This study has assessed the self-help group approach and its contribution to women empowerment in the Debremarkos district of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. SHG is an approach that strives to empower poor women through organising them in groups to solve their problem through mutual help. This study employed a mixed method using both the qualitative and quantitative techniques. The findings suggest that the SHG approach has brought social and economic empowerment for the poor women in Debremarkos district who participated in SHG. The findings suggest that the selfhelp approach is important, particularly by creating access for the poor to financial resources with low interest rates, which is a key for the success of the businesses of the poor. The SHG approach has also significant contribution for social empowerment by building the confidence of women and facilitating their participation in their community. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Background and goals: This thesis explores the experience of rehabilitaion following myocardial infarction (MI) from the perspective of people who did not attend either a cardiac rehabilitation programme (CR) or a CHD 'self-help' group and their ‘significant others’. These resources are intended to support post-MI rehabilitation and readjustment and research identifies various benefits, yet many people do not use them. Given the scale of the population affected by CHD, the issues of why people do not use the resources, their experience and that of their family members, and the kinds of support people need and want, are of public health importance. These issues formed my investigative goals. Methods: The study used a qualitative methodology, informed by ‘grounded theory’. A screening questionnaire identified non-participants from the post-MI population in Lothian, from which a sample of ‘maximum diversity’ was selected. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-seven post-MI people and seventeen ‘significant others’. The analysis combined identifying emergent themes and searching the data for key issues relating to study objectives. Findings: Additional to the barrier of non-invitation, a spectrum of factors relating to people’s ‘lifeworld’ circumstances, beliefs, and identity could either encourage or discourage participation. Factors were highly similar for both resources. Reasons for, and the process of non-participation could be grouped into three categories: “No need / no point”, “Not worth it”, or “Not possible”. These were based on the way the factors that influenced individuals related to three key issues. Shifts between categories were also possible. A link between non-participation and a range of rehabilitation difficulties among post-MI people and family members is also demonstrated. Conclusions and implications: The study addresses a gap in understanding post-MI non-participation and its significance, providing insight into the process by which CR and CHD Group nonuse occurs and the impacts for people who have had MI and family members. Recommendations are made, identifying realistic ways rehabilitation support might be improved, barriers and opportunities, and areas for further investigation.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

This thesis is an ethnography of the phenomenon of self-help. It begins by noting a problematic at the centre of the topic: the term self-help connotes, on the one hand, an autonomous agent ("self'), and on the other, a reliance on other agents ("help"). More substantively, the term attaches itself to two opposing ideological positions, individualism and collectivism. This strange splitting of the term is reproduced in a contemporary context, where we see the genre of self-help books, which is built around the highly individualistic activity of reading as a quest for self-help, and self-help groups, which are built around the collective, co-presence of members as they mutually help one another. But the phenomenon is engaged by separate, non-overlapping literatures that treat self-help books as having a status independent of self-help groups; one attends to self-help books, but disregards self-help groups, while the other attends to self-help groups, but disregards self-help books. Thus self-help books and self-help groups get polarized. This effectively makes the original problematic around the term itself disappear, because it' simply ignores it. This research turns this character of self-help into a topic for study. It looks at what holds the term together, that is to say, self-help books and self-help groups, when they appear to be entirely independent phenomena, and yet still share the term self-help. It is interested in the significance of the term, why it gets invoked as a description of particular activities and what that entails as a practical matter. It wants to see how self-help is performed. It identifies a hybrid of self-help books and self-help groups - a self-help workshop. This third site of self-help brings individual readers of self-help books into a context of collective, social activity. It uses this as a strategy with which to examine the relationships between self-help books and self-help groups, self and help. It undertakes a detailed empirical analysis of a corpus of self-help books, a selfhelp workshop and a range of self-help groups, drawing on textual, discursive and ethnographic modes of inquiry. It then uses this empirical work to map self-help and engage it as a wider, cultural phenomenon in the modem period.

Diferentes pessoas podem ter atitudes diferentes frente a um mesmo objeto, mas esta diversidade de posicionamento não deve ser encarada como características idiossincráticas ou estáveis, não nascem num vazio social, são fruto de interação social, de processo de comparação, identificação e diferenciação social que permite situar uma posição frente a outras em um determinado momento. A família, enquanto grupo, atravessa os tempos passando por inúmeras transformações e críticas, sem se afastar da responsabilidade e das exigências dos papéis socialmente atribuídos a ela. O transtorno mental permanece ainda obscuro, não existindo uma causa que o explique como tão estigmatizante, mas, o adoecer psíquico, é facilmente percebido, pois, os indivíduos que adoecem, apresentam comportamentos diferentes daqueles normalmente aceitos pela sociedade. Os grupos de autoajuda são homogêneos, seus participantes passam pelo mesmo sofrimento, são de apoio mútuo e educacional, a liderança vem do interior do grupo, reporta-se somente a um único evento desestruturador de vida, os membros participam voluntariamente, sem fins lucrativos, objetivam o crescimento pessoal dos integrantes e tem caráter anônimo e confidencial. Partindo-se do princípio de que as atitudes frente aos transtornos mentais e seus portadores são passíveis de serem trabalhadas e modificadas, mesmo sendo necessário um trabalho ao longo de um grande período de tempo, pois envolve aspectos formadores da personalidade, este estudo teve como objetivo mostrar as atitudes frente aos transtornos mentais de familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais que participam de grupo de autoajuda, de familiares que não participam de grupos desta natureza e estudar comparativamente as atitudes destes dois grupos. Para isso, 20 familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais, sendo 10 familiares que participam de um grupo de autoajuda e 10 familiares que nunca participaram de grupo de autoajuda, responderam a um questionário com uma parte sobre os seus dados pessoais e a outra parte com perguntas abertas sobre sua proximidade com o seu parente portador de transtorno mental e a escala de atitudes \"Opiniões Sobre os Transtornos Mentais\" (OTM). Os resultados mostraram que em ambos os grupos a faixa etária dos familiares está acima dos 50 anos, a maioria são mães, casadas, católicas, com tempo de convívio com o parente portador de transtorno mental acima de 5 anos, a esquizofrenia é o transtorno mais frequente, sendo melhor a situação econômica dos familiares participantes do grupo de autoajuda. Os resultados da OTM, analisados de forma estatística utilizando-se o teste de Mann-Whitney U mostraram uma influência positiva do grupo de autoajuda nas atitudes de familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais frente aos transtornos mentais e seus parentes portadores desses transtornos, mas essa influência mostrou-se relativa, pois, os dois grupos, revelaram ainda atitudes autoritárias, restritivas e discriminadoras, levando à conclusão de que o grupo de autoajuda é extremamente importante e uma expressiva ferramenta de apoio, mas para uma real mudança de atitudes nos aspectos considerados, são necessárias modalidades terapêuticas mais específicas e que utilizam intervenções mais focadas. / Different people may have different attitudes towards a same object, but this range of positions should not be seen as idiosyncratic or stable characteristics. They are not born in a social void, but are the fruit of social interaction, of a comparison, identification and social distinction process that permits situating one position towards others at a given time. As a group, the family evolves going through countless transformations and criticism, without distancing itself from the responsibility and requirements of the roles it is socially attributed. Mental disorder is still obscure, without a cause to explain the extent of its stigma, but psychic illness is easily perceived, as the people who get ill display behaviors different from what society normally accepts. Self-help groups are homogeneous. Their participants go through the same suffering. The groups provide mutual support and are educational. Leadership comes from within the group, which only refers to a single deconstructive event in life. Members participate voluntarily, without aiming for profit. The groups aim for their members\' personal growth and are anonymous and confidential. Departing from the principle that attitudes towards mental disorders and their patients can be addressed and modified, although demanding long-term work, as it involves personality-building aspects, this study aimed to show the attitudes towards mental disorders of family members of mental disorder patients who participate in a self-help group, of family members who do not participate in this kind of groups, and to comparatively study these two groups\' attitudes. Thus, 20 relatives of mental disorder patients, ten of whom participate in a self-help group and ten who had never participated in a self-help group, answered a questionnaire. One part referred to their personal data, while the other part contained open questions on their proximity with their relative suffering from a mental disorder, as well as the attitude scale \"Opinions on Mental Disorders\" (OMD). The results showed that, in both groups, the relatives\' age range is over 50 years, most are mothers, married, Catholic, have lived with the relative suffering from the mental disorder for more than five years, schizophrenia is the most frequent disorder and the relatives who participate in the self-help group display a better socio-economic situation. Statistical analysis of the OMD results, using Mann-Whitney\'s U-test, showed a positive influence of the self-help group on the attitudes of mental disorder patients\' relatives towards the mental disorders and their relatives suffering from these disorders. This influence revealed to be relative though, as the two groups also revealed authoritarian, restrictive and discriminatory attitudes, leading to the conclusion that the self-help group is extremely important and a meaningful support tool. To achieve an actual change in attitudes towards the aspects under analysis though, more specific therapeutic modes are needed, which use more focused interventions.

Neuróticos anônimos é uma associação formada por grupos de ajuda mútua que reúnem indivíduos que se consideram com problemas emocionais seguindo o Programa de recuperação de Alcoólicos Anônimos, adaptado às suas finalidades. Com base em pesqnisa etnográfica, incluindo a observação participante nas reuniões de três grupos localizados na cidade de São Paulo, foram caracterizadas as formas de participação, atividades dos grupos, as motivações, crenças e valores dos participantes, abordando ainda aspectos organizacionais e históricos da associação e do seu Programa. Considerando o processo de individualização em curso, esta pesquisa buscou compreender o papel desempenhado pela instituição na orientação do comportamento dos seus membros em relação às suas demandas específicas relacionadas aos problemas comuns da vida cotidiana. A partir do exame da socialização experimentada pelos participantes nos grupos, é mostrado como a participação engendra processos de identificação entre indivíduos que passam por problemas semelhantes, requerendo de cada um o envolvimento ativo e a motivação subjetiva - a formulação de um projeto para si e com outros por meio da construção autônoma de uma narrativa de vida para si mesmos. Afirma-se que o papel das instituições para os indivíduos se transformou, não mais determinando os rumos pelo qual eles devem traçar os seus destinos ao longo da vida, nem servindo para orientá-los completamente quanto aos inúmeros problemas que se colocam para eles na vida cotidiana. Isto é, os indivíduos selecionam uma dentre tantas outras instituições existentes, das quais participam e pelas quais são socializados ao longo da vida, para resolverem determinados tipos de problemas e não outros. / Neurotics Anonymous is an association formed by self-help groups bringing together individuais who consider themselves with emotional disturbances by following the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery Program adapted to your purposes. Based on ethnographic research, including participant observation conducted at the meetings of three groups located in the city of São Paulo, it was characterized forms of participation, the activities of groups, motivations, beliefs and values of the participants, also considering organizational and historical aspects of the association and its Program. Considering the ongoing process of individuation, this research sought to understand the role played by the institution in guiding the behavior of its members in relation to their specific demands related to common problems of everyday life. From the examination of socialization experienced by group participants, it is shown as the participation engenders processes of identification between individuais who go through similar problems, requiring each one the active involvement and subjective motivation - the formulation of a project for themselves and others through autonomous construction of a life narrative for themselves. It is argued that the role of institutions for individuais changed, not determining the direction in which they should draw their destinations throughout life, not serving to guide them completely as the many problems that arise for them in everyday life. That is, individuais select one among many others existing institutions, which they participate and for which they are socialized lifelong, to solve certain types of problems and not others.

Diferentes pessoas podem ter atitudes diferentes frente a um mesmo objeto, mas esta diversidade de posicionamento não deve ser encarada como características idiossincráticas ou estáveis, não nascem num vazio social, são fruto de interação social, de processo de comparação, identificação e diferenciação social que permite situar uma posição frente a outras em um determinado momento. A família, enquanto grupo, atravessa os tempos passando por inúmeras transformações e críticas, sem se afastar da responsabilidade e das exigências dos papéis socialmente atribuídos a ela. O transtorno mental permanece ainda obscuro, não existindo uma causa que o explique como tão estigmatizante, mas, o adoecer psíquico, é facilmente percebido, pois, os indivíduos que adoecem, apresentam comportamentos diferentes daqueles normalmente aceitos pela sociedade. Os grupos de autoajuda são homogêneos, seus participantes passam pelo mesmo sofrimento, são de apoio mútuo e educacional, a liderança vem do interior do grupo, reporta-se somente a um único evento desestruturador de vida, os membros participam voluntariamente, sem fins lucrativos, objetivam o crescimento pessoal dos integrantes e tem caráter anônimo e confidencial. Partindo-se do princípio de que as atitudes frente aos transtornos mentais e seus portadores são passíveis de serem trabalhadas e modificadas, mesmo sendo necessário um trabalho ao longo de um grande período de tempo, pois envolve aspectos formadores da personalidade, este estudo teve como objetivo mostrar as atitudes frente aos transtornos mentais de familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais que participam de grupo de autoajuda, de familiares que não participam de grupos desta natureza e estudar comparativamente as atitudes destes dois grupos. Para isso, 20 familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais, sendo 10 familiares que participam de um grupo de autoajuda e 10 familiares que nunca participaram de grupo de autoajuda, responderam a um questionário com uma parte sobre os seus dados pessoais e a outra parte com perguntas abertas sobre sua proximidade com o seu parente portador de transtorno mental e a escala de atitudes \"Opiniões Sobre os Transtornos Mentais\" (OTM). Os resultados mostraram que em ambos os grupos a faixa etária dos familiares está acima dos 50 anos, a maioria são mães, casadas, católicas, com tempo de convívio com o parente portador de transtorno mental acima de 5 anos, a esquizofrenia é o transtorno mais frequente, sendo melhor a situação econômica dos familiares participantes do grupo de autoajuda. Os resultados da OTM, analisados de forma estatística utilizando-se o teste de Mann-Whitney U mostraram uma influência positiva do grupo de autoajuda nas atitudes de familiares de portadores de transtornos mentais frente aos transtornos mentais e seus parentes portadores desses transtornos, mas essa influência mostrou-se relativa, pois, os dois grupos, revelaram ainda atitudes autoritárias, restritivas e discriminadoras, levando à conclusão de que o grupo de autoajuda é extremamente importante e uma expressiva ferramenta de apoio, mas para uma real mudança de atitudes nos aspectos considerados, são necessárias modalidades terapêuticas mais específicas e que utilizam intervenções mais focadas. / Different people may have different attitudes towards a same object, but this range of positions should not be seen as idiosyncratic or stable characteristics. They are not born in a social void, but are the fruit of social interaction, of a comparison, identification and social distinction process that permits situating one position towards others at a given time. As a group, the family evolves going through countless transformations and criticism, without distancing itself from the responsibility and requirements of the roles it is socially attributed. Mental disorder is still obscure, without a cause to explain the extent of its stigma, but psychic illness is easily perceived, as the people who get ill display behaviors different from what society normally accepts. Self-help groups are homogeneous. Their participants go through the same suffering. The groups provide mutual support and are educational. Leadership comes from within the group, which only refers to a single deconstructive event in life. Members participate voluntarily, without aiming for profit. The groups aim for their members\' personal growth and are anonymous and confidential. Departing from the principle that attitudes towards mental disorders and their patients can be addressed and modified, although demanding long-term work, as it involves personality-building aspects, this study aimed to show the attitudes towards mental disorders of family members of mental disorder patients who participate in a self-help group, of family members who do not participate in this kind of groups, and to comparatively study these two groups\' attitudes. Thus, 20 relatives of mental disorder patients, ten of whom participate in a self-help group and ten who had never participated in a self-help group, answered a questionnaire. One part referred to their personal data, while the other part contained open questions on their proximity with their relative suffering from a mental disorder, as well as the attitude scale \"Opinions on Mental Disorders\" (OMD). The results showed that, in both groups, the relatives\' age range is over 50 years, most are mothers, married, Catholic, have lived with the relative suffering from the mental disorder for more than five years, schizophrenia is the most frequent disorder and the relatives who participate in the self-help group display a better socio-economic situation. Statistical analysis of the OMD results, using Mann-Whitney\'s U-test, showed a positive influence of the self-help group on the attitudes of mental disorder patients\' relatives towards the mental disorders and their relatives suffering from these disorders. This influence revealed to be relative though, as the two groups also revealed authoritarian, restrictive and discriminatory attitudes, leading to the conclusion that the self-help group is extremely important and a meaningful support tool. To achieve an actual change in attitudes towards the aspects under analysis though, more specific therapeutic modes are needed, which use more focused interventions.

This study sought to explore what Self-Help Support Groups (SHSGs) might have to offer young people who experience mental health issues. By definition, these non-profit support groups are run by and for people who come together on the basis of a shared experience. Although much research has been conducted on SHSG involvement among adults, there has been little investigation on the experiences of young people; this is despite the importance of youth mental health. Although several bodies of knowledge contributed to this study, they offered a limited understanding to the findings. Consequently, a more encompassing social capital framework was used to illuminate and challenge the findings. Among the varied understandings of social capital are two oft-cited perspectives – that of Bourdieu (1986) and that of Coleman (1988). However, that applicability of social capital to this study necessitated a theoretical extension of these two perspectives. The present study offers valuable direction to improve current social policy. This includes increased training opportunities for human service providers to raise awareness and appreciation for the unique role filled by SHSGs ; the demonstration of explicit support for SHSG’s in social policy that is relevant to mental health, substance use issues, and young people; and the establishment of a New South Wales clearing house. The thesis closes by attesting the potential benefits associated with SHSGs; if not for the potential benefit they offer young people with mental health issues, and the communities to which they belong, then as a valuable area for future investigation. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)