The thesis is dedicated to the psychosocial aspects of women with breast cancer, such as stressful events, coping strategies, social support and personal and emotional factors and their possible specificity for this group of women. Aim of the theoretical part is a summary of the findings of type C personality, personality disposed to cancer and the overview of researches and particular results. The empirical part of the thesis is based on retrospective quantitative research with a focus on the number of stressful events, coping strategies, social support and features of alexithymia in women diagnosed with breast cancer (N = 70). These results were compared with a control group of women whose cancer have not been diagnosed (N = 81). The results show a significant difference in the amount of stressful events. Namely women with breast cancer have demonstrated significantly more stressful events prior to diagnosis than women without cancer. In addition, a significant difference has been found in the use of negative coping strategies which women without cancer experience using negative coping strategies more frequently than women with breast cancer. A significant difference has been found in the use of strategy "self-aggrandizement by comparison with others" which women with breast cancer use more than...

TITLE: Perception and coping with the specific learning disabilities impacts on everyday life of children with this diagnosis. ABSTRACT This text is focused on recognition of impacts of the specific learning disabilities on everyday life as the children with this diagnosis themselves see it and the strategies used by these children in order to cope with these disabilities. The theoretical part summarizes the necessary knowledge of the early school age developmental stage, the interaction of a child with the family, and briefly the stress and the coping. The results of last year's mothers of specific learning disabilities diagnosed children research are also presented. The empirical part is based on semi-structured interviews with six children diagnosed with the specific learning disabilities attending fourth or fifth grade of primary school. Based on it's qualitative analysis, the thesis attempts to clarify how the specific learning disabilities diagnosed children perceive and experience the impacts of this disabilities on them and how do they cope with it. KEYWORDS specific learning disabilities (SLD), child, family, school, failures, coping strategy

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:40:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renata Rose Pacheco da Silva.pdf: 676026 bytes, checksum: d7b1bb1ce5fea713ba5e6d5cfe03d7de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-14 / The fundamental goal of this paper is to find resources of spiritual matter that, especially, strengthen and encourage women with either breast or colon cancer, transforming them into a coping strategy. This qualitative research approach, with a communicative nature was composed by a group of seven participants of the female gender. All of them were in the remissive phase of the treatment and belonged to the Grupo de Apoio Esperança (supporting group hope), which offers psychological support to CEOC (Centro de Oncologia de Caruaru - PE- Caruaru´s Cancer Treatment Center) patients who suffer from cancer. The data was collected by the interview technique, in 2008 November. Was used for analysys the method of data condensation based on the Kvale (1996) applications. It was observed that for patients that carry either breast or colon cancer the most commonly used coping strategy is the search for spirituality / Este estudo teve como objetivo fundamental conhecer os recursos de caráter espiritual que, fortalecem e encorajam mulheres com câncer de mama e cólon, transformando-se em estratégia de enfrentamento. Esta pesquisa, de abordagem qualitativa, de natureza participativa, utilizou-se de um grupo composto por sete participantes do sexo feminino. Todas se encontravam na fase de remissão do tratamento e pertenciam ao Grupo de Apoio Esperança, que oferece suporte psicológico a pacientes oncológicos do CEOC (Centro de Oncologia de Caruaru - PE). Os dados foram coletados por meio da técnica de entrevista, no mês de novembro de 2008. Para análise, empregou-se o método de condensação de dados baseado nos pressupostos de Kvale (1996). Observou-se que, para a paciente portadora de câncer de mama e cólon, a estratégia de enfrentamento mais utilizada é a busca da espiritualidade

Abstract Many women who survived sex trafficking continue to suffer from severe and persistent psychological distress even after the traditional treatment and rehabilitation program. The lingering psychological symptoms that these survivors suffer make reintegration into their families and communities difficult. This phenomenological study identified the restorative factors that helped some women who were earlier engaged in sex trafficking to recover, readjust, and reintegrate into their families and communities. Six female survivors of human trafficking and six program directors/counselors at different rehabilitation centers were individually interviewed in in-depth with semi-structured questionnaires and audio recorded. I kept diary of my readings and observation of the participants during the interviews to maintain the rigor and established trustworthiness of the study. With NVivo 11 plus Software, the information were coded to identify the different patterns. The Manen's hermeneutic descriptive phenomenological interpretative approach was employed to sort out the emerging themes. The findings were grouped under the perspectives of survivors and program directors/counselors. Both survivors and program directors/counselors agreed that factors such as supports from family/friends, medical treatments, counseling, and individual characteristics promoted recovery. The theories of social support, self-efficacy, and resilience guided the understanding of the recovery process of the survivors. For positive social change, this study provides information that families, communities, and society can become more aware of the ways to improve survivors' support systems and build a sustainable community that cares and supports survivors for a successful integration into families and communities.

