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This thesis was designed to study the difference in attraction of a highly competent person and an average person as well as the effects when a social blunder or a task blunder is committed by these persons.

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Cancer is often considered more frightening than other equally lethal diseases. There is a mythology surrounding cancer, with many superstitious beliefs. Cancer is associated with prolonged suffering, with wasting away, and with a slow lingering death. Cancer includes multiple physical needs, intense psychological distress manifested by pain, anxiety and depression and restrictions in social and sexual functioning for both the cancer patient and the relative. Cancer can increasingly be characterised as a chronic disease with considerable, continuing and fluctuating specific needs and problems for patients as well as their families. There is an obvious need for research on the family’s experience, essential to gain a better understanding of their emotions and needs. Most research has been performed among family members of the frail elderly or cognitively impaired patients. Research focusing exclusively on the caregiving process involving cancer patients and their families is scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe family members’ experiences, and their specific needs in relation to the relative with cancer. The research design was based on qualitative research because of its exploratory, descriptive and contextual nature. The collection of the data was done by means of individual interviews and field notes reflecting the observation done during the interviews. The analysis of the data was done according to Tesch’s approach of data reduction. Literature was used to compare and complement the results. Applying Guba’s model on trustworthiness ensured the trustworthiness of the research. The results of the fieldwork indicated the following themes and categories: • Emotional experiences of the family members of a cancer patient • Uncertainty about how to relate to and care for the cancer patient. • Variety of emotions stemming from their experience with a cancer patient. • Family members express their specific needs. • Need to understand the nature and implications of the patient’s cancer. • Need to understand the impact on the family dynamics. • Need to gain insight into their personal relationships with the cancer patient. Based on these findings, guidelines were presented for the development of a psycho-educational programme to assist family members of cancer patients. / Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh

This study was designed to explore the acceptability of social, business, and romantic relationships in counselor-client, professor-student, and supervisor-supervisee relationships. In addition, the study sought to determine whether professors and doctoral students in CACREP-accredited counseling programs responded differently to ethical boundary issues, and whether the differences in relationships between professor-student, supervisor-supervisee, or counselor-client influenced their responses. The study examined and compared the responses of participants to boundary issues on three different surveys. The results of the study revealed that personal relationships between counselors and clients were perceived to be less acceptable than relationships between professors and students and supervisors and supervisees. Personal relationships between professors and students were perceived acceptable at the same level as relationships between supervisors and supervisees with relationships between counselors and clients perceived as least acceptable. This research study revealed a significant difference between perceptions of participants regarding the social, business, and romantic relationships. Participants perceived the social relationships to be most acceptable, the business relationships to be more acceptable at a moderate level, and the romantic relationships to be least acceptable. Counselor educators and counseling doctoral students agreed regarding personal relationships in counseling in all but one of the six areas that were studied. A significant difference was found between counselor educators and counseling doctoral students in relation to the perceptions of personal social relationships. Counselor educators perceived personal social relationships between counselors and clients, professors and students, and supervisors and supervisees to be more acceptable than did counseling doctoral students. This study found that, among counselor educators, as their ages increased, their mean score on the Counselor-Client Survey increased. This suggests that as the counselor educators' age increased, their perceptions that counselor-client personal relationships were acceptable increased as well. In addition, older counselor educators perceived romantic relationships to be more acceptable between counselors and clients, professors and students, and supervisors and supervisees. This study provided information regarding the perceptions counselor educators and counseling doctoral students hold regarding the acceptability of persona l relationships in counselor-client, professor-student, and supervisor-supervisee relationships. Additional research is needed to determine where the limits should be set for personal relationships (social, business, and romantic) between counselors and clients, professors and students, and supervisors and supervisees.

Notwithstanding relationships with parents and primary caregivers the relationship a person has with a sibling is likely to be his first important autonomous relationship with another person. Siblings have the same parents and families, and they often share homes and life experiences. Relationships with siblings are frequently a person’s longest lasting relationship. However, these relationships are often complex and diverse in nature and there is no cohesive theoretical explanation for the role that these relationships play in a person’s life. Therefore this study explored how a group of preadolescent boys perceive and explain their sibling relationships. The data for this exploratory qualitative study was obtained by interviewing the group of boys, and investigated how these boys make sense of their relationships. Four main themes emerged: the role of hierarchy within their relationships, the impact having a brother or a sister has on their relationships, how the boys understand conflict and competition, and finally how they comprehend closeness and separateness within their sibling relationships. The findings highlight the complexity of these relationships and also provide interesting insight into how the boys make sense of this complexity. Most of the boys said they preferred having siblings even if they reported having difficult relationships with their siblings. On the whole the boys felt that these relationships are very important for them, in spite of them reporting that their siblings are often challenging and problematic. The findings suggest that in this small sample, sibling relationships are central for boys in their negotiation of social interactions with people who are not their parents and/or adults.