A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2017 / This study aimed to investigate factors that protect violence-exposed male adolescents from partaking in violence. A total of 110 male adolescents (n=110) from Grades 11 and 12, were recruited by means of a self-selection sampling method, from two secondary schools located in a small township called Enseleni, in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 15 km from Richards Bay. The researcher used the Screen for Adolescent Violence Exposure (SAVE) to assess violence-exposure in participants. Participants also completed a questionnaire which aimed to investigate factors that they felt were instrumental in preventing them from partaking in violence despite being exposed to it. A number of protective factors were identified by participants but all of them were found to be independent from participation in violence. There was no significant relationship found between any of the identified protective factors and participants’ decisions to either participate or not participate in violence.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Educ. Psych.)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2013 / Learners who demonstrate inappropriate, anti-social, and/or disruptive behaviours are becoming more prevalent. School personnel are dealing with disruptive behaviours that occur more frequently and that affect staff and learners’ performance. According to Farrell, Meyer, Sullivan and Kung (2003) this prevalence of disruptive behaviour and underperformance in secondary schools is posing a threat to education in South Africa and learners struggle with problems that predispose them to long-term negative outcomes. As children become adolescents, they experience a variety of physical, emotional and interpersonal changes while simultaneously transitioning from elementary to middle school. If the transition is stressful and the climate of the school appears unwelcoming, low self-esteem, a decline in academic achievement and inappropriate behaviour problems may follow (Wagerman & Funder, 2007).Escalating concern regarding disruptive behaviour in schools has led to intensified efforts to understand its causes and consequences, and to identify effective practices and strategies to reduce its occurrence. It is against this backdrop that the researcher attempts to determine the cognitive and social well-being of adolescents regarding emotional intelligence in the Lejweleputswa school district. The research followed a mixed method approach, using the sequential explanatory triangulation type; where questionnaires were completed by secondary school learners followed by interviews with teachers from conveniently selected secondary schools in the Lejweleputswa district of the Free State. The Literature study showed that factors such as learning, intelligence and emotional intelligence were associated with cognitive and social well-being of secondary schools learners. The following data collection instruments were used to gather information regarding the topic. For the quantitative study, a closed ended questionnaire was developed and utilised by one hundred and seventy four (174) learners. For the qualitative part, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten (10) teachers. By using COSOC, the three-way ANOVA and T-test, the seven hypotheses of the study were tested and the findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between and within the independent variables being; gender, grade and residential with regard to cognitive and social emotional intelligence. This study will reveal what aspects of education practices are viewed as helpful as well as areas needing improvement. It will also give insight into whether selected schools are using proactive strategies and techniques demonstrated in the research as being the most effective in terms of changing inappropriate behaviour and underperformance.

Background and Aims Many low- and middle-income countries are undergoing epidemiological and health transitions. South Africa has one of the highest prevalences of overweight and obesity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research examined neighbourhood and household socio-economic influences on the risk of overweight and obesity in terms of anthropometric status and dietary intake among urban South African adolescents. A further aim was to conduct a qualitative study on the potential for religious groups such as Churches to be used as community-based organisations for obesity intervention. Methods A secondary analysis of neighbourhood and household socio-economic status (SES), anthropometric and dietary data was carried out on adolescents aged 17-19 years from the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort study in Johannesburg-Soweto. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups discussions and a community readiness survey with church leaders. Results No significant associations were observed between SES (household and neighbourhood) and energy, protein, fat, or carbohydrate intakes in males. Some significant associations were found between SES and dietary intake in females. Females had a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than males (26.2% vs. 8.2%, p<0.0001). In males, poor household SES was associated with lower odds of overweight, fatness and high waist-to-height ratio (WHTR). For females, household SES was not significantly associated with overweight, fatness and high WHTR. The qualitative research showed that there was a very low level of community readiness among church leaders for obesity prevention programmes. Conclusions The dietary results suggest that the diet of these adolescents is transitioning to that seen in high income countries. It also highlights that even within the same relatively small urban area, nutrition transition does not affect different groups in uniform ways. The qualitative results indicate that programmes should focus around raising awareness of the problem of overweight/obesity in this community.

