The purpose of this study is to provide a groundwork for the understanding of
the psychosocial development of black South African men. This need stems from the
limitation of current models of psychosocial development, which have a white, middleclass
bias, and from the dearth of research relating to black psychosocial development
in South Africa.
Questions which have guided the present study include the following: What is
the nature of the psychosocial development of black men? What are the main
developmental tasks that they have to negotiate, especially in relation to family and
career? How do sociocultural, political and economic factors influence development?
How does the development of black South African men compare with other
conceptualisations of adult development?
Daniel Levinson's (1978) theory of the life structure was used as a framework
to explore these questions. This involved a series of in depth qualitative interviews with
eight men between the ages of 29 and 41, from diverse educational and socio-economic
backgrounds. The grounded theory approach used to analyse the data involved the
simultaneous process of data collection and data analysis. Similarities and differences
in the men's evolving life structures were identified through a process of coding, or
organising the data into categories and themes.
The findings highlighted the importance of understanding the dialectical nature
of development, the role of life events, and the significance of role strain across the life
span of black South African adults. Discrimination, economic constraints, traditional
values, and the sociopolitical context were found to have an impact on the important
developmental tasks. The coping strategies employed to deal with external barriers had
an especially influential impact on the men's evolving life structures. A model of
psychosocial development was proposed which addresses these factors, and which is thus
more relevant to the lives of black South African men, than stage models such as
Levinson's.
Important implications on a societal and theoretical level, and for the professional
practice of psychology emerged. It is hoped that these findings will enrich
developmental theory in psychology training programmes, and guide career and personal
counselling in the South African context. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/17706 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Segal, Robert Daniel |
| Contributors | Moore, C. (Cora), Cronjé, Elsje Margaretha |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (465 pages) |
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