The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to prosocial behaviour in maltreated adolescent females living in a children’s home in the Tshwane-metropole, Gauteng, South Africa. The age of the participants varied between 14 and 18 years. The study was approved by the Internal Research Panel and Faculty Board of the North-West University. Approval was also obtained from the children's home where the study was conducted. The researcher worked from a positive psychology paradigm which guided the researcher to focus on the participants' strengths and positive aspects which contributed to their display of prosocial behaviour. A literature study was conducted to provide the researcher with a clearer understanding of the meaning of the research problem. The literature study focused on the development of prosocial behaviour and adolescent development within the context of child maltreatment. The researcher utilised a qualitative research approach, which enabled her to describe and understand the participants' behaviour. As methodology, the researcher utilised an intrinsic case study design and participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Data collection relied on two semi-structured interviews per participant which provided the opportunity for participants to share their thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Thematic data analysis was performed, using Creswell’s spiral of data analysis. During data analysis, regarding the factors surrounding the prosocial behaviour of maltreated adolescent females living in residential care, two main contributing themes were identified, namely: * Internal factors * External factors Internal factors illuminate the importance of (1) a moral identity that guides behaviour according to internalised moral values; (2) an internal locus of control which attests to the participants’ view of themselves as active role-players and not mere victims of circumstances, and (3) cognitive skills demonstrated in the capacity to engage in critical thinking. External factors emphasise the importance of (1) attachment figures and positive role-models that model moral values and (2) a supportive, nurturing environment. Internal and external factors do not operate in isolation, but there is rather a definite interplay between these factors, such as attachment figures in the environment (external factor) who model moral values which the child incorporates into her identity in the attainment of a moral identity (internal factor). Strategies to broaden support networks for children should receive attention within the child welfare context, as they could, among other factors, promote positive outcomes for youth in residential care. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to prosocial behaviour in maltreated adolescent females living in a children’s home in the Tshwane-metropole, Gauteng, South Africa. The age of the participants varied between 14 and 18 years. The study was approved by the Internal Research Panel and Faculty Board of the North-West University. Approval was also obtained from the children's home where the study was conducted. The researcher worked from a positive psychology paradigm which guided the researcher to focus on the participants' strengths and positive aspects which contributed to their display of prosocial behaviour. A literature study was conducted to provide the researcher with a clearer understanding of the meaning of the research problem. The literature study focused on the development of prosocial behaviour and adolescent development within the context of child maltreatment. The researcher utilised a qualitative research approach, which enabled her to describe and understand the participants' behaviour. As methodology, the researcher utilised an intrinsic case study design and participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Data collection relied on two semi-structured interviews per participant which provided the opportunity for participants to share their thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Thematic data analysis was performed, using Creswell’s spiral of data analysis. During data analysis, regarding the factors surrounding the prosocial behaviour of maltreated adolescent females living in residential care, two main contributing themes were identified, namely: * Internal factors * External factors Internal factors illuminate the importance of (1) a moral identity that guides behaviour according to internalised moral values; (2) an internal locus of control which attests to the participants’ view of themselves as active role-players and not mere victims of circumstances, and (3) cognitive skills demonstrated in the capacity to engage in critical thinking. External factors emphasise the importance of (1) attachment figures and positive role-models that model moral values and (2) a supportive, nurturing environment. Internal and external factors do not operate in isolation, but there is rather a definite interplay between these factors, such as attachment figures in the environment (external factor) who model moral values which the child incorporates into her identity in the attainment of a moral identity (internal factor). Strategies to broaden support networks for children should receive attention within the child welfare context, as they could, among other factors, promote positive outcomes for youth in residential care. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Under de senaste åren har ett ökande antal ensamkommande barn kommit till Sverige för att söka asyl. Majoriteten av barnen blir placerade på hem för vård eller boende (HVB). Denna kvalitativa studie syftar till att få en djupare förståelse för hur arbetet på tre HVB-hem i en medelstor kommun kan se ut och vara organiserat. Data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex anställda vid HVB-hem; tre sektionschefer och tre personal. Organisationskultur har använts som huvudsakligt analysinstrument med organisationsstruktur som komplement. Resultatet visar att fyra organisatoriska faktorer som är viktiga för personal i arbetet med ensamkommande barn är enhet, meningsfullhet, struktur och flexibilitet samt kompetens. Dessa faktorer kan ses som viktiga i arbetet med att utveckla verksamheterna. En välorganiserad verksamhet kan bättre leda till den stabilitet som de ensamkommande barnen behöver. / During the past years, an increasing amount of unaccompanied children have come to Sweden to apply for asylum. The majority are placed in residential care units. This qualitative study aims to get a deeper understanding of how the work in three residential care units in a medium-large municipality can look and be organized. Data has been collected through interviews with six employees at residential care units; three executives and three staff members. Organizational culture has been used as the main analysis instrument with organizational structure as complement. The findings show that four organizational factors that are important for staff when working with unaccompanied children are unity, meaningfulness, structure and flexibility, and competence. These factors can be viewed as important in developing the establishments. A well-organized establishment is superior in the way that it can lead to the stability that the unaccompanied children need.

