Sociala medier har blivit en integrerad del av vår vardag och profiler arbetar ständigt med skapandet av identitet, representation och interaktion. Efter sökandet av tidigare forskning uppfattades en avsaknad för studerandet av utformning och påverkan i kommunikationen på Instagram. Främst vad gäller en intim och emotionell sådan, som sänds ut via influencers. Studien syftar till att ge förståelse av de självrepresentativa aspekterna, men också hur emotion och förmänskligandet av kanalen bidrar till den annars distanserade närkontakten med följarna. Uppsatsen ska belysa vikten av interaktion i relation mellan sändare och mottagare samt studera modaliteter som språkhandlingar och tilltal med dess eventuella betydelser för den upplevda påverkan på en tänkt publik.   För att få ett rättvist kvalitativt resultat har en multimodal analys använts med inslag av den kritiska lingvistiken. Materialet har samlats in digitalt och utgörs av tre influencers två olika instagraminlägg, där utformandet av inläggen granskas utifrån ett kodschema med stödfrågor, innefattande både text- och bildelement. Även samspelet mellan bild och text studeras.   Resultatet pekar på de återkommande begreppen av identitetsskapande och bekräftelse, som verkar vara avgörande för den symboliska interaktionen och bibehållandet av kanalen. Självpresentationen är vital och den intima, emotionella kommunikationen bidrar till en allt närmare, personligare kontakt med den tänkta publiken. Kommunikationen spelar en viktig roll främst vid skapandet av mening och till eftersträvat budskap kopplat till emotion.

Four core themes characterised this study: (a) adult friendship, particularly across the gender line, (b) the association between friendship and psychological well-being, (c) the role of attachment in friendship processes, and (d) the influence of the boundaries of marriage on friendship. Twenty six individuals were included in the initial research and 19 subjects participated in the main study. Theoretical principles of social cognition, constructive alternativism and attachment guided the collection and interpretation of data, which was collated, interpreted and then presented in case-study format. Self-with-other representation played a major role in data interpretation. Investigation into the structure and processes of friendship revealed it to be a complex and fragile relationship, defined both idiosyncratically and existentially, as well as by specific distinguishing features, such as trust, loyalty and intimacy . Attachment orientation and positive friendship experiences were noted as being contributory to the sense of interpersonal intimacy associated with feelings of well-being. Positive association was registered between 'secure' attachment orientation and self-ratings of well-being and happiness. Opposite-sex friendship emerged as an exclusive relational type, both similar to, and different from, samesex friendship and romantic love relationships. Its ambiguous role is evidently compounded by the latent sexuality in heterosocial relationships. Respondents reported cases of opposite-sex friendships metamorphosing into romantic love relationships and, less frequently, vice versa. Manifest in attachment and relational mental models, marital boundaries can facilitate or inhibit friendship. On both direct- and meta-perspective levels, securely-attached respondents were relatively accepting of opposite-sex friendships within a marital context. Insecurely-attached subjects tended to construe them as threatening to the marital reality. Responses to this threat varied: avoidantly-attached individuals used ego-protective mechanisms such as denial and repression, whereas · the anxious-ambivalent attachment orientation seemed more closely associated with feelings of mistrust and jealousy, expressed through anger and anxiety. Personal boundary structure plays an incisive role ln adult friendship. Thick-boundaried personalities seemed particularly conscious of preserving marital identity. They were more territorial with regard to friendships within the marital context, and more conscious of social rules pertaining thereto. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study found that women in substance abuse treatment have higher levels of social intimacy than women with no history of substance abuse (treatment). Other factors examined in relation to level of intimacy were: type and number of substances used, length of use, length of treatment, participation in mental health treatment, substance abuse in the home when the subject was a child, and a history of the subject being a survivor of abuse.

Youth Centres such as Faure Youth Centre provide a challenge to questions such as violence and crime. This qualitative research journey started at Faure Youth Centre using narrative pastoral care and counselling and participatory action research to assist the young people there to find alternative ways of standing against violence and crime. Changing circumstances at Faure however, paved the way for the research to follow another direction. This resulted in different voices to emerge and for my family to receive an unexpected `gift' in the process. The `gift' that my pastoral care and counselling at Faure gave to my family initiated a process of change in us and transformed it into a spiralling journey of challenging patriarchal practices and finding alternative ways of living. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

