Torture survivors find difficulty navigating through an unfamiliar healthcare and social service system. Many survivors who already face Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression also endure a secondary threat which leads to re-traumatization through the struggles of acculturation. The aim of this study is to determine: 1. Identify differences and assumptions between service providers’ and clients’ definitions of self-sufficiency; 2. Examine prominent barriers to self-sufficiency that survivors encounter; 3. Pinpoint the survival strategies that survivors use in order to cope with life in DFW; 4. Determine what resources CST staff, area service providers, and survivors feel need to be improved for CST and the DFW metroplex.

Criminological aspects of cybercrime Abstract The thesis concerns the offenders and victims of cybercrime as the selected criminological aspects of cybercrime. The objective of the thesis was to particularly analyse and compare the criminological findings of the offenders and victims of cybercrime and discover and point out the specifics in comparison to the offenders and victims of the offline criminality. Both Czech and foreign literary sources were used for the purposes of this thesis. In the first part the basic terms which are used in this thesis are clarified - cybercrime, the offender and victim including the particularly vulnerable victims. The second part concerns the development of the image of the offender of cybercrime, his characteristics in comparison to the offenders of crimes committed out of cyberspace and his categorization. Particularly the attention was brought to the organized groups of criminals in the area of cybercrime and the motivation of the offender as one of the criminogenic factors. In the third part different victimological aspects of cybercrime including the impact of this kind of criminality on the particularly vulnerable victims are discussed. In relation to the latency of cybercrime the causes of this latency including the reasons for not reporting this kind of criminality...

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Trauma is deeply rooted in South African society. South Africa has been considered one of the most violent countries and has been termed the “rape capital of the world” (Human Rights Watch, 1995). Prior studies evidence high levels of community violence, intimate partner violence, and rape. Research measuring morbidity/mortality has suggested a link between trauma and mental health problems. 34 However, national lifetime prevalence of multiple forms of trauma is not firmly established. Further, nationally-based studies on trauma in South African context have not examined multiple traumas simultaneously. Given the assumed burden of trauma in South Africa, it is important that research uncovers precise rates of traumas and links to mental health. Investigating individual and cumulative effects of trauma in a large, national sample can contribute to understanding the trauma burden. Thus, using nationally representative data from the South Africa Stress and Health Study, we examine lifetime prevalence of a variety of traumas and multiple traumas (number of events). Employing regression analysis, we study individual and cumulative effects of traumas on psychological distress. Results indicate most South Africans (approximately 75%) experience at least one traumatic event during their lives, with the majority reporting multiple. With few exceptions, exposure to traumatic events is associated with greater distress. Results further indicate a cumulative effect of trauma, evidenced by a graded relation between multiple traumas (1, 2, 3, 4-5, 6+) and distress. Those with the most traumas (6+) appear at five- times greater risk of high distress. This study provides a previously unavailable glimpse of exposure to a range of traumas in a nationally representative sample of adults in South Africa. Moreover, implicated by our findings of a cumulative effect of multiple traumas and that the majority experience such multiple traumas is a possible burden of mental health in South Africa.

