This thesis portfolio consists of two key pieces of work, a systematic review and an empirical research project, both of which explore outcomes associated with traumatic experiences. Systematic Review – There is a growing body of literature which demonstrates that, alongside the difficulties people may experience following trauma, many individuals are also likely to report growth following the struggle to come to terms with the event. This review explores the evidence for a relationship between reported growth and distress following civilian, interpersonal trauma. The review includes 13 studies which met the inclusion criteria (9 cross-sectional and 4 prospective). Findings are inconsistent and suggest that prospective study designs are more likely than cross-sectional designs to report significant relationships. A number of methodological issues and the implications for future research are discussed. Empirical Research Project – Survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) present with a wide range of difficulties and the current evidence base for the treatment of complex trauma is limited. It is proposed that self-compassion and forgiveness based approaches may have the potential to be of benefit to this population. This cross-sectional study explored the relationships between posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, self-blame, self-compassion and forgiveness. A clinical sample of adult survivors of CSA (N = 19) completed all measures. In keeping with previous literature, significant relationships were found between posttraumatic stress and both dissociation and self-blame. Forgiveness was positively correlated with dissociation, but not the other variables and no significant relationships were found between self-compassion and the variables of interest. Findings, implications and study limitations are discussed.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is found to occur in alarming proportions worldwide. In South Africa, children represent almost half of the victims of known sexual abuse, and this is becoming a great concern, even being described as a silent epidemic. This alarming fact as well as the researcher’s experiences as a social worker in this field, resulted in her reviewing literature, in order to gain further insight into the current situation in South Africa. It was discovered that the number of successful CSA court cases reported to the Childline Western Cape centres, was significantly low, and that numerous complaints were being received by her colleagues at Childline from caregivers, regarding their dissatisfaction with the judicial system after reporting CSA. This dissertation therefore serves as a qualitative exploration of caregivers’ experiences of the South African judicial system after CSA has been reported. For the purpose of this study, the researcher used a descriptive qualitative research design so as to thoroughly describe the caregivers’ experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants to gain rich descriptions of their experiences in this area. Three main themes that emerged through the content analysis were: the experiences with officials from the SAPS as part of the judicial system; the experiences with regard to social service delivery; and the experiences with the court and personnel as part of the judicial system. Several conclusions were drawn. The first was that there were both positive and negative experiences with officials from SAPS. A further conclusion was that the lack of knowledge about procedures needing to be followed in cases of CSA, as well as the uncertainty shown by some SAPS officials with regard to how to go about dealing with child victims of sexual abuse, gave some participants the impression that SAPS officials lack adequate training in this regard The researcher concluded from the empirical findings and the literature that there is a general sense that CSA investigations are poorly conducted. Another conclusion was that literature on statutory social service delivery in South Africa and the evaluation thereof seemed sparse. However, from the empirical findings regarding the participants’ descriptions, their experiences, particularly with statutory social workers, were negative. Finally, the researcher concluded that though literature indicated that several changes had been made in the judicial system so as to better deal with child victims of sexual abuse, the experiences of the participants indicated that challenges are still being experienced. The empirical findings indicated that caregivers of child victims of sexual abuse and their children had experienced great frustration when dealing with the judicial system after CSA had been reported. These frustrations were due to the investigation of CSA cases, the court process, and the lack of communication from prosecutors and other professionals in the judicial system. / Thesis (MSW)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is found to occur in alarming proportions worldwide. In South Africa, children represent almost half of the victims of known sexual abuse, and this is becoming a great concern, even being described as a silent epidemic. This alarming fact as well as the researcher’s experiences as a social worker in this field, resulted in her reviewing literature, in order to gain further insight into the current situation in South Africa. It was discovered that the number of successful CSA court cases reported to the Childline Western Cape centres, was significantly low, and that numerous complaints were being received by her colleagues at Childline from caregivers, regarding their dissatisfaction with the judicial system after reporting CSA. This dissertation therefore serves as a qualitative exploration of caregivers’ experiences of the South African judicial system after CSA has been reported. For the purpose of this study, the researcher used a descriptive qualitative research design so as to thoroughly describe the caregivers’ experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants to gain rich descriptions of their experiences in this area. Three main themes that emerged through the content analysis were: the experiences with officials from the SAPS as part of the judicial system; the experiences with regard to social service delivery; and the experiences with the court and personnel as part of the judicial system. Several conclusions were drawn. The first was that there were both positive and negative experiences with officials