M.A. / This study comments on the debate surrounding behavioural indicators on the child that has been sexually abused. The basic objective of this study is to determine whether behavioural differences can be identified between the child that has been sexually abused and a child that has not been abused. For this research study the quasi-experimental design and specifically the comparison post-test-alone is utilized. The experimental group was exposed to sexual abuse and the comparison group was not exposed to sexual abuse. The result of this study indicates a statistically significant difference toward behavioural indicators, between the experimental group and the comparison group. Children in the experimental group experienced higher levels of psycho-social problems. Therefore it can be accepted that sexual abuse resorts in behavioural changes. It is therefore recommended that behavioural changes are utilized in practice by social workers to verify sexual abuse.

This study focused on the impact of the revelations at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings on 30 female victims of all races. An explanatory model, the TRC Revelation Aftermath Model was designed to direct the research and to interpret the data. Researcher made use of a non-probability sampling strategy. Five respondents were selected by purposive sampling and 25 were selected by means of the snowball sampling. The sample of this study consisted of three components, namely ten Commissioners of the TRC, ten Coordinators who worked in the TRC offices, as well as 30 female victims of all races. The Commissioners were interviewed to validate the data obtained from the victims while the Coordinators were consulted merely to obtain general information on the criteria which was used to process the applications submitted by the victims in order to receive the reparations. The analysis of the data revealed that the respondents accepted three assumptions, namely, they were invulnerable with regard to trauma such as that caused by the revelations of the TRC. In addition to this they viewed life as meaningful and that they also had a positive attitude towards it before the political conflict of the apartheid era in South Africa impacted on them. These assumptions were interpreted in terms of Janoff-Bulman and Frieze's theory. The research findings indicated that the assumptions were not only affected by the revelations but that they also influenced the way in which these women experienced the TRC process. It was found that the victim respondents, whose family members had disappeared and were never confirmed dead, had suffered exacerbated emotions which were characterised by denial. This was the result of repressed memories associated with the grief. Of importance too, was the finding that a few of the victims were successful in deriving meaning from their suffering, while others, who could not achieve this, could not reconcile with their perpetrators and this was determined by their age. As the former were willing to forgive their perpetrators they had thus found inner peace. During the interviews, the victims mentioned that although the TRC had appeared to be necessary before they made their submissions, however, after it had disappointed them by not granting them reparations, this exacerbated their suffering as they felt that they had been discriminated against in favour of the perpetrators who were granted amnesty irrespective of not having made full disclosures. According to Parsons General Action System all the respondents experienced their trauma as biological entities, and thus suffered symptoms related to psychosomatic illnesses such as, inter alia, headaches, insomnia, and ulcers. These were accompanied by personality characteristics such as anger, aggression, as well as hatred. As the victims could not function in isolation, they also endured ostracisation related to cultural stereotypes and in this way, their suffering was perceived as secondary to that of males. Furthermore, within the social system, the victims who perceived the TRC as biased, believed that it had caused the country embarrassment by bringing up the conflict of the apartheid era. However, others verbalised that the Commission was a good initiative for South Africa so that peace as well as reconciliation could be facilitated for the sake of unity. It is crucial to stress the finding that some of the respondents, although few, who had been granted reparations, were satisfied with the TRC and perceived it as fair and thus could reconcile with their perpetrators. The research report concludes with a number of recommendations for the establishment of support services for the traumatised victims as well as integrative mechanisms, which could encourage co-operation between the citizens of South Africa so that the reconciliation which the TRC facilitated can be sustained. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, amnesty, violence, human rights, reconciliation, apartheid, trauma, grief, bereavement. / Thesis (DPhil (Criminology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

This thesis examines the captivity narrative, Three Came Home, written in 1947 by Agnes Newton-Keith, and the poverty narrative, Without a Net: Middle Class and Homeless (with Kids) in America: My Story, written in 2005 by Michelle Kennedy. When examined together through the lens of Trauma Theory, these narratives provide evidence of how similar the survival skills and strategies are between the American female POW's and the American females experiencing downward mobility. This thesis will also show how language uncovers and decodes the presence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder not often associated with women in poverty.

