This study investigated the differences and similarities in bereavement due to HIV/AIDS and bereavement due to other forms of death. The participants comprised of nine (9) mothers and two (2) fathers of deceased children, varying in age from eight (8) months to twenty (20) years. A single, unstructured interview was used to collect the data. Grounded theory was utilised in the analysis of the qualitative data. Comparisons were drawn between HIV/AIDS and non- HIV /AIDS related bereavement. The findings indicate a difference in the experience of HIV/AIDS related bereavement and non-HIV/AIDS related bereavement. Stigma played a significant negative role in the experiences of those parents /caregivers whose children had died from HIV/AIDS. In addition, parents/caregivers experienced significant feelings of responsibility for their child 's infection although the child had not contracted the disease from the parent. The implications and applications of this study are twofold . Firstly, a better understanding of the bereavement process can result in important and innovative recommendations being implemented in order to refine existing HIV/AIDS intervention programmes or develop new ones. And, secondly, it can result in a more refined approach to the care and comfort that is currently being provided for HIV/AIDS patients and terminally ill patients and their families. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The title of this research project is Reading Texts, Reading One'self: Exploring Young South African's Sense of Identity. The project entailed working with a group of young people in a reading group, using a text by Zakes Mda, Melville 67 in order to provoke discussion. In the process of reading the text, participants were encouraged to read or interpret their own lives in new ways. This study provides an in-depth understanding of a small group of Black African township youth. The study focuses on these young people's sense of self and identity in a post-democratic South Africa particularly with respect to language. It focuses specifically on English; a language globally recognised as powerful and central to academic and economic success and isiZulu; an African indigenous language which carries enormous cultural significance. In this study, the youth reveal their positions with respect to these languages, highlighting the complex language dynamics that are central to colonial and African languages. The analysis reveals a degree of ambivalence with respect to English and isiZulu where there is a sense of shifting boundaries and identities which assert the values of both languages. On the one hand, these young people celebrate their African pride and 'Zuluness' through the appreciation of isiZulu and resist the dominant position of English over isiZulu. On the other hand, they acknowledge English as a tool for economic and academic success and its potential for enriching cultural life through communication across racial and ethnic boundaries. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

Interest in this research was stimulated as a result of analysing performance of a group of Durban Indian school children, referred to the Durban Child Guidance Clinic as possible cases for remedial education, on A.E. Maxwell's abbreviated form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The research describes results of applying the full WISC to a carefully selected group of 72 Durban Indian school children in upper junior school levels, and its aims, besides general description of the results of the group and of subgroups, were to investigate Verbal and Performance scale results of the group more fully and to determine whether the abbreviated WISC in question possessed satisfactory validity for the group tested. The experimental group was found to perform significantly better on the Verbal than on the Performance scale of the WISC, in agreement with results of analysing abbreviated WISC profiles of the Durban Clinic sample, and also in agreement with results of research in which modified Wechsler tests had been applied to youngsters in India. Relative to Performance ability, Verbal ability appeared a more integrated dimension of intellect for the present Indian group. Possible reasons for the WISC pattern obtained were sought within the literature and it was felt that the result could be ascribed largely to cultural background factors. Evidence also suggested the applicability of the WISC to the sample studied, and it was felt to be a suitable scale for the measurement of Indian intelligence, at least in the interim before an individual scale standardised for South African Indian children is devised. Abbreviated WISC results of the group, derived by means of Maxwell's method, were examined, and there was reason to believe that as far as validity was concerned, there was room for improvement. Alternative abbreviated forms of the WISC, with possible usefulness for Indian children of similar background to the present-sample, were accordingly suggested for further research. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1970.

The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of children who have been raped. It is a known fact that children are raped every day in South Africa, but how the consequences are experienced by the child victims of rape is another matter. Specifically, the researcher wanted to determine whether these children receive the support that is their constitutional right and whether or not they are subjected tc secondary victimization. The sampling strategy employed was purposive sampling. This type of sampling wai selected, as the researcher was looking for a particular type of participant, that is, children who had disclosed rape. The sample consisted of six female children between the ages of 5 and 17years. Participants' parents were consulted for their consent at c counseling centre for abused children in Durban, where participants attended group counseling and individual sessions. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analyzed usin^ thematic analysis. Unstructured interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Thesi transcriptions were coded for descriptive themes and were analyzed using thematic conten analysis. The research findings suggest that children have mixed views regarding the quality of the help they receive; some had positive experiences and some had negative experiences. Despite the fact that most participants experienced a sense of being interrogated and had feelings of being not involved during discussions, two participants reported that although rape is an atrocious experience there were positive consequences for them. For example, getting attention from significant people in their lives was one of their positive experiences. It was the experience of the researcher that there is a lack of research pertaining to the experiences of children who are rape victims, especially research focusing on the quality of support that rape victims ought to receive. Further research is recommended to clarify and measure the prevalence of typical feelings and experiences of children who have been raped / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between ideas and practices of masculinity and help-seeking behaviour amongst young South African men. The need for this research has been motivated by both the limited amount of previous research in this area, and the importance of this kind of research. It was hypothesized that there would be a relationship between the intended and actual help-seeking behaviour, and the common ideas and practices of masculinity amongst the young men taking part in this research. It was hypothesized that where young men agreed with traditional conceptualizations of masculinity their intention and rate of actual help-seeking would be less. The sample included a diverse group of 100 young men attending the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg. Participants included young men from various religious, language, sexual orientation and faculty groups. The data for this research was collected using a questionnaire assessing intended and actual help-seeking behaviour, and participants‟ acceptance of traditional conceptualizations of masculinity. The findings of this study have shown that young men in this context have a low intention and rate of help-seeking behaviour from various help sources, but especially from formal sources such as mental health professionals and general practitioners. It has also found that there are differences in the common ideas and practices of masculinity between young men from different religious, faculty and sexual orientation groups. However, despite the initial hypothesis, this study has been unable to show a clear relationship between ideas and practices of masculinity and help-seeking behaviour. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, PIetermaritzburg, 2008.

