conducted in IsiZulu with the assistance of a translator. These were then transcribed and thematically analysed. Overlapping quantitative data specifically for the themes of social cohesion and trust exists in the form of two social assessment surveys, and so frequency counts were done with applicable survey questions, and compared with data collected from focus group interviews. Focus group discussions revealed a marked difference between perceived ideals of how care and support should be, and what is currently happening within the community. Mistrust and stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS appear to still be prevalent within the community, which hampers community social networks and involvement, and acts as a barrier for those who wish to provide care and support for those who are ill. Triangulation with Social Assessment surveys, revealed a discrepancy between social cohesion as related to HIV/AIDS, and general social cohesion within the KwaNgcolosi community. This social cohesion is not currently leading to collective action, which points to a deficit both in information sharing regarding how to do so, as well as a deficit in Social Bridging. Family members and individuals who are ill may, for various reasons, also prevent community members who wish to become involved, from providing care and support to those who are ill. Reciprocity also affects the social credibility of community initiatives, which are not taken seriously if nothing can be expected in return. Additionally, expectations of economic reciprocity regarding contributions to household expenses negatively affects providing care for family members, who are blamed once they become ill, if they did not contribute to the household while still working. Social norms regarding gendered social and economic expectations also hinder and restrict desires to assist in care and support for those who are ill with HIV/AIDS. The obstacles highlighted by the themes of trust, reciprocity and social norms have resulted in potential barriers to mobilization of social networks, and resources that may be available through these networks. There is a need to provide education to community members according to their perceived contributions, in providing care and support for those with HIV/AIDS, and in keeping with current gendered norms which point towards women undertaking much of the physical aspects of care and support, with men engaging in social and emotional support. However, care should be taken that current destructive gender stereotypes, in which women are expected to undertake primary caregiving roles, are not encouraged and perpetuated. Additionally, education surrounding perceived contributions to HIV/AIDS care and support will increase perceived personal abilities and competence, and act as an enabling factor towards more individuals becoming involved in care and support. Gateways to identified sources for information, such as the Home Based Caregivers and the KwaNgcolosi Clinic should also be tapped, and a flow of information encouraged. However, the current situation is a complex combination of stigma, discrimination and blame towards those who are ill, as well as mistrust from the ill person and their family members, who isolate themselves and block any attempts of care and support from community members. This has resulted in many possibilities and untapped resources within the community. Future initiatives must therefore, from a programme perspective, shift from a focus on current obstacles, to encouraging and developing community members. potential contributions towards care and support for those with HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Amid the immense changes in the 21st century world of work, has come with it widely held views that significant changes are occurring in employee attitudes to labour relations. Research asserts that the prevalence of individualistic human resource management strategies has initiated argument postulating that employees‟ collectivist work orientations are in decline (Deery & Walsh, 1999). / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Aim: This study investigated the nature and extent of the relationship between bullying and trauma among male adolescent learners. Trauma was operationalised through the constructs of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, depression, dissociation and anger. In addition the study aimed to determine the prevalence and forms of bullying with reference to the different bullying roles (the bully, the victim, the bully-victim and the bystander). Method: In this quantitative study, two objective measures were administered (viz., the Olweus Bullying/Victimisation Scale and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for children) to a saturation sample of male adolescent learners between the ages of 12 and 17, from a purposively selected South African male-only high school (N=509). Findings and Conclusions: Statistical analysis (correlational analyis, MANOVA, and Binary-Logistic Regression analysis) produced evidence to suggest that there is a statistically significant relationship between bullying and trauma, and this was strongest for the victim role. The relationship between bullying and trauma was dependent on the frequency of bullying; as the frequency of being bullied increased so too did the mean scores of all the five trauma subscales. Depression demonstrated the highest correlation with the victim role, followed by Posttraumatic stress. In addition, 22.4% of learners could be clinically and subclinically diagnosed with posttraumatic stress and 21.0% with dissociation. The study suggests that each learner has a subjective experience of bullying, and accordingly displays different symptom profiles. Overall, the findings corroborate the argument that repetitive stressful events (such as bullying) are predictive of symptom-clusters of ongoing trauma. The subjective experience of bullying was also evident in the prevalence rates of bullying; as these were evidently dependent on how it was defined and understood by learners. While only 32.1% of learners admitted to being bullied; 60.2% of this same sample admitted experiencing at least one form of bullying listed in the questionnaire; and similarly, while only 29.8% of learners admitted to bullying other learners; 49.0% admitted participating in at least one form of bullying listed in the questionnaire. Chronic bullying demonstrated greater levels of trauma for all 5 subscales; 19.7% of learners had experienced weekly (or chronic) bullying and 12.3% had participated in chronic bullying. A range of policy, school-specific and research recommendations are offered based on the findings of the study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) has been predominantly used for diagnostic purposes and it has been suggested VCT could help reduce the spread of the disease by preventing those who test HIV-negative from contracting the disease and also preventing those who are HIV positive from further spreading it by practising safer sex. While there is research focusing on understanding the implications of VCT for HIV positive individuals, little is to be found on the influence of the experience of VCT on the sexual behaviour of individuals who undergo VCT and obtain HIV negative results. Even less is known about the influence of VCT on university students in South Africa. The aim of the study is to explore the perceived influence of VCT on the sexual risk behaviour of HIV negative female University of KwaZulu-Natal students. This qualitative study made use of in-depth interviews conducted with 6 female university students recruited from the HIVAN Support Centre at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, Howard Collage Campus. The findings of this study suggest that VCT is generally perceived as effective in helping to reduce risktaking among HIV negative participants. At the same time participants felt motivated to do what it takes to obtain a negative result on their next test. However, one participants' felt that her negative results could make her vulnerable to pressures from her partner to practice unsafe sex. For VCT to have a positive impact on the sexual behaviour of individuals who test negative, programmes should provide up to date information, as part of pre and post test counselling, in a clear manner to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding on the part of participants. Further, more support needs to be provided to individuals who are HIV negative in the form of support groups or open forums that encourage young people to discuss what situations put them at risk as well as assist other members of the group to deal with such situations. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

