M.A. (Psychology) / Divorce rates have escalated dramatically since the early sixties and indications are that it will continue to do so. Although divorce has become a common experience, it remains one of the most stressful life events and a potential source of significant adjustment problems. A review of literature indicates that a relationship between divorce and psychopathology is widely accepted. The most critical question about divorce has not been answered fully, namely: what are the factors that facilitate a good outcome? More often researchers focused on the factors contributing to continued problems and pathology. The purpose of this study is to determine what relationships exist between degree of mental health in divorced people and two factors suggested by literature. These two factors are assertiveness and internal locus of control. Ideally, a holistic view of a person in his/her unique life situation should be taken. In order to limit the scope of this study only the two personal factors were studied, keeping in mind that there is an ecological interaction between many known and unknown factors and granting that it is artificial to isolate only two factors from the encompassing whole. It was postulated that a more internal locus of control orientation would facilitate an individuals adaptation after divorce. Furthermore, it was postulated that assertiveness would greatly enhance the individuals ability to adapt and adjust to the divorce. A person with these qualities would be able to realistically assess the demands of the divorce situation and address the demands in a confident and proactive way. The integrated model of mental health states that a mentally healthy individual would have the following attributes: a positive identity, flexibility, emotional sensitivity, the ability to form intimate interpersonal relationships and altruism. These attributes were used in this study as an indication of the degree of mental health in divorced people...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:4444 |
| Date | 18 March 2014 |
| Creators | De Wet, Marita |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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