Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the revised Repression-Sensitization Scale and perceived parental behavior as measured on the Short Form Children's Reports o' Parental Behavior: An Inventory. The purpose of this study was to examine previous findings and to attempt to isolate additional factors associated with later neurotic disturbances.The results of the present investigation support earlier findings suggesting that the Repression-Sensitization Scale is linearly associated with neuroticism and personal maladjustment. A significant difference was found between repressors and sensitizers and perception of their parents behavior. The findings indicate that parents of repressors are more accepting then parents of sensitizers. Furthermore, sensitizers were found to have experienced a home environment characterized by family conflict and discord.

The counseling experience has shown that a majority of problems that endanger marital and family functioning results from an absent father. The problem of an absent father and his important role in the upbringing of his children had already become well-known. The reason for this is that the welfare of children has declined dramatically compared to children of earlier generations. It is the negative effects and spiritual consequences of an uninvolved father, as well as the subsequent poor relations between fathers and their children that were cause for concern. The perplexing question is why the problem of the absent father is treated so indifferently, given the awareness of its scope and significance. The church, who are to be the light for the world and who are to make the family its core priority, is crucial in taking a leading role in addressing the key reasons for the crisis the family in Western society is facing. This study wants to address the problem of the absent father from a theological perspective. / Prof. W.J. Hattingh

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An increasing number of children in South Africa are deprived of adequate parental care. Factors exacerbating the situation are the deaths of parents due to HIV/AIDS and contextual stressors like poverty and violence. Children removed from family care in accordance with stipulations of the Act on Child Care, were all exposed to factors of inadequate care like a lack of basic means of existence and/or physical, emotional or spiritual neglect or sexual abuse. The current thesis tried to determine to what extend these factors influence the social development of children. Theories of psychosocial development have shown that optimal social development starts with securing a strong positive and reciprocal emotional bond with the primary caregiver. This is the basis of personal security and interpersonal trust upon which further developmental elements like a positive self image, autonomy, pro-social behaviour, emotional well-being, moral values, the ability to find solutions to problems, self control and expectations about the future, will be based. Schema theory has confirmed the importance of positive developmental experiences in establishing positive expectations about social interaction. Negative developmental experiences will lead to dysfunctional schemas and selective processing of information. This will negatively influence emotional well-being, the ability to solve interpersonal problems and realistically assessing the self and others. Dysfunctional interpersonal patterns, inappropriate social behaviour and a less positive expectation of the future, will follow. Patterns of parental care are still important in adolescence and influence body image, sexual identity, academic achievement, career aspirations, values, autonomy and emotional well-being. Negative patterns of parenting, like loveless over-control and child abuse, lead to dysfunctional interpersonal expectations. Residential care increases the risk of diffused bonding, unless sufficient preventive measures are put in place. In the current thesis ten elements of interpersonal schemas were identified according to the above theories. Statistical comparisons of the elements were done using two groups of adolescents. Adolescents in the first group were removed from parental care in accordance with the Act on Child Care, while adolescents in the second group experienced continuous and adequate parental care. The results supported all of the hyphotheses, with a measure of ambivalence about autonomy. Psychosocial history was proved to be a measurable discriminating factor in adolescent interpersonal schemas. Sex proved to be a further discriminating factor in some elements. Girls were influenced most by the presence or lack of family security. In a second section, current programmes for social empowerment in use in children's homes, were evaluated according to the above results. Indications were given about possible adaptations and additions to therapeutic and skills programmes, the role of substitute families and character traits of staff that may help in limiting the risks of residential care. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Toenemende getal kinders in Suid-Afrika ontbeer deurlopende en toereikende gesinsorg. Faktore wat hiertoe bydra, is ouersterftes weens MIVNIGS en kontekstuele stressors soos armoede en geweld. Kinders wat uit gesinsorg verwyder word weens die bepalings van die Wet op Kindersorg, was almal blootgestel aan faktore van ontoereikende sorg soos gebrekkige bestaansmiddele en/of fisieke, emosionele of geestelike verwaarlosing of seksuele misbruik. Hierdie proefskrif het probeer vasstel in watter mate dié faktore die sosiale ontwikkeling van kinders beïnvloed. Teorieë omtrent psigososiale ontwikkeling toon aan dat optimale sosiale ontwikkeling begin by die vestiging van 'n sterk positiewe en wederkerige emosionele band met 'n primêre bindingsfiguur. Dit vorm die basis van persoonlike sekuriteit en interpersoonlike vertroue, waarop ontwikkelingselemente soos 'n positiewe selfsiening, outonomie, pro-sosialiteit, emosionele welstand, morele waardes, probleemoplossingsvaardighede, selfbeheer en toekomsverwagting gebaseer is. Skema-teorie bevestig die belang van positiewe ontwikkelings-ervarings in die daarstel van positiewe verwagtings omtrent sosiale interaksie. Negatiewe ontwikkelings-ervarings lei tot disfunksionele skemas, waarin inligting selektief verwerk word. Dit het 'n negatiewe uitwerking op emosionele welstand, die vaardigheid om interpersoonlike probleme op te los en realisties oor die self en ander te oordeel. Die gevolg is patrone van interpersoonlike wanaanpassing, ontoepaslike sosiale optrede en 'n minder positiewe toekomsverwagting. In adolessensie speelouerskapspatrone steeds 'n rol ten opsigte van liggaamsbeeld, geslagsidentiteit, akademiese prestasie, beroepsideale, waardes, outonome optrede en emosionele welstand. Negatiewe ouerskapspatrone, soos oormatige en liefdelose beheer en kindermishandeling, lei tot disfunksionele interpersoonlike verwagtings. Residensiële sorg verhoog die risiko vir diffuse bindingsgedrag, tensy doeltreffende voorsorgmaatreëls daargestel word. In die proefskrif is tien elemente van interpersoonlike skemas aan die hand van die teoretiese uiteensetting geïdentifiseer. 'n Statistiese vergelyking ten opsigte van die elemente is gedoen met twee groepe adolessente. Die eerste groep is weens wetlike bepalings uit ouersorg verwyder, terwyl die tweede groep deurlopende en toereikende ouersorg ervaar het. Die resultate het al die hipoteses ondersteun, met 'n mate van ambivalensie omtrent outonomie. Psigososiale geskiedenis was dus 'n meetbare onderskeidingsfaktor ten opsigte van interpersoonlike skemas in adolessensie. Geslag was 'n verdere meetbare faktor by sommige elemente. Dogters was die meeste beïnvloed deur die teenwoordigheid van óf gebrek aan gesinsekuriteit. In 'n tweede afdeling, is die bestaande programme van sosiale bemagtiging in kinderhuise geëvalueer in die lig van bogenoemde resultate. Aanbevelings is gedoen oor die aanpassing en uitbouing van terapeutiese en vaardigheidprogramme, die rol van substituut-gesinne en die eienskappe van personeel wat kan bydra om die risiko's van inrigtingsorg te verminder.