No description available.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR, is a new clinical treatment shown to be effective for victims of trauma. EMDR is a time efficient, comprehensive methodology backed by positive, controlled research, for the treatment of disturbing experiences that underlie many pathologies. An eight phase treatment approach that includes using eye movements or other left-right stimulation, EMDR helps victims of trauma reprocess disturbing thoughts and memories. The purpose of this research project was to describe and explore the utilization of EMDR by licensed clinical social workers who were registered as members of the National Association of Social Workers.

This project explored the associations between the type of coping strategies used among women who live in domestic violence shelters and their overall well-being.

Bakgrund: Att vårdas på en barnintensivvårdsavdelning (BIVA) är en stressande miljö för både barn och föräldrar. Detta kan hindra föräldrar från att vara delaktiga i vården och nära sitt barn som är kritiskt sjuk. Barnets upplevelse av trygghet påverkas av förälderns mående och delaktighet i vården. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka föräldrars upplevelse av delaktighet i vården och förekomst av symptom på posttraumatisk stress (PTS) efter att deras barn vårdats på BIVA.  Metod: En retrospektiv deskriptiv design med kvantitativ och kvalitativ ansats användes, där 40 föräldrar besvarade två enkäter om upplevelse av delaktighet på BIVA och symptom på PTS. Resultat: Åttio procent av föräldrarna upplevde sig i stor utsträckning ha varit delaktiga i vården och i de beslut som rörde barnets vård. Föräldrarnas upplevelse av delaktighet resulterade i två huvudteman: Främjande och Hindrande faktorer för delaktighet. Det var en större andel mammor (41%) som visade symptom på PTS jämfört med pappor (12%) (p=0,038). Det var en större andel föräldrar som inte hade högskoleutbildning som visade symptom på PTS jämfört med föräldrar som hade högskoleutbildning (64% versus 14%). Slutsats: Föräldrar upplevde sig i stor grad vara delaktiga i beslut och barnets vård. Identifierade faktorer bland föräldrar med ökad förekomst att utveckla symptom på PTS var att vara mamma, yngre ålder och att inte ha en högskoleutbildning. / Background: Parents whose child was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) found it to be a stressful environment for both child and parent. This can restrict parents from being close and involved in their child's care. The child's sense of security is affected by the parents' feelings and involvement in care. Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate parents' experiences of participation in the care and parents' symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) after their child was discharged from the PICU. Method: A retrospective descriptive design was used with a quantitative and qualitative approach, where 40 parents answered two surveys about the experience of participation in PICU and symptoms of PTS. Result: Eighty percent of the parents felt that they had been involved in the care and in the decisions concerning the child's care. The parents’ experience of participation resulted in two main themes: promoting and inhibiting factors for participation. There was a higher proportion of mothers (41%) who showed symptoms of PTS compared to fathers (12%) (p=0,038). A higher percentage of parents who didn't have post-secondary education showed PTS symptoms, compared to those who did have post-secondary education (64% versus 14%). Conclusion: Parents reported that they had been involved in the care and in the decisions concerning the child's care. Symptoms of PTS among parents correlated with being a mother, younger age and lower educational level.