The objectives of this study were to explore adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of poverty and its associated stigma when at school and within their communities. The study attempted to do this by uncovering the effects of poverty on adolescents’ lives; exploring their understanding of the meaning of being poor; exploring how the poverty-related stigma impacted their self-esteem, identity and experiences of the world; and investigated the elements of stigma that maintain the social distance between adolescents from poverty-stricken households and their peers. The study employed a qualitative research design. It used a focus group approach in conjunction with participatory research techniques such as ranking exercises. The issues that the participants raised revolved around a lack of access to money and how this in turn resulted in a lack of access to many other things, which led to a low quality of life for poor children and youths. The definitions they gave of the concept of poverty made reference to a lack of access to things such as houses, food and money. Other indicators of poverty that were mentioned related to the physical and psychological manifestations of the problem. The causes of poverty identified by the participants could broadly be grouped into two groups, namely financial aspects, and personal and family aspects. The issues the participants raised relating to poverty indicated that many of the problems faced by communities, families and children affected by the AIDS pandemic are linked to poverty. Conclusions from the study demonstrated that poverty is multidimensional in nature and therefore affects children and their families in a multitude of ways. The results also showed that the issues mentioned by the participants were not just products of poverty but problems in their own right. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Background: Parent behaviours have a long-lasting impact on the health, education, and behaviour of the young people in their care. Group-based parenting interventions are a promising approach to improve parenting, as well as to prevent and reduce physical and emotional maltreatment of children. While a billion of adolescents live in low- and middle- income countries, few evaluations have examined parenting approaches for families with adolescents in these countries. Objectives: This study was nested within a randomised controlled trial of Sinovuyo Teen, a parenting programme for families with adolescents. The trial took place in rural South Africa in 2015-2016 with 552 families in 40 study clusters. Primary intervention outcomes included parenting and child maltreatment. This dissertation aims to: (1) describe the implementation (attendance, engagement, and fidelity) of the intervention delivered within the evaluation, (2) examine if participant characteristics affected attendance and engagement in the intervention, (3) examine if implementation characteristics affected programme results, and (4) examine if participant characteristics affected programme results. Methods: Programme implementation was assessed through observations of all programme group sessions and the records of the implementing organisation. The analyses also draw on participant self-report data from three time-points (baseline, immediate post-test, and follow-up). The data were analysed using a series of correlation and multilevel regression analyses, presented in three papers. Findings: Attendance levels in the intervention were somewhat lower than in previous similar studies, perhaps due to the role of home visits. Generally, more disadvantaged families participated at similar rates as families with more material and social resources. However, a number of factors affected attendance on individual and family levels, e.g. an overcrowded household, and at the community level, e.g. funeral and grant receipt days. Intervention fidelity was similar to the levels reported in high-income countries, thus suggesting that high implementation quality is feasible in a low-resource setting. There was no consistent impact of the variation in participation and implementation on participant outcomes. Baseline risks did not consistently affect variation in treatment effects, confirming recent findings that families at-risk can benefit from parenting support as much or more than less at-risk families.

<p>This study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the &ldquo / Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children&rsquo / s perception of Well-being&rdquo / study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales.</p>

<p>This study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the &ldquo / Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children&rsquo / s perception of Well-being&rdquo / study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales.</p>