People spend substantial parts of their life in a close dyadic relationship. The results range from the fulfillment of emotional, intellectual, social and physical needs, to physical and emotional abuse. The study clarifies the association between sex-role identity type, with its two traits (masculinity and femininity), and relationship satisfaction, at the dyadic level. The latter implies a focus on the identical (or different) levels of presence of the two constructs among partners in couples. Extraneous factors and personal (non-dyadic) effects are covered in addition. The two main variables are evaluated with the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). In each case, a second instrument was administered for validation. The survey-type study followed a correlational, cross-sectional design. The main purposes have been to test new theoretical frameworks against empirical data, and knowledge production. A three-pronged approach included: an extensive literature review to identify methodological and knowledge gaps; a theory-driven design and methodology to ensure a sound study; and empirical data collection to verify the theoretical position through hypothesis testing. Likely sources of bias were countered by involving balanced numbers of male and female, and homosexual and heterosexual respondents, from non-student populations, over a wide age range, and living in close relationships spanning at least two years. The correlational design and relatively small sub-samples dictated the application of descriptive frequencies, and chi-square, variance (ANOVA) and regression analyses, as statistical techniques. The findings emerged as more similar than different for homosexual and heterosexual participants. This implies that homosexuals are not a deviant group, but equally able to achieve happiness. Congruent (identical) sex-role identity traits between partners were not strong(est) in predicting satisfaction. However, femininity and androgyny, as highest adaptive type, and identical sex-role identity types between partners did. As a result, the initial sex-role identity congruence theory has been modified into the adaptive femininity trait theory. Married heterosexual women face a predicament. While for them an undifferentiated sex-role identity type correlates with their husbands' happiness, and their own unhappiness, the inverse applies to their femininity and androgyny. The practical implications of this and other conclusions are also detailed. / Psychology / D. Litt et Phil (Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to explore how people construct their intimate relationships, and to describe the patterns of connection and disconnection and their meanings within the social and cultural contexts of these relationships. It attempts to describe how the participating couples' relationships may or may not have changed due to the research process consisting of reflections and joint story telling, and the interventions of the researcher. Social constructionism is the epistemological framework of this study and indepth unstructured interviews with a cohabiting and a married couple were conducted. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The participants' stories were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes characterising their relationships. A comparative analysis was undertaken between the common themes identified in the two participating couples and literature. The information gained could assist couples and professionals in respecting heterosexual intimate relationships in their specific contexts. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Total institutions' (which include prisons) unique context prescribes "confinement" of inmates. Coping mechanisms applied "outside" (especially the ability to create distance from stressful events) is thus ineffective. Another common feature is lack of privacy, which may result in "forced intimacy" - individuals being forced into a situation of physical and psychological "invasion" (beyond the norm) of their person/personal space. Victims lose control over intimate decisions, including who may and may not be intimate with them. Within prisons, gangs "force intimacy" by sexually victimizing inmates, taking advantage of the context to heighten their power, and to control inmates "under" them. Four (subjects) victims' experiences and means of adaptation/ empowerment were investigated phenomenologically. Results indicated that inadequately empowered victims suffer prolonged and repeated victimization - a continued "posttraumatic stress disorder" - which is more traumatizing and draining than one circumscribed traumatic event (due to its intensity, immobilization and resulting drastic change of "personality"). / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The aim of the study was to provide a platform for the male paraplegic to explore the implications of the disability on his sexuality. A qualitative research method was utilised. In-depth interviews were conducted during October 1995 and February 1996 using a sample often black male in-patients at the beginning of their rehabilitation program and during their initial hospitalisation at Kalafong Hospital in Pretoria. The results of the study indicated that the newly injured person has a great need to talk about the impact of the injury on his life. Three major areas of concern emerged: physical appearance, loss of control and independence and relationships. All three areas were perceived to have an impact on sexuality. Rejection of the redefined intimacy by the able-bodied spouse, was perceived as a threat to sexual adjustment. / Social Work

This study examines the mental preparation of elite athletes using naturalistic action research. The focus of investigation was on the personal difficulty of dealing with the "expert issue" that existed in the consultative relationship. The unfolding research experience confronted the researcher with personal dilemmas that needed to be resolved; activating significant shifts in the direction of exploration. These shifts were triggered in conversational contexts, highlighting the impact of co-evolved intimate sharing. Quantum leaps in understanding occurred when the researcher; (a) realised that a research proposal had been formulated that was not congruent with ecosystemic philosophies, (b) discovered action research, thereby shifting from an isolated self-reflective position to embracing the phenomenon of shared inquiry, (c) formed an action research group to investigate consultative issues, (d) became aware that the action research process was a reflection of an individual's unique idiosyncratic interactive and thinking style, (e) had to deal with the impact of a work experience as the action group turned into a therapeutic team, and (f) aligned himself to a narrative writing style to formally report on the "fluid", "free-flow" conversational experiences that had occurred in the research context. "Reflective interactive exploration" written methodology to capture the ideas emerged as a formal that evolve conversation. This methodology became the vehicle to during (a) shift more responsibility onto the athlete to become the "researcher of self", (b) open up further conversation, and (c) to relieve the psychologist of the expert position. The methodology was also utilised in the action research group to explore issues and to exchange ideas with the supervisor. The theory of the "mask of competency" of the athlete existing in a "culture of competition" is forwarded. A therapeutic model that balances intervention techniques with therapeutic conversation is suggested when consulting with athletes. Therapeutic conversation is broadened to incorporate concepts such as "energy flow", "obstacles and resistances" and "connection and intimacy". The personal "expert issue" was found to be a "reflection" of the researcher's own unique perceptions and interactive tendencies. Addressing issues at this level of personal identity required special interpersonal conditions; a context of respectful, intimate conversation. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The present research aimed to address two questions. First, is dating anxiety associated with sexual intimacy anxiety? Second, do young people who report harmful sexual behaviour, as an offence or harmful dating behaviour, have higher levels of dating and sexual intimacy anxiety than young people who report no harm, non-sexual harm or sexual and non-sexual harm (generalists)? The Dating Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (DAS-A) was used to measure overall dating anxiety. Questions relating DAS-A sub-factors fear of negative evaluation and social distress - dating were amended to measure sexual intimacy anxiety. A scale to measure partnership anxiety and sexual behaviour anxiety were designed. Participants were 77 young people aged 13 to 18 years (M = 15.4, SD = 1.41). Forty-five (58%) of participants were female and 32 (42%) participants were male. Results found a strong, significant association between higher levels of dating anxiety and higher levels of sexual intimacy anxiety r(75) = .80, p < .001. Young people who reported a sexual offence had significantly higher sexual behaviour anxiety than non-sexual offence (M = 15.82, SD = 6.23, p = .005) and generalist offence groups (M = 21.77, SD = 6.53, p = .044). Despite no other significant differences, a pattern emerged that suggests young people who report harmful sexual or generalist dating behaviour may have higher dating and sexual intimacy anxieties. Furthermore, young people who report harmful dating behaviour may have higher anxieties than young people who report an offence. The implications of the findings for future harmful sexual behaviour and harmful dating behaviour research and practice are discussed.