Background: Nurses face many challenges in the nursing profession. One challenge is the ability to handle patient trauma and at the same time, as a nurse, process their trauma. With more awareness about how secondary traumatic stress shows itself in nurses and its aftermath, the stress can be identified in earlier stages. Aim: The aim of this literature review is to map how the aftermath of secondary traumatic stress show itself in nurses, described by nurses. Method: This study has been designed as a qualitative literature review with searches carried out in the databases CINAHL and PubMed. The mapping resulted in ten articles that were reviewed for their quality. Result: The metasynthesis of the identified articles resulted in seven subthemes, desire to leave nursing, providing insufficient care, teamwork, depersonalization, emotional distress, lack of resources and knowledge deficit. Conclusion: When the secondary traumatic stress overpowers the nurse, it may result in the nurse leaving its profession. Future research should thereby focus on methods that support the nurses exposed to secondary traumatic stress and lessen their feeling of exhaustion. Methods that help not only the nurses but also the patients they care for. / Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskan ställs inför många utmaningar inom sitt yrke. En av dessa utmaningar är att handskas med patienters trauma och samtidigt kunna bearbeta dess trauma. Med ökad kunskap om hur sekundär traumatisk stress visar sig och dess följder kan denna stress identifieras i ett tidigare skede. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att kartlägga efterföljderna av sekundär traumatisk stress för sjuksköterskor, beskrivet av sjuksköterskor. Metod: Studien har designats som en kvalitativ litteraturstudie med genomförda sökningar i databaserna CINAHL och PubMed. Kartläggningen resulterade i tio artiklar som kvalitetsgranskades. Resultat: Metasyntesen av de identifierade artiklarna resulterade i sju underteman, viljan att lämna yrket, ge otillräcklig vård, lagarbete, depersonalisering, emotionell stress, brist på resurser och brist på kunskap. Slutsats: När den sekundära traumatiska stressen blir dem övermäktiga så kan det resultera i att sjuksköterskorna lämnar yrket. Framtida forskning bör därför fokusera på metoder som stöttar sjuksköterskor exponerade för sekundär traumatisk stress och lindrar deras känsla av utmattning. Metoder som ytterst är till gagn inte bara för sjuksköterskor utan även för patienterna de vårdar.

This thesis inquiries into trauma, its historical developments, experience, and symptoms. The theoretical part lays stress on post-traumatic stress disorder and its classification and diagnosis for the readers to have an extensive knowledge of trauma. The readers are also presented with the quintessential aftermath of trauma. The practical part adverts to childhood trauma of the main protagonists of The Gathering and The Hiding Place by the authors Anne Enright and Trezza Azzopardi. The intention is to query what happened to these characters, rather than focusing on what is wrong with them. The objective is to see the person behind his or her behaviour. Many studies refer to increasing problems in terms of mental health by children and adolescents associated with early childhood trauma. The aim in what follows is to consider whether the harm to childhood trauma can be remedied or whether childhood trauma persists until old age. KEY WORDS: Childhood trauma; post-traumatic stress disorder; trauma fiction; Enright; Azzopardi; The Gathering; The Hiding Place

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The current crime rate in the Western Cape plays a crucial role in the exposure of police officers to stressful and traumatic events. The intensity and frequency of this exposure, if not treated, could lead to police officers experiencing comorbid disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This leads to an increased need for trauma intervention strategies to be offered, to assist police officers who are exposed to trauma in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Although trauma intervention programmes are established within SAPS, a difference in perception about their effectiveness and service offering are presented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perception toward stress and trauma intervention strategies within the SAPS in the Western Cape. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher, tapped into the lived experiences of current police officers and Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) staff, employed by SAPS through semi-structured interviews. Through a comparative design, the study will add value to the current body of knowledge, as differences and similarities between two of the primary role players in the trauma debriefing process within the SAPS are explored. The research sample, recruited by means of convenience sampling, consisted of seven EHW staff members who had experience with dealing with stress and trauma-related programmes, and eight visible policing police officers who had experienced some form of trauma-related incident. The researcher made use of an in-depth interview guide as the research instrument for this study, which consisted of audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with the participants. The audio recordings were transcribed, and then analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings showed that a difference in perception exists between police officers and EHW staff members toward the effectiveness of trauma intervention strategies offered in the SAPS. The findings also suggest that the majority of police officers do not make use of the trauma intervention programmes in the SAPS, in comparison to EHW staff reporting on good attendance by police officers at the service offerings. Similarities in perception between the two groups presented itself in the form of how trauma is defined, the different responses to trauma and coping mechanisms employed by police officers. The implications of this study include a contribution toward policy and structural amendments of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) framework within the SAPS, as well as a motivation for implementing a compulsory trauma counselling programme for police officers.