Work-related activation policies are currently developing in most western welfare states. Sweden is no exception and activation policies were introduced in the 1990s in many municipal social services organizations in Sweden. The Swedish form of activation policies requires social assistance recipients to participate in mandatory activation program in return for financial support. This dissertation investigates the street-level implementation practices of activation policies within the context of the Swedish welfare state. The purpose of the study is to examine how street-level workers in the municipal social service systemtranslate activation policy into practice in their interactions with the clients and what factors that structure their implementation practices. The research project is a multiple-case study that examines the street-level practices in two municipal social service settings in Sweden, Skärholmen city-district in Stockholm municipality and Osby municipality and their local activation programs. The data collection consists of observations of the staffs’ daily operations, interviews with local politicians and other key personnel, and the analysis of formal policy and program documents. Theoretically this dissertation builds on the street-level bureaucracy perspective (Lipsky, 1980), which suggests that organizational working conditions shape street-level workers implementation practices through their development of informal coping strategies. But this study extends the street-level buraucracy approach by including political-institutional factors and normative assumptions about public support and social assistance recipients into the analysis. Findings from the study suggest that street-level implementation practices entail a number of informal coping strategies that removes activation policy from formal policy goals. Implementation practices entail, for example, mass referrals instead of individual assessments and tailor-made solutions. Clients were sorted and categorized on the basis of moral perceptions about behavioral deficits instead of employment needs. These informal practice strategies were the results of both coping strategies and normative assumptions that interacted with the organizational context in which these practices took place.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of coping behaviour on the stress and psychological well-being as experienced by South African teachers. A review of relevant literature revealed that the teaching profession is an extremely stressful occupation globally. Factors contributing to the stress that teachers experience include the downsizing of the number of teachers in schools and insufficient training being provided for teachers. Exposure to these chronically stressful conditions has psychological and physical consequences for some teachers. Numerous studies, however, have also pointed out that some teachers, in the same teaching environment, experienced less stress and had better physical health than others. In an effort to gain clarity on these contradictory findings, many studies regarding the effect of various coping behaviours have been undertaken. No literature could, however, be found regarding the different coping behaviours used by African teachers and which strategies proved a success. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect that coping behaviour had on the level of stress, as well as psychosocial well-being, experienced by black South African teachers. The current study was conducted as part of the SABP A (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted at the North-West University. Data for this sub study was collected through a cross-sectional design and the statistical consulting services of the university were involved in the analysis of the raw data. The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglioni, 1995), the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) (Amirkhan, 1990), and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) (Keyes, 2006) were administered to 200 urban African teachers residing in the Kenneth Kahunda district in the North West Province. The TSI was administered as a self report measure of occupational stress in teachers. The CSI was administered to all the participants in an attempt to establish what coping strategies were employed by them. It consists of three subscales (problem solving, avoidance, and seeking social support) which are independent of one another and, according to the authors, free from demographic influences. The MHC-SF was administered to all the participants as a measure of well-being. The MHC-SF places individuals on a continuum which ranges between complete mental health (flourishing) to incomplete mental health (languishing). Those who are neither flourishing nor languishing are said to be moderately mentally healthy. All the measures that were administered proved to be reliable and thus interpretable, except for the subscales of the TSI. Therefore, only the TSI total scale score was used for interpretation. Results indicated that this group of teachers were experiencing high levels of stress and were making above average use of all three coping behaviours to deal with their stressors. 70% of the teachers were reportedly moderately mentally healthy, while 2% of them were languishing, and only 28% of them were flourishing. Of these teachers, those who reported smoking and alcohol use as a coping behaviour were experiencing less stress than those who abstained. These results were, however, only of small to medium practical significance. Intercorrelational results indicated that, although stress levels were high, stress had no direct and significant relation to either coping or well-being. The use of certain coping strategies, however, correlated positively with some aspects of mental health. In order to elucidate the nature of the relationships that seemed to exist between these constructs, path analysis was conducted. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) results revealed a strong negative path between the use of avoidance as a coping strategy and the emotional well-being of participants. A direct significant path was reported between seeking social support and the social well-being of this group of teachers. Another significant finding was the existence of a direct path between problem solving and the social and psychological well-being reported by participants. The implications of these results, as well as the possible shortcomings of the current study and its limitations, were discussed. In conclusion, the results indicated that coping behaviour had little effect on the amount of stress that the teachers experienced, although it seems that coping behaviour does have a significant effect on some aspects of mental health. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of coping behaviour on the stress and psychological well-being as experienced by South African teachers. A review of relevant literature revealed that the teaching profession is an extremely stressful occupation globally. Factors contributing to the stress that teachers experience include the downsizing of the number of teachers in schools and insufficient training being provided for teachers. Exposure to these chronically stressful conditions has psychological and physical consequences for some teachers. Numerous studies, however, have also pointed out that some teachers, in the same teaching environment, experienced less stress and had better physical health than others. In an effort to gain clarity on these contradictory findings, many studies regarding the effect of various coping behaviours have been undertaken. No literature could, however, be found regarding the different coping behaviours used by African teachers and which strategies proved a success. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect that coping behaviour had on the level of stress, as well as psychosocial well-being, experienced by black South African teachers. The current study was conducted as part of the SABP A (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted at the North-West University. Data for this sub study was collected through a cross-sectional design and the statistical consulting services of the university were involved in the analysis of the raw data. The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) (Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglioni, 1995), the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) (Amirkhan, 1990), and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) (Keyes, 2006) were administered to 200 urban African teachers residing in the Kenneth Kahunda district in the North West Province. The TSI was administered as a self report measure of occupational stress in teachers. The CSI was administered to all the participants in an attempt to establish what coping strategies were employed by them. It consists of three subscales (problem solving, avoidance, and seeking social support) which are independent of one another and, according to the authors, free from demographic influences. The MHC-SF was administered to all the participants as a measure of well-being. The MHC-SF places individuals on a continuum which ranges between complete mental health (flourishing) to incomplete mental health (languishing). Those who are neither flourishing nor languishing are said to be moderately mentally healthy. All the measures that were administered proved to be reliable and thus interpretable, except for the subscales of the TSI. Therefore, only the TSI total scale score was used for interpretation. Results indicated that this group of teachers were experiencing high levels of stress and were making above average use of all three coping behaviours to deal with their stressors. 70% of the teachers were reportedly moderately mentally healthy, while 2% of them were languishing, and only 28% of them were flourishing. Of these teachers, those who reported smoking and alcohol use as a coping behaviour were experiencing less stress than those who abstained. These results were, however, only of small to medium practical significance. Intercorrelational results indicated that, although stress levels were high, stress had no direct and significant relation to either coping or well-being. The use of certain coping strategies, however, correlated positively with some aspects of mental health. In order to elucidate the nature of the relationships that seemed to exist between these constructs, path analysis was conducted. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) results revealed a strong negative path between the use of avoidance as a coping strategy and the emotional well-being of participants. A direct significant path was reported between seeking social support and the social well-being of this group of teachers. Another significant finding was the existence of a direct path between problem solving and the social and psychological well-being reported by participants. The implications of these results, as well as the possible shortcomings of the current study and its limitations, were discussed. In conclusion, the results indicated that coping behaviour had little effect on the amount of stress that the teachers experienced, although it seems that coping behaviour does have a significant effect on some aspects of mental health. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5092.pdf: 775208 bytes, checksum: 1175bc9d523235d4cc1af06dd795a69d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / The aim of this work is domestic violence and coping strategies used by women victims of this violence. Violence against women can be characterized by the interaction of husband / partner to intimidate, threaten, make use of physical force as well as doing something against the property of the woman. The main forms of violence against women are: physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence and destruction of property. Coping can be understood as a set of cognitive and behavioral efforts with regard to dealing with internal or external demands that arise in stress situations. The research aimed to identify and describe the coping strategies of women who have suffered or are suffering domestic violence and as specific objectives to categorize coping strategies of women victims of domestic violence, characterize the history of violence suffered by women and finally characterize the severity of violence against the women. This was a qualitative research, exploratory kind. The choice, assembly and appropriateness of the instrument was made, being: semi-structured interview, applied individually to women victims of domestic violence. Before the data collection, there was a testing tool to estimate the time of application and suitability. After approval of the ethics committee, and the proper clarifications of the research, attended to the interview 4 women victims of domestic violence. As a result, it may be highlight that all women participants suffered psychological and physical violence, whereas two women also reported having suffered sexual violence. Regarding the severity of the violence suffered, women present level 5, 4, 3 and 2 respectively. Women had the following categories of coping strategies: removal, self-control, social support, escape-avoidance, problem solving, positive reappraisal, leisure and finally, plans for the future. Domestic violence, like any other type of violence, characterized as a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which limits women the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of any right as well as the exercise of freedom. It is considered necessary the creation of public policies that will help minimize the victimization of women who suffer domestic violence, and to develop coping strategies. That this work will contribute to the construction of preventive practices that provide coping strategies such as confrontation, distancing, self-control, social support, escape-avoidance, problem solving, positive reappraisal, leisure and plans for the future. After all, it was verified that these strategies could break with some cases of severe violence. / O foco do presente trabalho é a violência doméstica e as estratégias de enfrentamento utilizadas por mulheres vítimas desta violência. A violência contra a mulher pode ser caracterizada pela interação do marido/companheiro de intimidar, ameaçar, fazer uso da forma física, bem como fazer algo contra a propriedade da mulher. As principais formas de violência contra a mulher são: violência física, violência sexual, violência psicológica e destruição de propriedade. Enfrentamento pode ser entendido como um conjunto de esforços cognitivos e comportamentais com propósito de lidar com demandas internas ou externas, que surgem em situações de estresse. A pesquisa teve como objetivo geral identificar e descrever as estratégias de enfrentamento de mulheres que sofreram ou sofrem violência doméstica e como objetivos específicos categorizar as estratégias de enfrentamento das mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica, caracterizar o histórico de violência sofrida pelas mulheres e por fim, caracterizar o grau de severidade da violência sofrida pelas mulheres. Tratou-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, de caráter exploratório. Foi feita a escolha, construção e adequação do instrumento, sendo ele: entrevista semi-estruturada, aplicada de forma individual, as mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica. Antes da realização da coleta de dados, foi feita uma testagem do instrumento para estimativa do tempo de aplicação e adequação do mesmo. Após aprovação do comitê de ética, e os devidos esclarecimentos da pesquisa, participaram da mesma 4 mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica. Como resultados, pode-se destacar que todas as mulheres participantes sofreram violência física e psicológica, sendo que duas delas relataram sofrer violência sexual. Quanto à severidade da violência sofrida, as mulheres apresentam grau 5, 4, 3 e 2 respectivamente. As mulheres apresentaram as seguintes categorias das estratégias de enfrentamento: afastamento, autocontrole, suporte social, fugaesquiva, resolução de problemas, reavaliação positiva, lazer e por fim, planos para o futuro. A violência doméstica, como qualquer outro tipo de violência, caracteriza como uma violação dos direitos humanos e liberdades fundamentais, que limita à mulher o reconhecimento, gozo e exercício de qualquer direito, bem como o exercício da liberdade. Considera-se necessário a criação de políticas públicas que contribuam para minimizar a vitimização das mulheres que sofrem violência doméstica, bem como para desenvolver estratégias de enfrentamento. Que este trabalho contribua para a construção de práticas preventivas, que propiciem estratégias de enfrentamentos como: confronto, afastamento, autocontrole, suporte social, fuga-esquiva, resolução de problemas, reavaliação positiva, lazer e planos para o futuro. Afinal, foi verificado que com estas estratégias foi possível romper com alguns casos de violência severa.