The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experience of forgiveness or unforgiveness in individuals who had been victims of violent crime. 6 participants who had experienced violent crime underwent an in-depth interview (Silverman, 2000) aimed at gathering descriptions of their life world with respect to their experience of forgiveness/unforgiveness. The method used to analyse the transcriptions was Giorgi's (1985) phenomenological method adapted slightly by Wertz (1985 as cited in Giorgi,1985). Findings indicated that the capacity to forgive is associated with the way in which individuals see themselves, others, their world and their perpetrators. Results were discussed with reference to the literature reviewed and an Object Relations Theoretical framework was introduced in order to explain and illuminate some of the findings. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed as well as recommendations for future research. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Classical attribution theorists developed models of causal attribution that reflected their belief that people were primarily interested in attribution accuracy. These models did not consider contextual factors such as relationships and societal norms which resulted in the emergence of several empirical puzzles many of which are related to the use of consensus information. This study investigates whether the puzzle of the differential treatment of consensus information can be solved if it is assumed that people are primarily concerned with social features of the attribution setting rather than strict attribution accuracy. This study experimentally tests the role of key aspects of the social context such as the impact of social strategies in Kelley’s model of attribution to explore whether some of its empirical anomalies could have their origins in the social aspects of attribution in research contexts. The study found that participants were 2.63 times more likely to provide ‘inaccurate’ responses when there was a risk that the accurate answer would be socially disruptive. Findings from this study suggest that participants prioritise the implications of the social context over attribution accuracy. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Perceptions of health and illness which include the perceived cause and recourse play an important role in diagnosis and management of illness. Traditional and allopathic medicines are used simultaneously and sometimes without the knowledge of the health professional and this has an impact on clinical outcomes. Overlooking patients’ subjective experience, health providers’ biases and prejudice may pose a negative impact on clinical outcomes. This study explores patients’, traditional healers’ and psychological counselors’ perception of illness by conducting interviews and administering open-ended questionnaires. The data is analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively through the use of content analysis and non-parametric statistical procedures. The results indicate that the concept of illness is complex and multidimensional with physical and socio-spiritual aspects. Effective management requires a joint approach between indigenous and western health systems. The results further show that traditional healers fully embrace the integrated health approach while there is some skepticism and uncertainty from psychological counselors which could be stemming from their training. There is still work to be done in terms of health planning and policy but also the training of health professionals. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The objective of this study was to assess the relationships between Sense of Coherence and Burnout (i.e. Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalisation and Personal Accomplishment) and to investigate job-related stressors and support resources in a sample of privately employed eThekwini paramedics. A survey design was used and a convenience sample (N=56) was taken from one emergency care organisation. Biographical variables and qualitative information regarding stressors and support systems were obtained and two inventories, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, were administered. Results showed a predominance of informal support systems and individual case-related stressors. There were relationships between Sense of Coherence and Burnout and a significant difference in Personal Accomplishment in the 36-40 age group was found. Regression results indicated that Depersonalisation and Sense of Coherence predicted Emotional Exhaustion and Emotional Exhaustion demonstrated a main effect on Depersonalisation. Sense of Coherence was the only variable that predicted Personal Accomplishment in the current sample of paramedies. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007

This study aimed to profile social science researchers' experiences of ethically challenging incidents and ethics review and to consider these experiences in terms of the two institutions from which participants were selected. Data was gathered by means of an email survey sent to social science researchers working in both a university and a research organisation. The findings reveal that ethically challenging incidents involving privacy, confidentiality and anonymity, harm, beneficence, poor science, role conflict, informed consent, recruitment of participants and publication were encountered frequently by social science researchers. While respondents reported both positive and negative experiences of ethics review, researchers at the university reported significantly more ethically challenging incidents and negative experiences of ethics review than did researchers from the research organisation. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.