Maternal or paternal absence in one- or two-parent families, the presence of stepparents, and reasons for the disruption of the original family were analyzed in relation to the self-esteem of 501 males and females in grades 3-6 as measured by Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory. The study provided a review of the broken-home literature followed by the methodology, results, and conclusions pertinent to the investigation. A step-wise multiple regression analysis and two-way and three-way factorial analyses of variance revealed no significant differences in the self esteem levels of children from intact or disrupted families. Conclusions suggested that children from all family structures may have experienced both debilitating and nurturing environments. Recommendations supported parent training.

A research Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements toward the degree of Master of Arts in Social and Psychological Research by Coursework and Research Report, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Human and Community Development. / Current research on fatherhood in South Africa highlighted a shift in the perceptions of the fathering role entailing an increase in emotional involvement with their children. In addition, existing research on fatherhood indicated ways in which the fathers’ experience of emotional support systems influence their fathering roles, in terms of paternal involvement. This research explores young fathers’ perceptions of the importance their emotional involvement with their children. In addition, it explores young fathers’ experience of emotional support systems. This further highlight how such support influences participants’ perceptions of the importance of the father’s emotional involvement with his child. The sample for this study consisted of four young fathers between the ages of 18 to 22 years old. With the use of semistructured interviews as the method of data collection, interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. This study used a social constructionist approach as its theoretical framework. The findings of this study suggest that these young fathers perceived the importance of the father’s emotional involvement and the formation of the bond between father and child as the personal growth that they experienced. Both types of growth resulted in emotional rewards for participants. In addition, the young fathers’ constructions of a ‘good father’ and their constructed understanding of fatherhood as a form of ‘ownership’, accompanied their strong sense of duty to fulfil these roles. This involved being emotionally invested in their child’s lives. For these young fathers their emotional support systems consisted of friends, family members, the mother of their child and the mother of their child’s family. This emotional support was in the form of advice and behaviour. This behaviour consisted of their behaviour toward the fathers, such as… In addition, it also included their behaviours as role models, for example these fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives were actively learnt through the guidance of their support systems. It was found that such support assisted the transition into fatherhood and provided these young fathers with a sense of reassurance of their roles and duties, prompting their emotional involvement with their children. / NG (2020)

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the relationship of the adolescent experience of parental death to the variables of identity formation, adjustment, and coping. The inclusion of adolescents who had experienced parental divorce and those who had not experienced either loss condition allowed for group comparisons.

A research project submitted to the African Centre for Migration and Society in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Migration and Displacement March 2016 / Migration patterns in Zimbabwe and the Southern African region have historically been male led and dominated. Recently, however, there has been an increase in the participation of women in migration in search of improved work and education opportunities. This feminisation of migration has implications on normative understandings of motherhood, family and gender roles. In particular, it may necessitate renegotiation of family roles: fathers and other relatives may be tasked to take care of and nurture the children, whilst mothers find alternative ways to mother from afar, suggesting changes in mothers’ productive and reproductive roles. Against this backdrop, the study explores mothering experiences of Zimbabwean women living in Johannesburg who left their children in Zimbabwe, or who have had children in Johannesburg and then moved them to Zimbabwe. Participants’ perceptions about motherhood, the challenges they face and the ways they try to overcome them are examined. Special focus is on single mothers who are employed in the low skills labour market for two reasons: first their mothering role gains particular importance in light of the absence of the father to help with parenting. Second, given the nature of their employment, they tend to face resource constraints which do not permit full-time mothering. The study draws from literature on transnational motherhood and transnational families and in-depth semi structured interviews with eleven Zimbabwean mothers living and working in Johannesburg. Constructivist grounded theory was used to analyse the data. As a mother who travelled alone to study in Johannesburg and who has a child in Zimbabwe, I am reflective of my position throughout the research process. Findings indicate that while mothers displayed agency in their conceptualisations of motherhood in the context of migration, they nonetheless viewed the ideology of intensive motherhood, which portrays mothers as selfless and fully dedicating their time to taking care of children at home, as an ideal form of mothering. This created challenges for them as they viewed themselves as not adequately exercising their mothering role and subsequently falling short of being ‘good mothers’ despite the important role they play as significant contributors to the household income in Zimbabwe. / MT2017

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1999. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.