There is scant research concerning youth development programmes specifically from Adler's (1968) Individual Psychology perspective. Current programmes seem to be void of critical issues that are important in the local context because of their having a strong bias towards the Western perspective. Thus, the present research project sought firstly to assist the Previously Disadvantaged Youth (PDY) to develop constructive lifestyles characterised by self-mastery, encouragement, creativity and social interest. Secondly, it aimed to obtain specific local African input that would help expand the current Personal Life Planning Programme (PLPP) to one that addresses the unique needs and circumstances confronting South African PDYs today. Finally, it attempted to test the validity, scope and merit of Adler's theoretical assertion, within the context of the previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, that all humans are engaged in a lifelong striving for superiority to overcome perpetual feelings of inferiority and life tasks. The latter objectives were addressed through the implementation of the PLPP. The study, as well as the related PLPP, is strongly founded on Adler's Individual Psychology (Adler, 1968; Ansbacher & Ansbacher 1956; Corsini & Wedding, 2005; Meyer et al., 2003; Prochaska & Narcross cited in Osborn, 2001). The relevant data were collected from a sample of matriculants from the PDY population living in a black township near Pretoria. The information was collected by means of the PLPP workbook; semi structured interviews, as well as, audiovisual equipment. A combination of a "Pre-structured Case Outline" and the related "Sequential Analysis" (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 85) was adopted, with the researcher undertaking the entire data management process. In addition to confirming the applicability of Adler's theory within the PDY context, the findings suggest that the research objectives were significantly met, i.e. the participants reported and displayed marked lifestyle improvements along with specific life skills development needs related to their deprivation. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

South Africa's equity legislation demands the incorporation of persons with disabilities in the workforce. Owing to the unique challenges that these people face, they need well-developed salutogenic characteristics such as sense of coherence, self-efficacy and locus of control in order to integrate effectively into mainstream environments. The objective of the research was to explore these salutogenic constructs in the hearing-impaired adult population and to note differences between the different sub-groups within the sample (N = 63). A biographical form and combination of salutogenic questionnaires were employed to measure these constructs. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were utilised to analyse the data. The results showed statistically significant inter-group differences in all three salutogenic constructs. These differences were found for age groups, onset of deafness, deafness category, primary school attended, hearing status of spouse and parents, and level of qualification. / Industrial and Organizational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

In a study of psychological well-being, the researcher attempted to address the challenge of preventing mental illness and promoting mental health using an educational psychological perspective based on Unisa's Relations Theory. According to Relations Theory, humans are understood by the relationships they form. The intra-psychic interaction of the components of the intra-psychic structure (I/ego, self, identity and self-concept) is responsible for people's behaviour, with the essences (attachment of meaning, involvement, experience and self-actualising) and the prerequisites (the forming of relations , the life-world and climate) forming the basis of the structure. The researcher developed and administered a questionnaire on psychological well-being and conducted interviews, and on the basis of the findings reports that psychological well-being from an educational psychological perspective consists of a healthy and positive ego and self, clearly defined identities, positive thoughts and feelings, involvement in the life world, a positive and realistic self-concept and constructive self-talk, and self-realisation. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The content of this dissertation delineates the crucial and incisive role of the Holy Spirit in terms of God's grand and majestic acts of creation, that is the creation of the multiversity of universes, redemption that is the cross, the exemplar of Christ in self­ denial, reconciliation and restoration, and his resurrection, that is self-empowerment, self-renewal and self-fulfillment observed within the context of God, being human and the physical organic environment as it interacts with the human acts of personal and social responsibility observed within the context of a five dimensional approach of self-actualization, self-denial, self-empowerment, self-renewal and self-fulfillment, ingested into ones identity, internalised and witnessed as meaningful daily praxis, seen through the prism of the cross and the resurrection. A didactic method has been followed to engender insights into and conviction regarding the relevance of the subject for our present day and a hortatory method to exhort to an obedient response and to urge an appropriate action. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie ondersoek is om die verskil in effek tussen direktiewe en nie-direktiewe insette van die fasiliteerder, tydens sensitiwiteitopleiding, te bepaal deur sommige kliente voor te berei op die ervaring deur middel van 'n uitdeelstuk en ander kliente nie voor te berei nie. Die sensitiwiteitgroepe word deurgaans op ongestruktureerde wyse hanteer en met behulp van 'n kwantitatiewe meting en verwerking met t-toetse asook 'n kwalitatiewe meting word hipoteses getoets. Die instrumente wat gebruik word is die POI, Rotter, Firo-B en 'n oopvraag-tegniek. Die resultate dui daarop dat persone wat voorberei word op die ervaring 'n groter interne lokus van kontrole openbaar. / The aim of this study is to determine the difference in effect between directive and non-directive inputs by the facilitator during sensitivity training, by preparing some clients for the experience with the aid of a handout while other clients go through the same experience unprepared. The sensitivity groups are run on an unstructured basis and effects are measured with a quantatitive measurement and calculated with t-tests as well as qualitative. measurement, thereby testing the hypotheses. The instruments that are used are the POI, Rotter, Firo-B and an open question technique. The results seem to indicate that people who are prepared for the experience show a higher internal locus of control. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Bedryfsielkunde)