An exploration of the interpersonal experiences of loneliness by older people in a residential care facility It is estimated that there were about 3, 8 million older people in South Africa in 2010 (Statistics South Africa, 2010). Many older people have to be cared for in residential care facilities due to their weakening health, the migration of children and grandchildren, or due to limited financial resources. This has led to the attempt in this research study to explore the interpersonal experiences of loneliness by older people living in a residential care facility. Loneliness is an unpleasant experience associated with inadequate interpersonal contact. It is widely accepted that loneliness is closely associated with ageing as a consequence of multiple losses – loss of abilities, loss of and changes in personal relationships, loss of relationships with familiar environments and changed contact with friends and relatives resulting in reduced relationships. Changes in the relationship with the environment are regarded as a particular loss by older people, especially if they have to rely on institutionalized care and loose contact with familiar social networks and the free association with other people. Lonely people are isolated people. For the purpose of this study, loneliness is regarded as a relational phenomenon, and the theory of complex responsive processes of relating will be used as the theoretical framework for this study. In an attempt to understand the interpersonal experiences associated with loneliness, a qualitative and exploratory research method was used. The research was conducted in a residential care facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. The group of older people, who was purposively selected for the study, consisted of 10 older persons: 7 female and 3 male and with ages ranging between 62 and 82 years of age. The data was collected by means of various qualitative techniques, including the Mmogo-methodTM and visual drawings. The collected data was analysed by using thematic analysis, visual analysis and key-words-in-context, and crystallization was used to increase the trustworthiness of the findings. Ethical approval for the research project was obtained from the North-West University. Two themes emerged from the findings, being: 1) Relationships are experienced in terms of the interactions in relationships as well as in terms of preferred interpersonal styles; and 2) The relationships experienced in the context of the residential care facility are described as being unsafe and lacking in care, while the environment is described as non-stimulating. Some of the findings are confirmed by existing literature. However, the unique contribution of the study is the finding that the environment in which the relationships are embedded is perceived to be dangerous, and that it is perceived to be a risk to become visible to each other in order to establish meaningful interpersonal relationships. Several suggestions regarding future interventions are made and some limitations of the study are mentioned. The contribution of the study is that loneliness are expressed and described in terms of interpersonal relationships embedded in the broader environment. Thus, the potential of older people to form meaningful interpersonal relationships are limited in the broader environment if the environment is experienced as unsafe and lacking in care. / Thesis (MSc (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

In Jordan, residential care institutions (RCIs) for children in conflict with the law are identified as various specialised state institutions which constitute a state formal response to youth crime, and specialise in taking care of children. This thesis examines the objectives of RCIs’ programmes for children in conflict with the law in Jordan, as they attempt to reduce offending by convicted children, and whether these objectives meet children’s needs, according to the view and experiences of children themselves (12-17 years). This study is based on qualitative methods, using data from individual and focus group interviews with institutional staff, and participant observation and individual interviews with children. Exploring the divergent claims made within childhood and youth crime theoretical perspectives, this thesis develops a nuanced understanding of institutions’ crime-reduction programmes by drawing upon key theoretical concepts from these frameworks: children as ‘socially becoming’ and ‘social beings’. RCIs provide four rehabilitative programmes to help reduce children’s problematic and offending behaviour; namely, a family guidance programme (FGP), a poverty reduction programme (PRP), an educational programme (EP) and a child behaviour modification programme (CBMP). To a large extent, these programmes tended to provide polices of crime prevention which focus on re-socialising children according to the normative and cultural system of behaviour in which children were generally perceived as incompetent social actors, and where their best interest was