Thesis (MEdPsych (Educational Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) refers to any form of communication that can only be achieved through the use of a computer. This includes such diverse means as e-mail, MXit, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Many of these forms of communication have become extremely popular within the past few years. Research internationally has shown that adolescents rapidly adopt new technologies, but there is very little research on how this process is impacting South African adolescents. This leaves parents, educators and academics without adequate information about the advantages and dangers of adolescent CMC use. The aim of the study was to investigate the views of adolescents around the topic of CMC. The central research question related to adolescents‟ views of the impact of CMC on their lives. Sub questions related to the reasons behind the popularity of CMC, the advantages of CMC use, the effect of CMC use on language, schoolwork and relationships, the dangers of using CMC and the use of CMC for bullying. The study was of qualitative design and was guided by a constructivist theoretical framework. A qualitative design was chosen because it was felt that qualitative methodology is most suited to investigating the subjective experiences of participants, and thus answering the research questions. Two focus groups participated and three semi-structured interviews were conducted with grade 11 learners from a Cape Town private school. Focus groups were used because this was felt to be an effective means to gather the opinions of multiple participants at once. Individual interviews were used as a means to supplement the focus groups and thus increase the trustworthiness of the study. A semi-structured approach was chosen for the interviews because this allowed the researcher to probe specific areas of interest and thus gather further data on these areas. The focus groups and interviews were audio recorded and the recordings transcribed. Content analysis was performed on the transcriptions. After several rounds of coding, the codes that occurred most often within and across the focus groups and interviews formed the basis for thematic analysis. Several central themes around CMC use emerged from this analysis. The most central of these related to the importance the participants placed on ease of use, and the speed at which CMC can satisfy their desires. Further issues related to how CMC can have both positive and negative effects on relationships and the various dangers of CMC use. Something that recurred throughout the analysis was the idea that a CMC can, in a sense, form a semi-permeable barrier between users. These barriers allow a user to control their communications with others, typically allowing users to express whatever they wish to express while restricting possible negative effects of their communication. A model of adolescent CMC use was created that was based on these findings. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie (Computer-Mediated Communication of CMC) verwys na enige vorm van kommunikasie wat slegs met behulp van rekenaargebruik kan plaasvind. Dit omvat „n verskeidenheid metodes soos e-pos, MXit, Facebook, MySpace en Twitter. Vele sulke kommunikasiemiddele het oor die afgelope aantal jare uiters gewild geraak. Navorsing op internasionale vlak het getoon dat nuwe tegnologie snel deur adolessente aangeneem word, maar weinig navorsing is nog onderneem oor hoedanige impak hierdie proses op Suid-Afrikaanse adolessente het. Dit beteken dat ouers, opvoeders en akademici onvoldoende inligting oor die voordele en gevare van adolessente se gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie het. Die doel van die studie was om die uitkyk van adolessente in verband met die gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie te ondersoek. Die sentrale navorsingsvraagstuk het verband gehou met adolessente se opinies oor die impak van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie op hul lewens. Ondergeskikte vrae het verband gehou met redes vir die gewildheid van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie, die voordele van die gebruik daarvan, die effek van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie op taalgebruik, skoolwerk en verhoudings, die gevare van die gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie en die gebruik daarvan om ander te treiter. Die studie het van „n kwalitatiewe ontwerp gebruik gemaak en het binne „n konstruktiwistiese teoretiese raamwerk plaasgevind. Die kwalitatiewe ontwerp is gekies omdat die kwalitatiewe metodologie as die mees geskikte metodologie vir die ondersoek van subjektiewe ervarings van deelnemers, en dus vir die beantwoording van die navorsingsvrae, beskou is. Twee fokusgroepe het aan die ondersoek deelgeneem en drie semigestruktureerde onderhoude is met graad 11 leerders van „n private skool in Kaapstad gevoer. Fokusgroepe is gebruik omdat dit as „n doeltreffende metode vir die onmiddellike verkryging van die menings van „n verskeidenheid deelnemers beskou is. Indiwiduele onderhoude is gevoer om die fokusgroepe aan te vul en die betroubaarheid van die studie te verhoog. „n Semi-gestruktureerde benadering is vir die onderhoude gekies omdat dit die navorser in staat gestel het om areas van spesifieke belang meer deurdringend te ondersoek en daardeur verdere inligting oor hierdie areas in te samel. Die fokusgroepe en onderhoude is op band opgeneem en die opnames is getranskribeer. Inhoudsontleding van die transkripsies is uitgevoer. Na verskeie rondtes kodering, is die kodes wat met die grootste reëlmaat binne en oor die fokusgroepe en onderhoude heen voorgekom het, as basis vir tematiese ontleding gebruik. Verskeie sentrale temas rondom die gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie het uit hierdie