from SAPS. A further conclusion was that the lack of knowledge about procedures needing to be followed in cases of CSA, as well as the uncertainty shown by some SAPS officials with regard to how to go about dealing with child victims of sexual abuse, gave some participants the impression that SAPS officials lack adequate training in this regard The researcher concluded from the empirical findings and the literature that there is a general sense that CSA investigations are poorly conducted. Another conclusion was that literature on statutory social service delivery in South Africa and the evaluation thereof seemed sparse. However, from the empirical findings regarding the participants’ descriptions, their experiences, particularly with statutory social workers, were negative. Finally, the researcher concluded that though literature indicated that several changes had been made in the judicial system so as to better deal with child victims of sexual abuse, the experiences of the participants indicated that challenges are still being experienced. The empirical findings indicated that caregivers of child victims of sexual abuse and their children had experienced great frustration when dealing with the judicial system after CSA had been reported. These frustrations were due to the investigation of CSA cases, the court process, and the lack of communication from prosecutors and other professionals in the judicial system. / Thesis (MSW)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This study explored Childline Zimbabwe’s provision of psychosocial support to sexually abused children. This was done by reviewing counsellors’ practices regarding face-to-face counselling, counselling approaches, referrals, follow-ups, case recording and through measuring client satisfaction levels. A qualitative case study approach was adopted with mixed methods to collect data from counsellors and clients. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory and followed an inductive process of coding and categorising the data into relevant themes. The outcomes of this study showed that referral of clients represents a major strategy of addressing child sexual abuse cases. The engagement of clients in face-to-face counselling stages however remained limited due to difficult work environments and challenges related to individual counsellors’ capacities. This posed questions about Childline’s role as a counselling or referral organisation. This study contributes to counselling of sexually abused children with information over the counselling interventions necessary in addressing survivors of sexual abuse. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study explored Childline Zimbabwe’s provision of psychosocial support to sexually abused children. This was done by reviewing counsellors’ practices regarding face-to-face counselling, counselling approaches, referrals, follow-ups, case recording and through measuring client satisfaction levels. A qualitative case study approach was adopted with mixed methods to collect data from counsellors and clients. Data analysis was informed by grounded theory and followed an inductive process of coding and categorising the data into relevant themes. The outcomes of this study showed that referral of clients represents a major strategy of addressing child sexual abuse cases. The engagement of clients in face-to-face counselling stages however remained limited due to difficult work environments and challenges related to individual counsellors’ capacities. This posed questions about Childline’s role as a counselling or referral organisation. This study contributes to counselling of sexually abused children with information over the counselling interventions necessary in addressing survivors of sexual abuse. / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)

The overarching aim of this study was to examine female social workers’ (ie. drug counselors’ and members of treatment staff’s) perception of the sexuality of girls and boys. The results indicate that the IPs define female high risk sexual behavior differently than male high-risk sexual behavior. For females, the mere act of having sex with multiple men in combination with drug use was considered problematic, while for males, the question was whether he was having protected sex. A history of CSA was considered to affect the sexuality of both the female and male vignette characters, but in different ways: the male character was seen to punish himself through multiple sexual partners while the female was seen to be unable to make informed sexual decisions or even to enjoy sex. Finally, the concept of sexual exploitation was analyzed and found to be inconsistently used not only by the IPs, but also in the research literature. In the discussion, it is stressed that social services and treatment personnel need to be clear about what they mean by sexual exploitation of girls. Paying undue attention to a girl’s sex life will not help her in any significant way. Instead, social workers should help girls use their gifts and strengths to express their innermost being, helping them find their voice. / Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att undersöka kvinnliga socialarbetares (det vill säga drogbehandlares och behandlingspersonals) uppfattning om tonårsflickors och tonårspojkars sexualitet. Resultaten indikerar att intervjupersonerna definierar sexuellt högriskbeteende annorlunda hos flickor och pojkar. För flickor uppfattades det som problematiskt att ha sex med flera män i kombination med narkotikabruk, medan det för pojkar handlade om huruvida de hade skyddat sex. En historia av sexuella övergrepp i barndomen ansågs kunna påverka sexualiteten hos både kvinnliga och manliga vinjettkaraktärer men på olika sätt: den manliga karaktären ansågs bestraffa sig själv genom många sexuella partners medan den kvinnliga upplevdes oförmögen att fatta informerade sexuella beslut eller ens njuta av sex. Slutligen analyserades begreppet sexuellt utnyttjande och visade sig användas inkonsekvent inte bara av intervjupersonerna, men också i forskningslitteraturen. I diskussionen betonas att socialtjänst och behandlingspersonal måste klargöra vad de menar med sexuellt utnyttjande av flickor. Att ge otillbörlig uppmärksamhet åt en tonårsflickas sexliv hjälper henne inte på något väsentligt sätt. Istället bör socialarbetare hjälpa flickor att använda sina talanger och styrkor för att uttrycka sitt innersta väsen och därmed hjälpa dem finna sin röst.