The theoretical and methodological assumptions of this research imply a move away from a positivist empiricist approach with its reliance on the real, the measurable and the predictable towards an interactive and collaborative methodology situated in a constructivist and social epistemology. This thesis comprises a recursive intervention in the researching therapist's life. The author sets out on a voyage of self-research to investigate her "choreography of coexistence" (Maturana & Varela, 1987, p.248), due to curiosity about personal and professional impact. The purpose is to create a map of relational modes that in itself creates shifts: in the therapist. This invention-orientated research creates the context of the researcher and moves through processes: the writing of autobiography, detailed contextual description, the interpreting of feedback, and deconstruction. The contents that pour forth are many different narratives tracking the evolvement of the self in the original family, through further definition in new relationships and the expansion of roles in many professional systems both with clients and colleagues. " Extracts from conversations provide new perspectives and feedback about impact. Thus a continual 'provoking of voices' becomes a thesis theme that highlights the researcher's structure, organisation and interpersonal processes. An emancipatory and developmental process is documented through the researching therapist's positioning as actor, observer and then critic in relationship to the data. Patterns and themes emerge that facilitate both self- differentiation and connectedness and many new head-heart connections. This new knowledge could enable the professional's skilful and intuitive use of self. The self comes into being as it reflects itself, ·so a recursive process evolves where looking at the self operates on the products of its own operations. This is an active process, where the researching therapist constructs an experiential reality. Given the accountability that accrues from constructing such a reality, a focus on pragmatic, aesthetic and ethical criteria is incorporated. This research, like the practice of therapy, is a departure from attempts to demonstrate what is already known to modes of research that are recursive and improvisational. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Die studie handel oor die probleme wat veranderende werksomstandighede vir die werker en sy gesin veroorsaak. In 'n tydvak waar die wereld van werk dramaties verander, toon baie mense onkundigheid oor wat die veranderende wereld van werk impliseer. Hierdie veranderende wereld van werk vereis dat die werker groter verantwoordelikheid sal neem vir sy/haar eie loopbaantoekoms en -sekuriteit. 'n Loopbaan waar vaste ure, 'n vaste salaris, 'n pensioenfonds en ander byvoordele vanselfsprekend is, is in die veranderende wereld van werk nie meer die norm nie. Mense is nie voorbereid op veranderende werksomstandighede nie en ervaar verskeie probleme soos stres, 'n verswakte selfbeeld, depressie en 'n gevoel van magteloosheid. Die meeste mense wat blootgestel word aan veranderende werksomstandighede ervaar toekomsskok en hunker na die ou bedeling waar dinge seker en voorspelbaar was. Omdat persona blootgestel aan veranderende werksomstandighede nie voldoende op verandering voorberei word nie, ervaar hulle en hul gesinne probleme. Hulle probeer dikwels om so vinnig moontlik van die pyn en angstigheid wat met die verandering gepaard gaan, te ontsnap en neem daarom dikwels ondeurdagte besluite en voortydige aksies. Dit het dikwels mislukking tot gevolg wat verreikende ekonomiese en psigologiese implikasies mag inhou. Die begeleidingsprogram vir die studie is daarom ontwerp met die doel om aan gesinne wat blootgestel word aan veranderende werksomstandighede die nodige insig in die veranderende wereld van werk te gee, en om aan hulle die nodige vaardighede te gee om die probleme wat veranderinge meebring, te kan hanteer. Die persone en hulle gesinne word bemagtig deurdat aan hulle die begrip "portefeulje -werk" met die uitgangspunt dat almal altyd oor sekere bemarkbare vaardighede beskik, en daarom tegnies nooit werkloos hoef te wees nie, bekendgestel word. Daar word gepoog dat hulle hierdie konsep sal internaliseer en dat hulle daarom 'n paradigmaskuif sal maak sodat hulle meer op hulself en hulle eie vaardighede aangewese is as op eksterne faktore in die wereld van werk. Uit die terugvoergesprekke met die proefpersone aan die begin van die groepsessies en die vraelyste wat hulle voltooi het, blyk dit dat hulle gebaat het by die bywoning van die groepsessies. / This study deals with the problems experienced by a person and his/her family when faced with changing work circumstances. In a time where the world of work is undergoing dramatic changes, many people lack knowledge about the implications of the changing world of work. This changing world of work requires that the worker will take greater responsibility for his own career future and career security. A career where fixed work hours, a fixed salary, a pension fund and other benefits are a given, is no longer the norm in the changing world of work. People are not prepared to deal with changing work circumstances. They experience a variety of problems like stress, a poor self image and depression. Most people who are facing changing work circumstances experience future shock and long for the old times when things were certain and predictable. Persons and their families who are facing changing work circumstances are not sufficiently prepared for the changes. They often try to escape the pain and anxiety which accompany the changes by making quick decisions and by taking premature actions. This often leads to failure and has serious economic and psychological implications. The counselling programme for this study is thus designed with the purpose to give the families who are faced with changing work circumstances the necessary insight in the changing world of work, and to equip them with the necessary skills to deal with the problems which accompany the changes. The persons and their families are also empowered by introducing them to the concept "portfolio work". The implications of portfolio work is that people always have some marketable skills, and by marketing themselves and their skills they should technically never be unemployed. It is attempted to help the participants to internalise these concepts in order to make a paradigm shift so that they will be more self reliant and less dependent on employers in the world of work. From feedback with participants in the investigation at the beginning of the group sessions, and the questionnaires they completed, it seems that they have benefited from attending the group sessions. / Psychology of Education / Ph. D. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions street children have about the most important referents in their life worlds and to propose guidelines to their helpers on the most appropriate intervention. The street children's perceptions of their families, schools, society, peers and themselves were examined through a literature study on the phenomenon of street children and their intervention and, an empirical study consisting of a questionnaire survey and case studies. It was found that the street children generally perceived themselves and these referents negatively, which can be related to experiences of severe physical, emotional and social deprivation. These perceptions influence their involvement with all referents in their lives negatively, as their main tendencies in response to problematic situations are flight, avoidance and withdrawal. Guidelines given to their schools, social-and care-workers, and educational psychologists focused on inter- and intra-personal areas of development. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counseling)