ontleding na vore gekom. Die mees sentrale hiervan het verband gehou met die belangrikheid van gebruiksgemak vir deelnemers en die snelheid waarmee rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie verlangens tevrede stel. Verdere kwessies het verband gehou met hoe rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie „n positiewe sowel as „n negatiewe effek op verhoudings kan hê en met die onderskeie gevare van die gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie. „n Idee wat by herhaling gedurende die ontleding na vore getree het, was dat rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie op „n manier „n semi-deurdringbare versperring tussen gebruikers daarvan vorm. Hierdie versperring laat die gebruiker toe om beheer oor kommunikasie met ander uit te oefen; dit laat tipies toe dat gebruikers uitdrukking gee aan enigiets wat hulle wil oordra terwyl dit terselfdertyd moontlik is om „n moontlike negatiewe uitwerking van die kommunikasie te bekamp. „n Model van adolessente se gebruik van rekenaar-bemiddelde kommunikasie is op die grondslag van hierdie bevindings gesk

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This qualitative study used an interpretive paradigm within a theoretical framework of social cognitive theory to explore fatalism within the context of the lived experiences of adolescents. A tentative assumption was made that fatalism among adolescents may be at the root of a variety of recognisable behavioural and educational problems that manifest in South African society. At the same time the study aimed to investigate how fatalism may manifest in and colour the lived experiences of adolescents, as well to investigate how fatalism possibly affects educational attainment. This study was informed by a literature review which addressed the different theoretical perspectives pertaining to the etiology of fatalism. The literature was approached from a very wide perspective, including contributions from the various disciplines in the field of social sciences including theology, philosophy, psychology and social theory. These insights were complemented by perspectives from educational psychology particularly with regard to adolescent development and learning theory. The sample of the study constituted of 164 grade 11 learners from five schools in the Western Cape. Data was collected by making use of creative strategies, focus groups and personal interviews. This study found the following: adolescent fatalism seems to emanate from the lived experiences of adolescents as a cognitive phenomenon, rooted in the deterministic beliefs of adolescents about their selves, others, as well as the physical and social environments, with behavioural, affective and psychological consequences. Adolescent fatalism colour their lived experiences by causing alienation from those experiences, oppositional behaviour and feelings of pessimism, anxiety and depression. Adolescent fatalism seems to affect educational attainment by contributing to fixed implicit theories of academic potential, low level of motivation, disengagement from the educational system and the social aspects of learning. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is gedoen binne 'n interpretatiwe paradigma en vanuit die teoretiese raamwerk van die sosiaal-kognitiewe teorie ten einde fatalisme binne die lewensondervindinge van adolessente te ondersoek. 'n Tentatiewe aanname is gemaak dat fatalisme onder adolessente aan die kern van 'n verskeidenheid van herkenbare gedrags- en opvoedkundige probleme in die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing mag lê. Verder was die studie daarop gemik om ondersoek in te stel na die manifestering van fatalisme in die lewens van adolessente, hoe dit die lewensondervindinge van adolessente raak en hoe dit die bereiking van opvoedkundige doelwitte beïnvloed. Die studie is gebaseer op 'n literatuuroorsig wat die verskillende teoretiese perspektiese rakende die etiologie van fatalisme aanspreek. Die literatuuroorsig is vanuit 'n wye perspektief benader en sluit interdissiplinêre bydraes uit die veld van die sosiale wetenskappe byvoorbeeld teologie, filosofie, sielkunde en sosiale teorie. Hierdie insigte is gekombineer met perspektiewe uit die opvoedkundige sielkunde, spesifiek ten opsigte van adolessente ontwikkeling en leerteorie. Die steekproef vir die studie het uit 164 leerders uit 5 skole bestaan. Data is ingesamel deur van kreatiewe strategieë asook fokusgroep en individuele onderhoude gebruik te maak. In hierdie studie is die volgende bevindinge gemaak: adolessente fatalisme blyk uit die lewensondervindinge van adolessente te voorskyn te kom. Dit manifesteer as 'n kognitiewe fenomeen wat gewortel is in die deterministiese geloof van adolessente aangaande hulself, ander, sowel as die fisieke en sosiale omgewings, met gedrags-, affektiewe en sielkundige gevolge. Adolessente fatalisme kleur hul lewenservaringe deur hulle van daardie ervaringe te vervreem, tot weerstandige gedrag aanleiding te gee en gevoelens van pessimisme, angs en depressie te veroorsaak. Adolessente fatalisme blyk ook die bereiking van opvoedkundige doelwitte te beïnvloed deurdat dit aanleiding gee tot vaste implisiete teorieë oor akademiese potensiaal, lae vlakke van motivering meebring, onttrekking uit die opvoedkundige stelsel aan die hand werk en die sosiale aspekte van leer beïnvloed.