not always acknowledged. To a large extent, children’s own perspectives and experiences of institutional rehabilitative programmes revealed the institutional failure to treat their familial, economical, educational and behavioural problems. Overall, children thought such failure happened either because the institutional aims were not actually implemented, or because the methods of delivering the institutional programmes per se were ineffective. This finding reflects a contradictory picture between the RCIs’ objectives and their actual practices, reflecting the institutional departure from a set of theoretical ideas regarding the prevention of youth crime. Focus group discussion with key informant staff referred to a variety of obstacles that contribute to their inability to address children’s wider needs within the existing institutional aims. Parental refusal to participate in child abuse and supervisory neglect interventional sessions, short-term intervention for chronically abused children and institutional reliance on talking methods in promoting parental supervision over children’s behaviour were all issues hindering effective institutional intervention within the familial environment. The institutional failure to meet children’s educational and career training needs occurred because these programmes are scheduled at the same time. The seriousness of some children’s crimes and the inability of some families to accompany their children to school were other issues preventing children from attending school. The lack of staff motivation, along with staff’s interrelated roles, prevented child monitoring staff from fully carrying out the intended intervention of modifying children’s negative behaviours. Ultimately, the findings from this study indicate the inconsistency between RCIs’ principles of rehabilitating children in conflict with the law and their actual practices, including the lack of policies in place to meet the institutional objectives. This in turn meant that RCIs do not actually operate to rehabilitate children in order to reduce reoffending, but are largely punitive and operate to criminalise children and separate them from society.

Este trabalho, fundamentando-se no referencial psicanalítico, estuda o fenômeno transferencial a partir dos discursos de médicos que trabalham em um hospital e pronto-socorro públicos, na cidade de Porto Velho, Rondônia. Os sujeitos são dez médicos, de ambos os sexos, distribuídos entre sete especialidades, incluindo recém-formados e profissionais com mais de 40 anos de exercício da medicina. Foram realizadas duas entrevistas com cada sujeito e suas falas são apresentadas e analisadas a partir de fragmentos discursivos, extraídos do material obtido das transcrições. A análise dos enunciados discursivos teve por objetivo compreender como as manifestações transferenciais são percebidas pelos médicos. Por intermédio desses enunciados foi possível detectar que, embora os sujeitos falem a partir de uma posição de autoridade, em função do lugar que ocupam na rede institucional, seus discursos foram marcados também pelo medo, solidão e impotência frente às agruras do exercício médico. Tal posição de autoridade se revelou paradoxal, pois, ao mesmo tempo em que lhes oferece um status de figura admirada e imprescindível para a sociedade, também faz deles depositários de um imaginário de onipotência, levando-os a se defrontarem com situações difíceis de serem manuseadas, principalmente àquelas que partem das expectativas oriundas da clientela. Existe a consciência de que o fenômeno transferencial faz parte da relação com o paciente, como também o entendimento de que, em certos momentos, essas manifestações possuem um vínculo direto com o adoecer e com a reabilitação. Entretanto, os discursos apontaram para o despreparo dos entrevistados em lidar com tais investimentos, assim como com a ressonância dos mesmos sobre si próprios. / This work, based on the psychoanalytical reference, studies the transference from the speech of doctors who work in hospitals and public first-aid clinics in Porto Velho city: Rondônia state. They are ten doctors (both male and female ones), men and women distributed among seven specialities, including both just graduated ones and doctors who have been working for over 40 years in these areas. Two interviews with each doctor were made and their speeches are shown and analysed from discursive fragments on, taken from the material obtained by the transcriptions. The analysis of the discursive propositions aimed to realize how the manifestation of the transference are noticed by the doctors. Based on these propositions, it was possible to realise that, though the people speak in a position of authority, in function of the “where" they are in the institutional system, their speeches were also determined by fear, loneliness and impotence, face the displeasures of the medical duty. This position of authority was revealed as paradoxical, whereas it offers them the status of and admired figure and vital for the society and, at the same time, makes them consigners of an illusory of omnipotence, taking them to face some situations which are difficult to be handled, from the expectations derived from the clients. There is not just the sense of duty that the transference is part of the relationship with the patient, as the comprehension that, sometimes, these manifestations are closely linked to the “getting ill" and “getting better". However, the speeches lead to the disqualification of the doctors at dealing such cathexis, as well as the inner response of theirs over themselves.