D.Litt. et Phil. / This research focuses on self-concept improvement for adults. A self-image enhancement programme has been developed and its impact tested with regard to shortand medium term developments. Various training approaches have been compared to establish whether massed or spaced sessions training is more effective, and whether individual follow-up after the programme is of advantage. Self-image enhancement is seen as central to a person's functioning and psychological well-being. Self-management and the improvement of the self have taken an important role in today's society where a lot of emphasis is placed on personal achievement and self-actualisation. The background to the research is the question of self-enhancement versus selfconsistency. The self-enhancement thinking promotes the possibility for adult change, while the consistency theories emphasise resistance to change. While an integrated view that places self-image change within the frame of a stable personality becomes necessary, this research aims at establishing the positive changes expected to take place after the self-image enhancement programme. The theories and therapy approaches underlying the design of the self-image enhancement programme include rational-emotive therapy, self-efficacy theory, locus of control theory, and the concept of learned helplessness and learned optimism. The main and subhypotheses were formulated regarding the improvement of the following variables: Total self-concept, physical and personal self, acceptance of others, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-control, nervousness, sociability, formal relations, and self-efficacy. Self-criticism and external locus of control were expected to decrease. The subjects that made up the sample were drawn from companies in Johannesburg and consisted of 133 participants. They were tested before the intervention started, at the end of the course, and again five months later. The self-image enhancement programme was administered to groups of 10 to 12 people. The measurement instruments included the short version of the MMPI, used as the screening device, Vrey's Adolescent Self-Concept Scale, Acceptance of Others Scale, the PHSF Questionnaire, Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, and a self efficacy scale. The latter measurement instrument had to be adjusted from another selfefficacy questionnaire and an item analysis was completed. The statistical results show that the self-image enhancement programme is effective in achieving improvement of most of the self-concept variables for all experimental groups taken together. The achieved change was maintained over the medium term except for the self-efficacy and self-control variables. The variables that remained unchanged were acceptance of others, sociability and formal relations, although, based on the literature, an improved self-image is expected to occur with an improved acceptance of others. More research is required regarding interpersonal aspects and self-image enhancement. Regarding the effectiveness of various types of training groups, previous research has not been conclusive. It has also not been established through this study that massed training sessions differ in their effectiveness from spaced sessions, but further research is indicated. The same applies to the role of individual feedback sessions after a training programme. An encouraging finding has been that the self-image enhancement programme is also helping individuals with psychological problems to better their self-image and self- perceptions. This has been shown through the improved results of the MIN PI rejected group and relates to the subhypotheses formulated for this research. This research has confirmed that self-concept improvement during adulthood can be achieved and should in fact be seen as part of ongoing self-development and selfmanagement.

This research aimed to qualititavely identify any new dimensions of job satsfaction , gender differences among black middle level managers as well as the impact of afrocentric values. Content and process theories provided the theoretical framework in the identification of determinants of job satsfaction. Semi-structured interviews were administered to eight employees in the educational and finacial sector. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data. The results indicated that no 'new' dimensions of job satisfaction were identified in the selected sample. Behaviour, perceptions and actions, however, manifested against the background of the South African political and socio-economic history, as well as highlighting the process of acculturation. Findings referred to the importance of social needs against the background of ubuntu. The role of the supervisor and the necessity of open communication in the workplace were emphasised. Language issues were highlighted as significant in the perception of exclusion in the workplace. The need for recognition of qualifications and skills against the background of affirmitive action policies was clear. Participants suggested the significance of personal development as manifested in their need for self-actualisation and self-efficacy. Gender differences were prevalent in all determinants of job satisfaction bar recognition of qualifications in the work environment. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)