A significant body of research documents the experiences of war correspondents and the impact covering conflict has on them. Far fewer studies focus on the impact that covering everyday trauma has on journalists. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) explores, at an idiographic level, the life worlds of six journalists from sub-Saharan Africa, and how each of them makes sense of the everyday trauma they experience in their work. The findings show that in each journalist's case, witnessing others' pain and trauma had a life changing impact; that empathy helped them cope with what they saw and experienced; and that they shared a tolerance for risk-taking. Journalists are the eyes and ears of the public. The study suggests that if journalists have the necessary emotional tools to cope with the stress they encounter in their work, everyone benefits: the journalists, their media organizations, the people whose stories they tell, and society. It is therefore important to take journalists' emotional coping strategies into account, so as not to cement the notion that feeling numb in the face of emotional trauma is simply business as usual.

Temmincks pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal. This animal is unique to Southern Africa, and just as rare are the conservationists who are working against all odds to save this species from extinction. While the incidence of poaching within South Africa is increasing, as is the value of a pangolin, the conservation workspace is rapidly becoming increasingly dangerous. In light of the above, one cannot help but be concerned for the well-being of the pangolin conservationists. Despite engaging in meaningful work, the conservationists are exposing themselves to prolonged stress that is likely to impact their well-being. The purpose of this study is to explore the well-being of Temmincks pangolin conservationists in terms of state and trait depression as well as burnout. Furthermore, the study aims to understand whether coping mechanisms or resilience mitigate the effect of the potential depression and burnout. Therefore, a sequential explanatory mixed-method design was adopted for this study. The quantitative data was gathered using the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), the State Trait Personality Inventory Form Y (STPI-Y) depression subscale, the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (COPE) questionnaire and the Predictive 6 Factor Resilience Scale (PR6). The qualitative data was collected utilising a semi-structured interview. Results indicated that the participants were currently experiencing both state and trait depression. Additionally, a third of the sample is at risk of developing burnout. In spite of this, the participants displayed the presence of goal focus, tenacity and collaborative spirit. These elements of resilience were shown to assist the conservationists to persist through adversity. The participants also showed the use of effective coping mechanisms, namely; accepting, planning and critically engaging with perceived stressors. These coping mechanisms were shown to enhance the presence of the resilience indicators. Thus, despite depression and burnout impacting negatively on their well-being, the participants are utilising coping mechanisms and resilience which enhances their well-being. Recommendations included a developmental workshop focusing on fostering effective coping mechanisms to build stronger resilience and ward off potential burnout and possibly ameliorate current depression experiences. / Dissertation (MA (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Psychology / MA (Psychology) / Unrestricted

Climate change is an important subject nowadays and climate change leads to more natural disasters. This essay is a large literature study on Asian, American, European, Oceanian and African countries about the economic consequences for households as a result of natural disasters and the coping mechanisms used by households, as well as governments and institutions. It also provides information about natural disasters, such as natural disasters that have the worst consequences, people that are highly affected by disasters and places in the world where disasters happen the most. The aim of this study is to learn more about environmental disasters and prepare better for future disasters. The results show consequences on welfare (income, assets, poverty), the labour market, migration and inequality. And the coping strategies found are post-disaster sources (help from family and relatives, public and private transfers, borrowing, credits, savings, insurance), decrease in expenditures, changes in consumption, selling assets, changes in the labour market, help from communities and other ways to cope. Governments and institutions also help households in the aftermath of natural disasters. Overall, we conclude that natural disasters lead to important economic impacts for people, and households react by using different coping mechanisms to recover.

Sibling relationships have been proven to be influential to the well-being of emerging adults. However, the diversity of individuals, particularly in regard to siblings of individuals with disabilities, has rarely been examined. Therefore, the current study explored the association among sibling relationships, coping, and well-being of emerging adults who have non-disabled siblings or autistic siblings. A single online survey was distributed to people between 18-25 who have non-disabled siblings or autistic siblings. The results found that siblings of autistic individuals reported significantly less sibling warmth, less gratitude, and more emotion suppression than siblings of a non-disabled brother or sister. In addition, optimism, gratitude, and emotion suppression were mediators that affected how sibling warmth related to individual’s distress. Furthermore, optimism and gratitude could be mediators that influenced the relationship between sibling warmth and individual’s resilience. In conclusion, the current study proposed that the difference of coping styles may be the underlying mechanism of worse well-being of siblings, and more perceived sibling warmth may be a buffer for ASD-Sibs’ resilience and coping. / M.S. / Sibling relationships can provide great supports for people during emerging adulthood (18-25 years old). The current study explored how sibling relationships affected emerging adults’ distress. We recruited non-disabled individuals who had an autistic sibling or a non-disabled sibling, and distributed them into ASD-group and ND-group correspondingly. There were 26 participants in ASD-group and 73 participants in ND-group. We found that people who had autistic siblings reported less sibling warmth, gratitude attitude, and more emotion suppression compared to people who had non-disabled siblings. We also found that sibling warmth affected distress by influencing optimism, gratitude, and emotion suppression. In addition, sibling warmth affected individual’s resilience by influencing optimism and gratitude. In conclusion, we proposed that for emerging adults who had an autistic sibling, clinical practitioners should focus more on their coping styles and their sibling relationships.