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie har varit att undersöka vilken betydelse humor tillskrivs av professionella i behandlingsarbete med ungdomar, vilken betydelse humor beskrivs ha i att skapa meningsfulla relationer med ungdomarna samt vilken betydelse humor upplevs ha för de professionellas egna samarbete. Studiens empiri är baserad på två fokusgruppsintervjuer om fyra deltagare vardera samt två enskilda semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Sammantaget har 10 informanter från fyra verksamheter deltagit i studien. Studiens vetenskapsteoretiska perspektiv är socialkonstruktivism. Studiens empiri har primärt förståtts genom Erving Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv och begreppen “Roll” samt “Ram”, Michel Foucaults diskursperspektiv och begreppet “Biomakt”. Som komplement har även begreppet “Att göra kön” Från Candace West och Don Zimmerman använts. Det empiriska materialet har bearbetats med en tematisk analys där fyra huvudsakliga teman identifierats: “Professionalitet och humor”, “Kommunikation och humor”, “Relation och humor” samt “Kultur, klimat och humor”. Dessa teman utgör grunden för studiens analys- och resultatdel, och blir på så vis också det som tolkas för att besvara studiens frågeställningar. Den tolkning vi gjort av studiens material visar att humor beskrivs som en ständigt närvarande faktor i arbetet med ungdomarna, samt även inom personalgruppen där den uppges fungera som en coping-strategi. Humor återges av de professionella som en funktion som kan fungera avväpnande i spända situationer, exempelvis kan den ge en mänsklig aspekt i det första mötet med institutionen. Det som främst belystes i materialet var att humorns främsta egenskap var att verka relationsskapande. Vidare redogjordes för att humor var något som främst “bara finns” i sammanhanget, men att ett korrekt användande av humor är en stor del av den professionella rollen. Återkommande i studien betonades att ett korrekt användande var svårt att formulera, då användandet i sig är väldigt kontextbundet och att en stor del “fingertoppskänsla” är av yttersta vikt. / The purpose of this qualitative study has been to investigate the how the importance of humour is described by professional social workers in residential care. Additionally, the significance humour is given in creating meaningful relationships with adolescents as well as its importance for the professionals own cooperation has been investigated. The empirical material from this study is based on two focus group-interviews consisting of four participants each and two semi-structured interviews with one professional each. A total of ten informants from four different institutions were interviewed for this study. The theoretical perspective of the study is social constructivism.The studies empirical material have foremost been understood through Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective including his theoretical concepts of “Role” and “Frame”, and Michel Foucault’s discourse perspective and the concept “Biopower”. The concept “Doing gender” from Candace West and Don Zimmerman was also used as a complementary perspective in the analysis. The empirical material of the study has been processed with a thematic analysis in which four main themes were developed. “Professionalism and humour”, “Communication”, “Relation and humour” and “Culture, climate and humour”. These themes made the foundation of the analysis- and results chapter of the study, and was therefore also what was interpreted to answer the question formulation of the study. The interpretation made out of the empirical material of the study show that humour is a constantly present factor in the work with the adolescents as well as with the professionals themselves where humour worked as a coping-strategy. Humour has a disarming feature in tense situations, and can for example give a human touch in the first meeting with the institution. What was mostly highlighted in the material was that the primary characteristic of humour was its function to aid people in forming relationships. Furthermore humour was described merely as something that’s “just there” in the context, but that a proper usage of humour played a major role in what it meant to be a professional. Recurrent in the study was how the professionals emphasized that a proper usage of humour was difficult to formulate since the usage in itself was described as very contextual and that a great deal of sensitivity is of utmost importance.

