The phenomenon of age-disparate relationships between younger men and older women is relatively
under- researched and therefore open to misunderstanding. The common assumption is that the younger
men enter these relationships with a view to benefiting in terms of money or material goods. This
qualitative study explored the experiences of five young men from around Pretoria who are in
relationships with older women to understand their motivations for entering into those relationships
and their experiences in the relationships. The in-depth interviews were thematically analysed and
themes that emerged indicated that, unlike what has previously been found among young women who
are in relationships with older men (namely that the young women are often coerced and therefore do
not have much power in their relationships), the young men entered the relationships willingly and rely
on cultural norms that allow them to navigate and negotiate their roles in the relationships. It is therefore
recommended that age-disparate relationships not be discouraged; instead, interventions should focus
on assisting young people develop agentic power in such relationships. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/26690 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Montana, Angela Phillibeth |
| Contributors | Terre Blanche, M.J. (Martin J.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (ix, 122 leaves), application/pdf |
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