Bibliography: pages 154-155. / In discussing the drowning figure in the work of DJ Opperman, it is assumed that the themes of decline and resurgence are central to the work of the author. With respect to these dual motifs the following became apparent: (a) that the decline inevitably leads to new life, and of necessity, must precede it. (b) This universal paradox of decline and resurgance is characterised by an endless repetition in time. (c) Man as an individual is inextricably caught between the dichotomous forces of birth and death. The individual is recognisable throughout Opperman's work. Through man's intimate connection with water as a medium of birth and death, the individual or "enkeling" is also seen as the drowned figure or "drenkelingfiguur". Reference to this drowned figure carries the joint connotations of drowning or submergence and decline. The condition of decline indicates the disappearance of the drowning figure below the water-line or surface. Such alienation can also be brought about by means of other elements which can become the metaphorical equivalent of water as the medium of submergence.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Arts in Counselling Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2018 / This study examined the experiences of cyberbullied victims at the University of Zululand. Thirty-five students from the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) participated in the research. The age of the participants ranged from 17-28 years. The main objectives of the study were to gain deeper understanding to the issues related to cyberbullying, and to evaluate the impact of cyberbullying on victims. Most of the cyberbullied victims were cyberbullied on Facebook. The most frequent convention of cyberbullying experienced by victims was exposure and trickery. This is where emails, chatroom messages, or pictures are sent to embarrass and ridicule the victim. Exposure is a cyberbullying tactic that includes the general public show, posting or forwarding of personal verbal exchange, photos or video through the cyberbully this is non-public and private to the victim. Exposure turns into even extra damaging to the victim when the communications posted and publicly displayed incorporates sensitive personal information or photos and video which are sexual in nature. As cellular tool era, photos and video become extra common; the tactic of exposure is sure to emerge as standard as cell tool era expands. This was experienced by 45% of the victims of cyberbullying. This study has enabled us to determine some of the behavioural, social and psychological impact cyberbullying had on individuals. The students’ self-reports highlighted the psychological, behavioural and social impact on victims of cyberbullying. Victims of cyberbullying felt depressed and had higher levels of loneliness and social anxiety, poor academic performance, hopelessness and loss of interest in daily living. Method: A mixed method research design that included both qualitative and quantitative was used with questionnaires and interviews respectively. For the qualitative study twenty students from the age of 18 and above were selected in the study. Purposive and snowball techniques which is a non-probability sampling was used to recruit participants. Participants were selected from University of Zululand Facebook page. A semi-structured interview was used to obtain information on views of cyberbullying. The follow-up questions were asked in order to gain deeper understanding on the information provided by the participant. A narrative story telling of cyberbullying, relating it to their personal experiences of cyberbullying were used as clear description of the subjective experience of students, assisting in meeting the overall aim in conducting this study. In this study snowball non-probability sampling technique was used to recruit victims of cyberbullying with the UNIZULU Facebook page. The name of the questionnaire Personal Experiences of Cyberbullied Victims(in the future alluded to as the PECVQ) which is specifically designed for the study by the researcher. A PECVQ was intended to investigate the personal experiences of cyberbullied victims as well as to evaluate the impact of cyberbullying on victims. Out of 20 participants approached, 15 agreed to participate in the study. Data collection lasted for 2 weeks for the qualitative and quantitative phases of the study respectively. Findings: The findings of the qualitative study showed that cyberbullied victims from their different personal experiences do experience and suffer from diverse behavioural, psychological, and social problems but that they are also resilient. The quantitative results showed that students’ self-reports highlighted the psychological, behavioural and social impact on victims of cyberbullying. Victims of cyberbullying felt depressed and had higher levels of loneliness and social anxiety, hopelessness and loss of interest in daily living. The results also showed that some level of resilience was evident which enabled them to cope with cyberbullying, despite adversity. They derive their strength from (1) personal resources, which refer to intrapersonal characteristics that enhances ways to cope, (2) interpersonal resources, which centres on their interaction with friends, peers and other significant people.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 2004. / This study explores the experiences of children exposed to domestic violence. The aim of the study is to contribute to a better understanding of how domestic violence affects children and to offer them an opportunity to describe their views on how the situation can be improved. The design used in this study is a qualitative phenomenological approach. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews with nine children between the ages of eight and fourteen years staying at St. Anthony's Children's Home, Blaauwbosch. These children were taken away from their homes as a result of domestic violence. The interviews were audiotape and transcribed verbatim for each participant. The data was then categorized, coded and analyzed in order to discover common and unique themes that form a general description of the experiences of children exposed to domestic violence. The results revealed that children prefer to be taken away from homes where there is domestic violence. While the social welfare department sometimes intervenes to restore family stability, in this study it became apparent that children are aware of causes or predisposing factors of domestic violence and they are actively involved in seeking solutions. Apart from placement in the children's home, family separation and finding someone to talk to parents were seen as effective ways of improving their situation.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2001. / Sporadic violence, both politically and criminally related, has led to KwaZulu-Natal being labeled the most volatile region in South Africa. The Human Science Research Council, in a nationwide survey conducted in 1994, found that one in four South Africans has been a direct or indirect victim of crime. The urban areas offer a multiplicity of lay counseling services' to victims of violence; however, the availability of basic counseling services is almost non-existent in many far-reaching rural areas. Factors such as poverty, the subsequent non-availability of transport and telephonic linkage disadvantages the rural inhabitants even further. The University of Zululand, a founder member of the Zululand Community Mental Health Programme, has initiated various community projects in and around northern KwaZulu-Natal. As part of the University of Zululand's Community Psychology Project, the Psychology Department has been actively involved in various community outreach programmes in northern KwaZulu-Natal, including the Mandeni region. From a series of meetings organised by the Mandeni Transitional Council that comprised representatives of the local community, it emerged that there was a dire need to equip laypersons with basic counselling skills. It was decided by these representatives (who comprised people from all professional spheres including members of the police force and nurses from the surrounding clinics and hospital) that police personnel and nurses were most often the first line of contact for victims of violence. However, these individuals themselves felt that they were ill equipped to counsel victims of violence. An appeal was thus made to the University of Zululand's Psychology Department to assist in training these first-line contacts who deal with victims of violence on a daily basis. The aim of this research was to use phenomenological explication to determine the nurses' and police personnel's experiences of dealing with victims of violence and, extending from this, to tailor a lay counselling programme that will benefit the community. Whilst the evaluation of lay counsellors' performances indicated a reasonable success in equipping them with basic counselling skills, an interesting extension of these findings portray a degree of resistance exhibited by select rural male lay counsellors. This could indeed provide an impetus for further research in the area of training rural male counsellors. / Centre for Science Development

Locus of control has been associated with health outcomes (Donham et al., 1983; Holder & Levi, 1988) as well as interactions with the health care field (Christensen et al., 1996) and has independently predicted health outcomes among victims of sexual trauma (Simoni & Ng, 2002). As such, it may help to explain adverse health outcomes associated with sexual trauma. The current study sought to examine the potential mediating factor that an individual’s locus of control may have on the relationship between history of sexual trauma and health outcomes/health care interactions. Locus of control was measured via the Levenson Locus of Control Scales (Levenson, 1981) which divides locus of control into three subscales: internal locus of control, powerful others, and chance. Among a sample of women aged 18-50 years old (N = 753), an internal locus of control significantly mediated the relationship between sexual trauma and health outcomes (somatic symptoms, self-rated health, depression, and anxiety) as well as the relationship between sexual trauma and health care interactions (an individual’s level of medical mistrust and medical nonadherence). While each external locus of control scale did significantly predict outcomes, they were not significant mediators. Findings indicate the importance of internal locus of control in understanding sexual trauma’s effect on health outcomes.

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