Dealing with HIV and AIDS and parental illness and death are realities many teenagers have to face, yet little is known about their psychosocial well-being. This study gauged the psychosocial well-being of teenaged orphans in a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a narrative approached, data were collected by means of interviews. The study examined the nature of social support available to teenaged orphans and their subjective experiences of well-being. Findings suggest that these teenagers were confronted with drastic changes before and after the deaths of their parents. The ramifications of these and the different ways of coping with orphanhood were explored. Foster parents and other care-givers were found to provide differentially in the needs of the teenagers and this impacted on their well-being and coping. This study extends the literature on children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS by considering the specific experiences of teenagers. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Sport and dance injuries have increased despite improvements in coaching techniques and medical care. Other factors, including psychological ones, were therefore thought to play a role in injury vulnerability. Most of the attempts to explain how psychological variables can affect an athlete's predisposition to injury have been based on anxiety or stress concepts. In this survey type study an interactive approach to stress has been adopted with the goal of finding a relationship between stress and injury in a group of professional ballet dancers. No simple direct relationship was found. Multiple regression analysis was performed and a more complicated relationship between stress indicators and injury was found. When an attempt was made to investigate the significant interaction, no significant correlations were found. However, the correlations were found to be large and negative. This could indicate that if the sample size had been larger significant correlations may have been found. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

A family is a basic unit of society. Among the many functions that are performed by a family, is the task of providing for its children's needs while simultaneously transmitting the society's way of life. The functioning of the family takes place through a parent-child relationship. It is therefore significant for the family to carry out parental tasks in order to give a sense of security, a sense of companion and belonging, a sense of responsibility, sense of purpose and direction to its members. Although there are many factors that pose a threat to family functioning, the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be underestimated. As the disease has advanced over time, it has negatively impinged on the children's lives. Children are losing their parents to HIV/AIDS opportunistic illnesses and this has resulted in the burgeoning of child-headed households. The phenomenon of a child-headed household presents a shift from a structural family since a significant subsystem of a family (i.e the parental subsystem) is non-existent. The study presents an in-depth investigation into the social functioning of a child-headed household. The aim was to come to a better understanding about issues that surround households that are headed by children. The social institutions with whom the household co-exists have been scrutinised in order to determine the ways in which these institutions impact upon the social functioning of child-headed households. The study highlights that child-headed households are a deviation from the norm and they create a situation where needs of children are unmet and their rights are eroded. The role of social work in mobilising resources to meet the unmet needs and championing for the rights of the children has been investigated. Case studies of ten families were conducted in the three districts of KwaZulu-Natal an area in South Africa that has widely been reported as hardest hit by the pandemic. A research team was constituted which designed a protocol for conducting case studies and collected data. Social workers also participated in the study with an aim of exploring guidelines for social service delivery with regard to a child-headed household. The study found that children are increasingly exposed to aspects of multiple care-giving through lack of parental care and a changing family structure. It was also revealed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is shattering children's lives and reversing many hard won children's rights. In spite of the transition in the family life cycle, the family remains the central institution in the children's lives. The scourge of HIV/AIDS poses a great challenge to society. Children are left on their own without visible means of support. The problems of children develop into great magnitude in spite of policies that are in place. The findings of the study point to implications for a practice model that is aimed at co-ordinating services for effective service delivery. The researcher has presented suggested guidelines based on the findings of the study. These guidelines include the role of social work in ensuring that the social functioning of the children in child-headed households is enhanced and that social justice for these children is promoted. A protocol for intervention in child-headed households is provided. This would ensure that interventions in bringing about desired change in the lives of the children, produce sustainable results on a significant scale. / Social work / D. Phil.(Social Work)

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how narrative therapy may facilitate not only a lessening of distressing symptoms for bereaved persons, but may also facilitate growth in identity. Five case studies are presented. The participants were chosen to illuminate different grief experiences. The case studies include a description of grieving people from different backgrounds, each with a unique relationship with the person or people who died, all of whom had different causes of death such as suicide, murder and natural causes. These differences provide an opportunity to explore the application of the therapy model with a range of grief experiences. A full and rich description of the experiences of the participants yield insight into the shared themes such as the impact of social expectations of how a grieving person should conduct him or herself, difficult physical and emotional experiences, the many losses flowing from the death, as well as an in-depth discussion of the identity growth that takes place as the bereaved person takes on different roles and tasks. Postmodern epistemology and social constructivism informed the praxis and interpretation of narrative therapy as bereavement model. Narrative therapy is shown as especially effective for grief therapy with therapeutic tenets such as deconstructing and creating richer narratives and alternative stories that enables the bereaved to explore diverse aspects of their character. The emphasis on what remains rather than what is lost, and the concept of remembering the loved one who died in the community of those who stay behind, transmute the loss-story to one of remembering and incorporating, which tends to bring significant emotional relief. This study contributes towards the field of growth through bereavement for which there seems to be a paucity in research. Furthermore, it provides additional evidence for post-traumatic growth in general, especially with the assistance of narrative therapy. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