Vår studie undersöker tolkens betydelse i kommunikationen mellan handledare på HVB och ensamkommande flyktingbarn. Vi fokuserade främst på möjligheter och brister som finns i tolkning idag, men även för att kunna förbättra handledarnas arbetssätt med barnen.  Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie där vi har intervjuat fyra tolkar och fyra handledare på HVB. För att analysera vårt resultat har vi använt oss av tre kommunikationsmodeller och Habermas teori om det kommunikativa handlandet. Modellerna har använts för att förklara specifika tolkningssituationer mellan barnen och handledare, och Habermas teori har vi använt för att förklara tolkningen utifrån samhället. I studien framkommer det att tolkningen ger goda möjligheter för att skapa en kommunikation mellan två individer. De största bristerna är att det saknas tolkar i vissa språk och att det blir fel i dialekter. Många av handledarna menar att tolkarnas kompetens är bristfällig och att tolkarna behöver vidareutbilda sig. Det framkommer även att många upplever att det är en fördel om tolken har kunskap om kultur och samhällen för att kunna överbrygga mellan barn och handledare. I tolkningen förekommer sällan känslomässiga samtal och att det är individuellt om barnet vill visa sina känslor vilket beror på vilket förtroende de har till tolk och handledare. Det finns mycket att förbättra inom tolkningen och det saknas riktlinjer kring hur man ska genomföra tolkning. / Our study investigates the interpreter´s significance in the communication between assistants at residential care homes and unaccompanied refugeechildren. We had our focus mainly on the possibilities and the deficiencies that are in interpreting today, but also to improve the assistants’ way of working with the children. We have implemented a qualitative study where we have interviewed four interpreters and four assistants at residential care homes. To analyze our results we have used three communication models and Habermas´ theory of communicative action. The models were used for explaining specific situations with interpreters between assistants and children, and we used Habermas´ theory to explain interpreting by society. The study reveals that interpreting gives good possibilities to create a communication between two individuals. The largest deficiencies are that there is a lack of interpreters in some languages and there occurs flaws in dialects. A lot of the assistants say that the competences of the interpreters are deficient and that the interpreters need more education. The study also reveals that many of the interviewed experiences that it is an advantage if the interpreter has knowledge about culture and communities to create a bridge between children and assistants. In interpreting, emotional conversations rarely presents and it is individual if the child wants to show its feelings and it depends on the trust they have to the interpreter and assistant. There are a lot of improvements needed and there is a lack of guidelines to how assistants should implement interpreting.

This thesis is based on four articles. In the first article, questionnaire data from a follow-upstudy (Article I) that aimed to explore social support, coping and resilience as predictors ofmental health in unwed young pregnant women and young mothers during placement in ashelter home were analysed. Nine shelter homes were invited to participate in the study (n ofpre-assessment = 250; n of post-assessment = 79). Percentages, paired sample t-tests, multipleanalyses of variance (MANOVA), and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse thedata. There were no significant changes in social support, coping or resilience between thepre- and post-assessment. The variability in the mental health scores from the follow-upassessment could be explained by the variability in coping, social support and resilience forbetween 14% of the variance in the BDI score and 36% in the GHQ sum-score. However,about 32% of the unwed young pregnant women and young mothers had a BDI score above26 suggesting the occurrence of a depressive disorder at the second assessment. Thequalitative part of the study (Articles II and III) attempted to investigate the reactions receivedfrom their significant others, and how these reactions influenced their pregnancy experience.Furthermore, their daily life experience during their placement in a shelter home is described.Seventeen unwed young pregnant women and young mothers aged from 12 to 18 wereinterviewed. Qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis were used to analyse thetranscriptions of the interviews. Significant others were often perceived as reacting to theunwed young pregnant women and young mothers with secrecy, repression and rejection. Theresponse of the unwed young pregnant women and young mothers to the significant others inrespect of their pregnancy was to feel detached, trapped, unworthy and ambiguous. Theresults of the thematic analysis (Article III) led to three themes: rules and regulations, therelationship with the staff, and the relationship with the other girls in the shelter home. Theresults indicated that the participating shelter homes were often not fulfilling the standards ofshelter homes according to the Malaysian national laws and the United Nations Conventionon the Rights of the Child. In addition, a mixed methods approach (Article IV) was applied toinvestigate the associations between the experiences of the unwed young pregnant women andyoung mothers in the shelter home and their social support, coping, resilience, and mentalhealth. Because of the nominal data, the findings from the qualitative analyses were quantifiedand jointly analysed with the questionnaire data using Spearman Rank coefficient. The analyses were done based on the interviews and survey with 17 unwed young pregnantwomen and young mothers aged 12 to 18 years. The mixed methods study emphasized thatthe unwed young pregnant women and young mothers have poor availability and adequacy ofsocial support and were at risk of developing mental health problems if untreated.

The purpose of this essay was to examine and compare what attitudes Swedish and Belgian social workers may have towards residential care and foster care for children and young people. To answer the purpose eight qualitative interviews with four Swedish and four Belgian social workers were made. The results were analyzed by theory of organization and professional acting space. The results of the study show that the social workers in both countries preferred foster care, especially for small children, and that the Swedish social workers had a more negative attitude towards residential care than the Belgian social workers. Even though the Belgian social workers preferred foster care, they found themselves forced to choose residential care due to lack of available foster care facilities, something that did not seem to affect the Swedish social workers. Factors that affected the Swedish and the Belgian social workers professional acting space were the consent from parents, discussing with colleagues and specialization of interventions.