South Africa and the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has one of the greatest HIV burdens in the world with an estimated 5.7 mHIion people living with HIV/AIDS. One of the interventions that the government introduced to address this situation was the provision of antiretroviral treatment (ART) to those individuals that are eligible for HIV treatment in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality. Despite widespread availability of ART in KZN, children do not access ART to the extent that adults do, and therefore continue to die because of HIV and AIDS. This qualitative study explored the psychosocial and health system factors that influence paediatric access to ART in KZN from parents and caregivers perspectives. The ecological theory and the social cognitive theory was used to formulate an interview schedule used in conducting the in-depth interviews with adults (parents or guardians) who were bringing their children for ARTservices and those attending these services themselves and not their children at Edendale and King Edward Hospitals in KZN. Purposive sampling was used to select clients for interviews and thematic was done in accordance with the aims and objectives of the study. A total of 42 participants were interviewed in this study. The low uptake of child ART was found to be influenced by several psychosocial and economic factors such as the poor knowledge about ART, stigma and disclosure associated with HIV, extent of support provided by parents/caregivers, parent's own ART was a determinant for bringing children for ART, use of traditional / alternative medicines, disintegrated families, especially the issue of multiple caregivers, complexity of paediatric ART, poor referrals of children from community institutions, unsatisfactory service at clinics, and some health policy and legislation with respect to health care for HIV-infected children that had an unintended effect of restricting child access to ART as well as poverty related Issues. Improving knowledge and self-efficacy related to ART, prevention of mother to child transmission ofHIV, re-training of health workers on child issues and addressing stigma and discrimination and other psychosocial and institutional problems and logistics could help to improve the low paediatric uptake of ART. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

