A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / This research study aimed to determine the impact of internet use on social relationship among teenagers. The internet is the most widely utilized network tool by children, teenagers and adults. The researcher’s main focus was on teenagers and the internet. The researcher explored the different types of internet activities teenagers engaged in, the amount of time they spent on these activities, the role it plays on teenager’s academic performance and relationships with family and friends. The research study was conducted at various primary schools and high schools in urban and rural areas in Umhlathuze area, North of KwaZulu-Natal. It consisted of a sample of 132 participants who are all exposed to the internet. The research findings showed a null hypothesis between internet use and teenager’s social relationship, that is; internet use among teenagers does not have a negative effect on teenager’s social relationship. However, the alternative hypothesis was proven to be true, that is; the internet has a positive contribution to the teenager’s academics.

Research has found that attachment relationships between parents and children are formed independent of each other and have different outcomes for the child. Very little research regarding parent-child attachment relationships has been done with children who have a disability. This study aimed to learn more about whether differences exist in attachment relationships between mothers and fathers and whether or not the child has a disability. Results indicate that fathers of children with a disability appear to have less secure attachments with their children compared to fathers of typically developing children as well as mothers of children with and without disabilities. It is unclear as to why this may be; however, it is hypothesized that factors such as understanding the child’s needs and being able to engage in highly stimulating play (e.g., throwing child in the air, etc.) may contribute to this finding. Further research is needed to better understand what factors contribute to the development of a secure attachment between the father-child dyad when the child has a disability and why fathers may be experiencing greater difficulty than mothers of children with a disability as well as fathers of typically developing children.

American society traditionally has held the family responsible for the socialization and social control of children, and when youngsters get into trouble the causal finger of blame is pointed at the family. No wonder then that a recurrent issue within the study of delinquent behavior has been the precise etiological role of the family. This thesis begins with an historical examination of the different approaches taken in the sociological study of delinquency and the family. This research investigated whether "interactive effects" are important in conceptualizing and understanding the family's etiological role. The concept of interaction is based upon the assumption that variables may not have causal efficacy within themselves, entirely independent of other variables. Variable interaction occurs when the effect of an independent variable varies depending on the value of another independent variable. This study utilized questionnaire data gathered as a part of the Richmond Youth Study by the Survey Research Center (University of California, Berkeley) in 1965. The original stratified random sample consisted of 5,545 junior and senior high school students. While this sample included both male and female, black and nonblack adolescents, the present analysis focused on the 1,588 nonblack subsample. Survey data was available on a wide variety of youth-related issues, including self-reported delinquent activity and family conditions. This study analyzed the interactive effects of five family dimensions in relation to four other causal variables commonly associated with delinquency involvement: community social disorganization delinquent friends, attachment to peers, and delinquent definitions. Analysis of variance, a multivariate statistical model, was used to distinguish significant independent and interactive effects. Identified interactive effects were then examined through tabular analysis in order to provide a more precise understanding of how these variables interact in affecting delinquency involvement. Finally, the general notions of variable interaction which are implied by existing theories were assessed. The data analysis revealed that family factors influenced delinquency in different ways. The level of an adolescent's attachment to father was found to be independently related to delinquent activity after controlling for all other effects (independent and interactive). Paternal discipline had an interactive effect on delinquency such that the type of paternal discipline influenced the effect that community social disorganization and number of delinquent friends had on delinquency; in turn, paternal discipline was significantly related to delinquency involvement under certain conditions of these same variables. The other three family factors, however, did not have a significant independent or interactive effect on delinquency involvement. These findings suggest that causal explanation and research dealing solely with direct, independent effects may minimize and oversimplify the causal role of certain family factors. At least a small portion of the family's influence on delinquency involvement is through interactive effects with non-familial variables. Existing theories have failed to actively consider such interactive effects. Furthermore, the general notions of variable interaction which are implied by current theories failed to find support in the data of the present study. Thus, future theory and research would likely benefit from consideration of interactive effects.

The present study examined whether someone’s implicit theories of relationships (ITORs) has an effect on whose opinion and what type of opinion has more influence on their romantic relationship dynamics. Individuals high in destiny beliefs view relationships as either meant to be or not meant to be. Individuals high in growth beliefs think relationships take work to maintain and that problems can be overcome. Combined these form orientations- cultivation orientation where the individual is high growth/low destiny and evaluation orientation which is high destiny/low growth. I analyzed an archived dataset where participants completed Sinclair’s (2008) Social Network Opinion Scale, Lund’s (1985) commitment scale, and Knee’s (1998) Implicit Theories of Relationship scale. We found evaluation orientation individuals are significantly more committed as parent approval rises, and significantly less committed as parent approval declines. Those exhibiting the cultivation orientation managed to maintain commitment regardless of parent opinion, consistent with hypothesis two.

Clinician-patient relationships are central to health care, health systems and medical education. Current educational practice of doctor-patient relationships emerged from an episteme rooted in a biomedical understanding of disease, having epistemic and pedagogical roots in Global North contexts. The thesis offers an analysis of clinician-patient relationships that includes medical ethics, communication skills, and the development of the widely accepted (in Family Medicine) Biopsychosocial model of the clinical consultation. Using a South African clinical postgraduate Family Medicine training programme as a case study, this project answered two central research questions: (i) How do students learn to navigate relationships with patients in this training programme? And (ii) Can we develop an educational model of doctor patient relationships based on local experiences? Mezirow's transformative learning theory, Mbiti's conceptualisation of Ubuntu as an African philosophy, and Foucault's thoughts on structural power provided a conceptual framework. Aim The project aimed to understand the process of student learning about the doctor-patient encounter and to develop a model for teaching about the doctor-patient relationship. Methodology A qualitative longitudinal case study was conducted, drawing data from postgraduate students, educators, and patients. Data was collected from educational, clinical, and reflective activities, and analysed thematically using an inductive approach. Findings The key themes describe students' learning in relation to critical self-awareness, contextual awareness, the dialogic nature of learning, and the impact of transformed perspectives. Patients valued that their patient-hood and personhood were validated, and educators highlighted the theme that vulnerability has pedagogical implications. A new perspective of power dynamics in the clinical encounter is described and an Ubuntu-inspired episteme and pedagogy is synthesised from the findings. Conclusion This decolonial project provides evidence and proposes a model for incorporating an indigenous philosophy (Ubuntu) into mainstream health sciences education. Recommendations are made for educational and clinical practice, as well as future research.

Previous research has established that provocation increases aggression. Therefore, researchers have begun to examine factors that distinguish between people who respond to provocation with and without aggression (Bushman & Baumeister, 1998; Carlson, Marcus-Newhall, & Miller, 1990; Jacquin, Harrison, & Alford, 2006). Until the current study, no researchers had experimentally investigated provocation in dating relationships. This study examined certain relationship variables that may influence whether dating partners respond to provocation with aggression. Young adult dating partners provided written responses to hypothetical relationship scenarios. As expected, jealousy-provoking scenarios resulted in more passive, verbally, and physically aggressive responses than neutral scenarios. Higher ratings of relationship commitment, investment, and satisfaction were associated with fewer aggressive responses.

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