The aim of this research was to explore the alternative stories of a group of black
adults who survived the apartheid years in South Africa. In common parlance it is
held that there are two sides to a story and surely, there must have been alternative
stories of how people in the black community survived the apartheid years, other than
only the dominant stories of suffering that came to the fore during the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings. It was surmised that the lives of many
of the black adults, who experienced the atrocities of the apartheid years, might have
been shaped by the dominant stories of hardship and that alternative stories of
survival may not have played the important role in the shaping of their lives, that they
should have played. The motivation for this research is that the data that were elicited
may lead to further research and the possible planning of programmes to help people
that experienced the atrocities during the apartheid era to incorporate their alternative
stories of survival with their dominant stories of suffering.
Fifteen black participants, aged thirty-seven and older participated in the
research project. A qualitative research design, more specifically narrative analysis,
was used in the form of the categorical-content approach. Two methods were used to
obtain data, namely a question in the biographical questionnaire, as well as an
unstructured individual interview with the participants. Analysis of the data yielded
eight prevalent themes, namely support, religion, role models, education, the struggle,
culture, positive experiences facilitated hope, and acceptance. Results indicated that
the eight themes are closely linked Suggestions for future research projects were
made. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1112 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Van der Merwe, Ernst Jan |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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