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

This research focuses on young black women’s identity construction in the context of democratic South Africa. It focuses on how they negotiate adolescence and young adulthood as black females in a country with a history of racism. The assumption in the newly democratized South Africa is that opportunities are given on merit as opposed to the inequalities that existed according to racial differences during apartheid. The study aims to find out how young people construct and negotiate their identities and their view of their futures as well as possible threats to these future identities within this context. The young women’s narratives give insight into the state of the socio cultural context of post apartheid South Africa. These young women narrate their lives as the hinge generation: they are the first generation to grow up in the new and free South Africa the first generation to have access to a broad range of opportunities that were denied black people during apartheid governance. The young women’s narratives reveal a very fluid sense of identity. Their lives do not follow the patterns of the lives of the previous generations including those of their parents. They do however, negotiate these opportunities in the context of inequalities inherited from previous apartheid governance. Impoverished livelihoods, death of family members, gender inequities, poorly developed school systems and poor social amenities that they face in everyday life pose possible constraints to their envisioned futures. The study is based on the theorisation of self as a narrative, a story to be told. The self is understood as fragmented and changing as opposed to a single fixed entity. The narrative approach allows for the participants to tell their own stories bringing together past memories, anticipated futures as well as ongoing experiences they consider important. A total of 10 women took part in the study; 5 from Amangwane a rural community located in the Drakensburg area and 5 from the urban location of Chesterville. Their life stories were collected through in depth interviews in a wider context of narrative approach. Further, there was a follow up interview for each participant giving focus to central themes. A two phase analysis was used to examine the way the narratives were put together as well as paying attention to the content of the narratives in order to understand meaning attributed to events and experiences. The young women’s narratives were structured by an interaction of regressive and progressive plots. This is reflective of the challenges and difficulties that they face in their everyday lives in the South African context. The major regressive moments were financial difficulties, death of loved ones and motherhood. In the midst of these challenges, most stories were generally progressive towards the future. Some, however, were in the midst of uncertainties and some of the life stories were entrapped in difficult life circumstances that made it difficult to see success in the future. The key themes that came from the stories were poverty, place, family structure, gender, language and education. Poverty was experienced as very significant and real. It hampered everyday lives and the construction of future identities. The rural areas are the most hit by poverty especially female headed families. Fathers were constructed as possible solutions to economic problems because of their ability to access resources. Migration between urban and rural spaces is prominent in the rural women’s narratives. Urban areas presented improved life opportunities. Even so, urban space is fragmented and racially stratified. The urban young women’s narratives show a desire to succeed and move out of townships into suburbia. English is considered to be the economic language and its use provides young women with access to resources and a better life. Education is constructed as important by the young women as it gives them access to their desired future identities. However, schooling experience is characterised by lack of teachers, inadequately trained teachers and poor education standards. Gender inequities pose challenges which constrain the young women from reaching their full potential. The young women negotiate their lives in a context resonating with apartheid effects. They are faced with challenges and very difficult life circumstances. They however remain hopeful and are able to construct alternative future identities for themselves. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

South Africa has the highest burden of HIV and AIDS in the world, yet most of these infected people are unaware of their HIV status. HIV voluntary counselling and testing is shown to have manifold benefits in improving the quality and duration of life of those infected with HIV as well as preventing the spread of infection to HIV negative people. There is a clear need for research into this area. This study therefore investigates the relationship between the social network correlates of HIV testing behaviour amongst a sample of the student population of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus, using social network analysis and the theories of social learning and social influence as the lens through which to interpret the results. This was an empirical study using data that was collected using an anonymous, self-complete, all-of-campus student survey. Five hundred and sixty-six participants completed the survey. This study employed a cross sectional design and is based on a secondary data analysis of a larger project. The data were analysed using a stepwise multiple regression. The findings show that social network size and residential diversity of participants‟ social networks were significantly associated with VCT uptake. Participants with the smallest network size were more likely to have tested for HIV than those with the largest network size, while those with the most residentially diverse networks were more likely to have tested than those with the least diverse networks. The findings suggest that some aspects of students‟ social networks influenced the likelihood of having tested for HIV, but social learning and social influence are not bound exclusively to an enabling or constraining role on VCT uptake. In order to better understand their influence, the prevailing social norms and information within a social network need to be established. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This study investigates the psychosocial aspects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA),a chronic debilitating disease. It explores the quality of life in a low socio-economic group of clinic-based adult RA patients. The aims of the study were as follows: (1) to assess the impact of both socio-demographic and psychosocial factors on RA health outcome, (2) to develop a multivariate, predictive model for RA, and (3) to assess the moderating role (or stress-reducing function) of psychosocial factors between the objective experience of RA and the subjective experience of RA. A sample of 186 RA patients with a mean age of 49.51 years and a mean duration of RA of 10.80 years were subjected to a series of selfadministering questionnaires to assess their subjective experience of the disease. Coping, social support, causal attribution, cognitive illness representation, pain and functional status were assessed. The objective experience of RA was based on those health status measures that included the following: firstly, ESR levels (a laboratory measure), and secondly, class (classified level of disability) and joint status (severity of joint inflammation) which were assessed and recorded by the rheumatologist. The data obtained were subjected to a systematic statistical analysis to assess the following: (1) the relationships between the socio-demographic factors, psychosocial factors and factors representing RA health outcome using correlational analysis (Pearson r), (2) the value of socio-demograhic and psychosocial factors in predicting subjective and objective RA health outcomes using step-wise hierarchical multivariate regression analysis, and (3) the moderating or stress-reducing effect of psychosocial factors between the objective and subjective health status measures using moderated regression analysis. Findings revealed that psychological factors, especially coping, were more significant predictors than socio demographic factors of RA health outcome (quality of life of RA individuals). Furthermore, the psychosocial factors coping, network social support, helplessness and causal attribution were found to play a moderating role in RA health outcome. The results of the study confirm both the health-sustaining and the stress-reducing function of psychological factors. Theoretically this study is located within the stress and coping paradigm of Lazarus and Folkman (1984). / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

This study utilised a qualitative interpretive approach to investigate the subjective / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.