Ethiopia faces large and growing numbers of child household heads, mainly due to AIDS-related parental deaths. Many of them are vulnerable to abuse and are forced to look after themselves and their siblings, drop out of school and find work. This exploratory study employed qualitative research methods using purposive sampling. The aim was to ascertain how child household heads affected by AIDS adapted to changed life circumstances. The study entailed fieldwork for five weeks in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where evidence was gathered from 10 selected households headed by children (aged 12 to18), their siblings and key informants. It was found that all the children in the study are in dismal living conditions although some reported feelings of satisfaction and happiness. The need to provide special recognition and support to child household heads and their siblings by policy makers and service providers in Ethiopia is highlighted. / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS) / Social Work

Dealing with HIV and AIDS and parental illness and death are realities many teenagers have to face, yet little is known about their psychosocial well-being. This study gauged the psychosocial well-being of teenaged orphans in a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a narrative approached, data were collected by means of interviews. The study examined the nature of social support available to teenaged orphans and their subjective experiences of well-being. Findings suggest that these teenagers were confronted with drastic changes before and after the deaths of their parents. The ramifications of these and the different ways of coping with orphanhood were explored. Foster parents and other care-givers were found to provide differentially in the needs of the teenagers and this impacted on their well-being and coping. This study extends the literature on children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS by considering the specific experiences of teenagers. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Sport and dance injuries have increased despite improvements in coaching techniques and medical care. Other factors, including psychological ones, were therefore thought to play a role in injury vulnerability. Most of the attempts to explain how psychological variables can affect an athlete's predisposition to injury have been based on anxiety or stress concepts. In this survey type study an interactive approach to stress has been adopted with the goal of finding a relationship between stress and injury in a group of professional ballet dancers. No simple direct relationship was found. Multiple regression analysis was performed and a more complicated relationship between stress indicators and injury was found. When an attempt was made to investigate the significant interaction, no significant correlations were found. However, the correlations were found to be large and negative. This could indicate that if the sample size had been larger significant correlations may have been found. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of orphanhood on the life world of an adolescent orphaned by AIDS, thereby improving the knowledge base and insight of all those who are involved in helping the orphans. This qualitative study endeavoured to answer the following research question: “What is the impact of orphanhood on the life world of an adolescent orphaned by AIDS, in Ratanda area?”. A literature study was done to give a theoretical overview about AIDS orphans specifically adolescents. A semi-structured interview was conducted from five different schools. Findings from the interviews was discussed and integrated with reference to the literature. A qualitative approach was used as this helped the researcher in understanding the functioning of the AIDS orphan in his natural environment. The researcher aimed at documenting these impacts of orphanhood on the life world and to improve the helping professions’ understanding of the phenomenon. This may lead to more successful intervention strategies for these adolescents. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

HIV and AIDS related deaths have left numerous children heading households as the number of adults dying from this pandemic increased significantly. The goal of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences, challenges and coping resources of AIDS-orphans heading households in an urban area in Free State using a qualitative study. The research revealed that the level of suffering faced by these children began with their parents’ illness. This was further worsened by the death of the parents. These children are in most instances not absorbed by their extended families as the traditional safety nets are stretched to their limits. Children heading households were forced to take up adult responsibilities prematurely and as such encounter challenges on daily basis. The study concluded that the child headed families are a reality in South Africa and need lots of support from the government and local communities. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

Text in English / Even though the prevalence of HIV has declined, South Africa continues to have a large number of people who are infected with HIV. Most communities still have to deal with the effects of HIV and AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children. One way of mitigating the effects of HIV and AIDS is strengthening families and communities to provide stable care to orphans. However, most families do not have the capacity to provide sufficient care to orphans hence the need for external support from the community and civil society organisations, in this instance provided through the loveLife goGogetter programme. The findings proved that the goGogetters relied on the support they received through the relationships and networks established in the community to enable them to provide effective service to orphans. The study demonstrated the importance of community networks in providing for the basic needs of orphans. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)