Introduction : Une faible situation sociale est associée à un risque accru de mortalité et morbidité. Plusieurs facteurs ont été étudiés en lien avec cette association, mais un mécanisme proposé par Tarlov (1996), soit la dissonance entre les attentes et la réalité, n’a pas été investigué. De plus, peu d’études ont examiné en profondeur les facteurs sociaux et psychosociaux influençant la santé avec la participation des personnes vivant la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale. Objectifs et méthodologie : Cette étude vise à identifier et à décrire les facteurs nuisant à la santé d’adultes ayant un faible revenu, les stratégies et actions de ces personnes en lien avec ces facteurs et les effets de la participation pour ces personnes. Cette étude a utilisé une approche de recherche participative et une méthode de présentation de problèmes selon la pédagogie de Freire. Les participants et participantes étaient huit adultes ayant un faible revenu, fréquentant un organisme communautaire en milieu urbain. Ces personnes ont participé à huit rencontres de groupe, comprenant des activités comme la présentation d’images ou d’histoires représentatives et le jeu de rôle. Ces personnes ont aussi participé à l’analyse thématique des données, incluant cinq rencontres de groupe. Résultats et conclusions : Cette étude identifie un nouveau facteur psychosocial, soit la dissonance entre la situation actuelle perçue et l’idéal de situation conçu tôt dans la vie. Cette dissonance génère un profond mal-être et suit la perte ou la non atteinte de l’idéal de situation. Les autres facteurs identifiés soutiennent ceux d’études précédentes et sont groupés sous les thèmes du manque d’amour et de soutien tôt dans la vie et de la situation actuelle comme prison sociale. Cette étude identifie aussi un effet important de la participation, peu rapporté dans les études participatives, soit les découvertes personnelles ou une meilleure compréhension de soi dans le monde. L’approche de recherche participative combinée à la méthode de présentation de problèmes selon la pédagogie de Freire permet les découvertes personnelles et peut être un moyen d’accompagner les personnes vivant un profond mal-être. Les actions, interventions et politiques devraient permettre aux personnes de réaliser leur idéal de situation et de répondre aux besoins d’amour et de soutien des enfants. / Abstract: Introduction: Poor social circumstances, including low social status, are associated with a higher risk of mortality and morbidity. Many factors have been studied in relation to this association, but a mechanism advanced by Tarlov (1996) concerning dissonance between expectations and reality has not been investigated. Moreover, few studies have examined in depth social and psychosocial factors influencing health, with the participation of people living in poverty and social exclusion. objectives and methodology: This study aims to identify and describe the factors harming the health of low-income adults; the strategies and actions used by low-income adults, which are linked to these factors; and the effects on the participants of participation in the study. This study used a participatory research approach and a problem-posing method based on Freire’s pedagogy. The participants were eight low-income adults using food bank services provided by a community organization in an urban setting. They participated in eight group meetings, which included activities such as presentation of representative stories or images and role-playing. They also participated in the data analysis, during five additional meetings. Results and conclusions: This study identifies a new psychosocial factor, namely, the dissonance between current perceived circumstances and one’s ideal of circumstances conceived early in life. This dissonance generates profound malaise and follows a loss or a failure to achieve the ideal of circumstances. Other factors identified support those from previous studies and are grouped into two themes: lack of love and support from an early age, and current circumstances as a trap. This study also identifies an important and under-reported outcome of participation, which is the experience of personal discoveries or a better understanding of the self in the world. A participatory research approach combined with a problem-posing method based on Freire’s pedagogy enables personal discoveries and might be a means for accompanying people with profound malaise. Actions, interventions, and policies should enable people to achieve their ideal of circumstances and to respond to children’s needs for love and support.

The developemnt of fisheries in Lake Victoria is faced with a myriad challenges including overfishing, environmental destruction, disappearance of certain indigenous species and pollution. All these problems can be located within the social, economic and political systems that exists today and in the past. This thesis, ‘Fishers and Fish Traders of Lake Victoria : Colonial Policy and the Development of Fish Production in Kenya, 1880-1978’, argues that the Luo fishers had their own indigenous techniques of fishing, modes of preservation and systems of management that ensured sustainable utilisation of fisheries. The thesis examines the role of the Luo fishers in the sustainable usage of the Lake Victoria fisheries. The British colonial settlers came up with new policies of plantation and commercial farming, taxation and forced labour, all of which encouraged the Luo fishers to partially break with their pre-colonial systems and create new ways of responding to the demands of the colonial state. The study argues that the coming of colonialism and its attendant capitalism introduced new fishing gear as well as new species, such as mbuta, that were inimical to the sustainable utilisation of the Lake Victoria fisheries. The colonial regime also introduced new practices of fisheries management such as scouts, licensing, closed seasons and the numbering of boats, practices geared towards ensuring the commercial production and development of the fisheries. This commercialisation led to cut-throat competition between Asian, European and African fish traders. The coming of independence in 1963 brought some changes, such as the provision of credit facilities, new technology, and attempts by the new African government to more effectively control and manage the fisheries. However, not much changed in terms of policy objectives, and most of the colonial policies remained unchanged. New industries were established around the fisheries, but most remained in the hands of Asians and a few African middlemen. The small-scale fishers continued to struggle against the commercialisation of fishery production, remaining voiceless and marginalised. The study recommends an all inclusive participatory approach to solve the problems currently affecting the Lake Victoria fisheries. / History / DLITT (History)