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Victimization from bullying has become a more serious issue as available avenues for bullying have increased and as the media has been alerted to the devastating effects of the phenomenon. Victimization has been linked to increased externalizing and internalizing disorders including depression, anxiety, stress, and at its worst suicide. Research has been focused on the negative outcomes following victimization, with some authors only recently examining the buffering or exacerbating effects of coping mechanisms. Participants (n=642) from a moderately sized southeastern university completed a survey to examine problem-focused and emotion-focused coping as potential moderators and maladaptive coping as a potential mediator between retrospective reports of victimization and depression, anxiety, and stress, and reasons for living. The hypothesis concerning maladaptive coping as a mediator was supported. Implications and limitations are also discussed. Results suggest that maladaptive coping may be a key mechanism explaining the impact of bullying on outcomes years after victimization.

This study examined the beliefs about religion and spirituality among substance abuse counselors. The data was gathered using an explorative qualitative design by interviewing substance abuse counselors in the field and asking questions related to the religion, spirituality, and the influence on their practice. This research highlighted the impact of substance abuse as a spiritual disease that affects the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the client’s life. The key findings were related to the responses from the participants because it highlighted the importance of meeting the client where they are (motivational congruence), tolerance, acceptance, and the impact of agency policies. The second key finding is the substance counselor’s beliefs have no bearing in their practice because they operate under the philosophy of motivational congruence which is meeting the client where they are. Even though they have personal beliefs they are able to implement the professional use of self-focusing more on the client’s needs as opposed to theirs. The implication for future research is the contribution to extant literature by emphasizing the importance of religious or spiritual practices in the recovery process.

This investigative study explores bullycide. Bullycide is the act of committing suicide because of bullying. The primary objective of this research was to compare Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer (LGBTIQ) (n = 41) and heterosexual (n = 20) respondents and the prevalence of potential bullycide indicators. By surveying (N = 61) adults, a comparison was made among respondents and their coping mechanisms to bullying. The study found that both sub-groups face an equally high tendency of coping with anger over discomfort (.017). The study also found that both sub-groups demonstrate a high likelihood of responding to bullying by withdrawing from others (.002). The purpose of this study was meant to not only shine light on a phenomenon that has been progressively coming to light in the last decade, but to also explore possible policies, or lack thereof, that are currently in place for victims of bullying, to determine whether or not more are necessary.

Graduate students are often exposed to many stressors during their rigorous academic programs which may impact their overall well-being. Researchers have long believed that self-compassion can be used as an emotion-regulated strategy to cope with stress. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between self-compassion levels and coping mechanisms for stress among graduate social work students. Data were collected from 97 graduate social work students in a Hispanic-serving university in Southern California (N =97). Using non-parametric techniques, the Kruskal-Wallis Test and the Mann-Whitney Test, this study analyzed the correlation between self-compassion and coping mechanisms for stress, while separately controlling for demographic variables. Results showed a statistically significant correlation between self-compassion level and coping mechanisms (p < .001). The magnitude of this correlation was strong (η2 = .18). Implications of these findings for social work practice were discussed.

The purpose of study was to explore the various coping mechanisms used by single mothers who are pursuing higher education. Furthermore, this study examined the various relationships, personal and financial needs the mothers face. This study also explored the interpersonal relationships that exist for single mothers raising their children in the U.S. while facing financial burdens, lack of resources and childcare dilemmas. This study utilized a qualitative design. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews. The data collected from this study will allow for social workers to provide services in order to ensure single mother attending college are utilizing effective coping mechanisms. Furthermore, it will assist social workers and other professional with addressing the needs that single mothers face while trying to get their education and provide for their children simultaneously. It is recommended that colleges and other social service agencies could offer more programs to help assist single mothers with accomplishing their goals. The common themes that were found through this study are: childcare, time management, financial concerns, and support systems. Additionally, themes of coping both adaptive and maladaptive were also recognizable in this study.