The aim of this dissertation is to explore the stories of women who have been trapped in abusive relationships (victims of intimate partner violence (IPV)) and the process of how they moved on from these relationships to non-abusive relationships, thereby becoming survivors. The primary research question guiding the study is; How do the women describe their experiences of the processes that they underwent in leaving an abusive relationship and entering into a new, non-abusive, relationship? The study generates a rich description of their experiences, exploring what it is that makes these women unique in changing their identities from victim of abuse to survivor. This is done by taking an in-depth look at each participant’s story and uncovering the personal meanings that they ascribed to these experiences. Literature from past studies is also explored as various authors describe IPV, factors related to IPV and how their illustrations coincide or differ from the findings of this study. A narrative research approach is used in this study. Narrative research falls under the umbrella of postmodernism and is conducted with a social constructionist outlook. The narrative approach views knowledge as generated by exploring subjective experience and how the individual makes meaning with emphasis on context. This study, therefore, focuses on how the participant’s identities are constructed over time as a result of making meaning from their experiences, through self-exploration, social processes and through interactions with others. Data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. The tool used for analysis of the stories was the Three-Dimensional Space Approach, the specific tools being; analysis of situation, interaction and continuity. This approach allows for the data to be analysed, not as a given truth but rather, as meaning is generated from the unique perspective of each individual participant in the context, as well as how it was interpreted by myself, the researcher. The results explore this process through the themes of a message from each participant: commitment as it preceded the abuse, identity, control and manipulation at the hands of the perpetrator, and everyone needs someone to help. These themes were then integrated with the literature. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Psychology / unrestricted

This research project investigated how a professional athlete made sense of lying to federal investigators regarding her use of a prohibited substance. More specifically, it investigated how Marion Jones made sense of her experiences through the construction of identity(ies). The constructionism position of narrative was used to determine how Jones gave meaning to significant experiences and constructed a narrative, and how this narrative was constructive of her identity(ies). The three-dimensional space approach of narrative analysis was used as my methodological position. The analysis was done on an interview conducted by Oprah Winfrey on Marion Jones as part of a broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show. This was Jones’ first public appearance aftere her release from a six month prison sentence for lying to federal investigators. The analysis revealed the construction of three identities in her narrative. The athlete identity was constructed as one of the past, the felon identity as in the present, and the person identity is constructed as the identity that she will take into the future. Jones makes sense of lying to federal investigators as allowing these identities to develop and leave her with a positive future. This research project contributed to the field of sport psychology by investigating how a professional athlete made sense of her lying to federal investigators regarding her use of a prohibited substance and recommended that the construction of multiple dominant identities may allow for alternative options for professional athletes regarding their doping behaviour. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted