Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / South Africa is still under construction, with the aftermath of apartheid still lingering in the South African education system and in societal constructs amongst families of colour with low socioeconomic status backgrounds. For more than two decades since South Africa has been declared a democratically free society, education has been at the forefront as a means to socioeconomic liberation with movements such as #FEESMUSTFALL bringing to light the inequality that still lingers around access to higher education. Using human capital theory and socioeconomic mobility as a framework, the study aims to explore, describe and determine the perceived impact of university education on students from a low socioeconomic status using the case of the University of the Western Cape. / 2023

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the factors of resilience that educators could replicate to increase the number of socio-economically disadvantaged students that successfully complete high school and continue to become successful adults. An examination of the factors that socio-economically disadvantaged individuals attribute to their success was conducted in this study. This study used interview data from 15 participants ranging in age from 21 to 80 years old. Nine themes emerged from the interview data that affects the resilience of socio-economically disadvantaged students. The 9 themes identified were 1) Definition of success is different for each individual, 2) Individual’s mindset, 3) Resilience and perseverance, 4) Evolving family structure and circumstances, 5) Limited family resources, 6) Increase in abusive/risky behaviors, 7) Caregiver’s educational support and high expectations, 8) Community support, and 9) School support. The themes presented are backed by the analysis of the data collected. Recommendations for educators and future research were made in hopes of replicating these factors to increase resilience in socio-economically disadvantaged students allowing them to become successful adults.

This study examines the role of mother's health and socioeconomic status on daughter's self-rated health using data spanning three decades from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Mature Women and Young Women (N = 1,848 matched mother-daughter pairs; 1,201 White and 647 African American). Using nested growth curve models, we investigated whether mother's self-rated health affected the daughter's self-rated health and whether socioeconomic status mediated this relationship. Mother's health significantly influenced daughters' self-rated health, but the findings were mediated by mother's socioeconomic status. African American daughters reported lower self-rated health and experienced more decline over time compared with White daughters, accounting for mother's and daughter's covariates. Our findings reveal maternal health and resources as a significant predictor of daughters' self-rated health and confirm the role of socioeconomic status and racial disparities over time.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Adolescence is a critical developmental stage wherein adolescents face various challenges which potentially impact on the development of their future orientation, the setting of and working towards goals, and ultimately their life trajectories. Considering South Africa’s socio-political history which has resulted in limitations regarding educational and career possibilities of adolescents, there is a need to examine factors that influence adolescents’ aspirations. The current study thus aimed to ascertain the nature of the relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career aspirations. Within this process, the study further aimed to ascertain the extent to which this relation is mediated by social support. The current study forms part of a larger study that explored the relation between adolescents’ career aspirations and a range of personal and contextual factors, using a cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 1082 adolescents (males and females) in grades 8 to 11, purposively selected from eight schools in low-income communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the levels of career aspirations, subjective well-being and social support among the participants. Mediation analysis using the bootstrap confidence interval approach, within a structural equation modelling data analysis framework was conducted to determine the extent to which social support mediates the relationship between subjective well-being and career aspirations. For the overall model using the pooled sample, the study found a non-significant relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career aspirations. Across gender, the results demonstrated a significant relation between subjective well-being and career aspirations for the male group, explaining 2.1% of the variance in aspirations. However, a non-significant relation was obtained for the female group. An important finding of the study is that social support did not mediate the relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career ii aspirations for the pooled sample, and across both gender groups. For females, a significant negative relation was found between social support and aspirations. Results also revealed a significant negative relation between age and aspirations for both males and females. Social support and financial resources are important factors to consider in relation to adolescents’ wellbeing and aspirations, especially given that the social support that females receive is informed by gender norms and cultural beliefs, which in turn hinders their aspirations. It is recommended that interventions are targeted at an institutional level, inclusive of challenging gender roles, providing information about educational and career opportunities for young people, and improving parenting skills in an effort to advance adolescents’ career aspirations.

Obesity continues to weaken our nation physiologically, psychologically and financially with an overall prevalence rate of 34.9% or 78.6 million Americans affected. Variance in obesity prevalence rates, in the state of Virginia, account for over a 15% difference from one health district to the next. The purpose of this research was to better explore the regional obesogenic factors that may exist among five health districts in the state of Virginia. The socio ecological theory provides the conceptual framework of the study to understand the variance in regional obesity rates, as a function of the contributing risk factors that a region exhibits. This study was a quantitative retrospective secondary analysis that investigated four obesogenic risk factors using the Center for Disease Control's 2013 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted for each of the four obesity factors in five regions in Virginia and the results emphasized that specific regional obesity prevention efforts in targeted areas are identifiable and specifically, attention to ethnicity, poverty, and exercise intensity are warranted in all Virginia's health districts. Understanding obesogenic factors can further empower public policy makers to identify obesity prevention and treatment strategies most aligned with the health district needs such as exercise or nutrition campaigns targeting ethnic communities. Creating a statewide profile of regional obesogenic factors using this research model can bring about effective community intervention strategies leading to impactful improvements in individual health, wellness, and quality of life which can be a force in the community's positive social change.

While epidemiological research has generated new knowledge about the treatment and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through smoking secession, the socioeconomic status (SES) of people with the disease has been under investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the predictability of association between SES and COPD. This study was based on the ecological theory, which states that health and disease may have multiple underlying factors. This study was a secondary analysis of archived data from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The dataset was collected for the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS)" study. Variables were measured at the nominal, ordinal, and continuous levels. In this cross-sectional quantitative analysis, logistic regression was used to inform the research questions. The results showed that neither education, income, nor occupation was a predictor of COPD. The logistic regression reported the significance of the predictability of education, income, and occupation to be Ï? = 1.000, Ï? = .498, Ï? = .581, respectively, with odd ratios and confidence interval of 1.007 (.987, 1.028), 1.018 (.948, 1.094), 1.429 (.684, 2.988). Neither education, income, nor occupation yielded a significant statistic value for a Ï? Ë? .05 or a p Ë? .01. These non-significant results regarding the relationship between the SES of a person and COPD reaffirmed that cigarette smoking remains the known determinant of the disease. The social implications of these research findings are that more stringent laws and mandates need to be enacted to discourage easy access to the proven determining factor of COPD: cigarettes smoking.

Social class may impact the ways people are perceived and treated by others. The social class attributions of therapists may influence the manner in which they conceptualize their clients' problems and their relationship with their clients. There is a gap in the literature concerning the link between therapists' social class attributions and their responses toward low socioeconomic status (SES) clients in actual clinical settings, which could impact the therapists' interaction with their clients and the treatment process. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to examine the links between therapists' social class attributions and their experiences with low SES clients in clinical settings. The rationale for this study was based on treatment exhibited by therapists towards their low SES clients as evidenced by their treatment plans and peer interactions. Guided by attribution theory, research questions inquired into the attributions of 10 purposefully chosen masters- and doctoral-level therapists concerning the issues of social class, their low SES clients, and treatment outcomes for those clients. Interview data were interpreted using a cross-case synthesis technique and content analysis. The participants related to the issue of poverty in the way it impacted them or the way it impacted their clients. Findings could contribute to social change by increasing awareness among therapists concerning the impact of poverty, reducing bias and misconceptions among therapists, improving training of students and therapists, and improving understanding among therapists of the way social class attributions could impact their work with low SES clients.

The focus of this study was on identifying the challenges faced by teachers and school personnel at a middle school in educating the whole low socioeconomic status (SES) child academically, socially and emotionally to enhance positive educational outcomes. The unmet academic, social, and emotional needs of the low SES student in the middle school in this case study are having a negative impact on proficiency for these students on the state standardized assessments. Kolb's experiential learning theory and Rogers and Maslow's humanistic theory provided a psychological framework for the study. The qualitative case study included staff interviews and a review of documents. Purposeful sampling included 11 subjects; 6 teachers, 2 counselors, 2 administrators, and the nurse from 1 selected middle school, who had experiences working with low SES students in reading language arts classes in grades 6 through 8. Data from interviews and document review were coded and analyzed for common themes. Results included 4 major themes; student focused instruction, challenges for instructing low SES students, supports needed for effective instruction, and discipline challenges. Findings supported construction of a professional development program project for school personnel that incorporated these themes with emphasis on improving educational outcomes for low SES students by addressing individual social, emotional and academic needs. This study might contribute to positive social change by providing school personnel with the ability to identify and collaboratively address the individual needs of the whole low SES student to enhance their learning and contributions to society.

Children from different socioeconomic backgrounds often have different long-term outcomes in terms of school, language, and emotional wellbeing. At this time, no reasons for these differences have been agreed upon by experts across disciplines. Parents with different personal characteristics and life situations use different types and amounts of interactions with their infants. The social interactions infants experience during their first year of life provide the start of their developmental path in the areas of language and executive control while also guiding their expectations for interactions with people around them. This study used previously unpublished data from a sample of 79 young infants, age 3 to 9 months, and their mothers. There was a set of five research questions. The first question guided exploration of how socioeconomic status (SES; represented by maternal education and family income) was associated with the parenting behaviors mothers used with their infants. The second question guided exploration of how mothers’ psychosocial resources (represented by child development knowledge and parenting stress) were associated with the parenting behaviors mothers used with their infants. The third question addressed whether associations between maternal education and parenting behavior were directly connected or if the amount of child development knowledge influenced the association. The fourth question addressed whether associations between family income and parenting behavior were directly connected or if the amount of mothers’ parenting stress influenced the association. The final question addressed whether associations between mothers’ psychosocial parenting resources and infant development were directly connected or if the associations were instead connected by mothers’ psychosocial resources. During a single home visit with each mother and her young infant, the research visitor assessed infant development, video recorded the mother and infant playing during a free play session, and asked mothers to fill out questionnaires. Project questionnaires addressed mothers’ education and family income as well as their levels of child development knowledge and parenting stress. None of the findings directly related to the five hypotheses were statistically significant. However, follow-up analyses provided information about potential future directions for investigating the links between SES, parenting interactions, and infant competencies using smaller categories of education and income levels. These findings from follow-up questions may guide potential future directions for identifying SES and psychosocial influences on early parenting interaction behaviors and young infants’ early development.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is argued to be one of the greatest health challenges facing Sub-Saharan African countries, with more than 25 million Africans currently infected. Social epidemiology posits that for most types of illness, there is an inverse relationship between indicators with SES. In most developed nations, and in some developing countries, the incidence of HIV follows this classic pattern, with the poor having the greatest risk of infection and eventual mortality. However, a growing body of research on HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests an intriguing reversal of this pattern, particularly with respect to HIV among women. In the Cameroonian case most specifically, previous research indicates that higher socioeconomic status women present higher rates of HIV infection compared to low socioeconomic status women, albeit rates higher than those in the United States. However, the mechanisms of risk appear to be distinct for each group. Using data from the 2004 National Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Cameroon, this paper explores relationships between the various indicators of socioeconomic status and HIV, as well as estimates and tests a series of multivariate models designed to highlight the distinct causal pathways that put higher SES women at increased risk of HIV. In general, my results show that women with increased resources had higher rates of HIV, confirming results published elsewhere. Additionally, women with riskier sexual behaviors also presented higher rates of infection. Counterintuitively, however, women with increased knowledge of HIV, more domestic making authority, and access to health care all had higher rates of HIV infection. Multivariate analysis revealed that the mechanisms of risk varied by socioeconomic status. For women in low socioeconomic group, what seemed to increase their risk was relative inequality (i.e. having a partner outside their socioeconomic bracket). Conversely, for women in the high socioeconomic group, their own sexual behavior seemed to account for their higher rates of HIV infection. What the results of this study indicated therefore was that the mechanisms of risk differed by SES and different approaches targeting each sub-group were needed to effectively combat the disease.