bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Exploratory Study of Trainee and Registered Psychologists' Perceptions about Indigenous Healing Systems
Authors: Ramgoon Sarojini , Dalasile Ndileka Q. , Paruk Zubeda , Patel Cynthia J.
Published: March 2013

The health care system in South Africa is primarily located within the hegemonic biomedical model. The passing of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No. 22 of 2007 paved the way for approximately 200,000 traditional healers to be formally recognized and integrated into the health care system, thus challenging the status quo. This exploratory study seeks to explore trainee and registered psychologists' perceptions about indigenous healing and its formal recognition within the existing health care infrastructure. Unstructured individual and focus group interviews were used to gather the data, which were then analysed using thematic content analysis. The results indicate that registered psychologists hold more positive views about indigenous healing compared to trainee psychologists and are more likely to collaborate with traditional healers in their work. The implications of these findings are discussed.
The Impact of Burnout on the Intention to Quit among Professional Nurses in the Free State Region — a National Crisis?
Authors: Pienaar Jacobus W. , Bester Coenraad L.
Published: March 2013

Thousands of qualified nurses leave the South African health sector on an annual basis owing to various reasons, including burnout. Research showed that demanding work circumstances could influence employees to consider whether to leave an organisation or not. The aim of this study was to determine the level of burnout among professional nurses and to explore the potential impact of burnout on the intention to quit/change. The sample consisted of 563 professional nurses representing 140 clinics located in five health districts in the Free State region. A total of 542 (97%) questionnaires were completed and returned. Participants in the study were predominantly black (83.8%), female (89.3%), day-shift working (89.8%) and full-time employed (99.8%). The measuring tools included a biographical questionnaire, Maslach's Burnout Inventory to determine the level of burnout of professional nurses, and an Intention to Quit/Change questionnaire. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences regarding burnout between different groups with varying degrees of intention to quit/change. Respondents exhibited high levels of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and average levels of Personal Accomplishment. Respondents with the highest levels of Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization and the lowest levels of Personal Accomplishment displayed a higher degree of intention to quit/change.
The Determinants of Family Resilience among Families in Low- and Middle-Income Contexts: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Bhana Arvin , Bachoo Shaneel
Published: March 2013

Resilience research has traditionally revolved around individual risk and protective factors that enable people to succeed in spite of adverse circumstances. More recently, the scope of resilience research has expanded into the interpersonal realm, giving rise to constructs such as family resilience (FR). In this systematic literature review, we identify the empirically validated determinants of family resilience, with particular reference to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Twelve databases were searched for relevant peer-reviewed publications from 1991 to 2010. A review of the findings revealed several familial and social resilience-building factors for families in LMICs. We discuss these findings in relation to findings from better-resourced contexts and provide recommendations for future research.
Family Therapy for Schizophrenia in the South African Context: Challenges and Pathways to Implementation
Authors: Kritzinger Janis , Swartz Leslie , Mall Sumaya , Asmal Laila
Published: March 2013

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder that affects 1% of the world's population. Family interventions whereby the patients and their relatives can attend psychiatric therapy sessions are effective at preventing relapse of symptoms. In a country such as South Africa where there has been a shift from institutionalisation to community care, family therapy treatment models are an important option to explore. Although there is a paucity of research on family therapy for schizophrenia in the South African context, we found a number of studies conducted in both developed and developing countries. Problems with adherence to medication, lack of psychoeducation and low expressed emotion (EE) were identified as challenges to effective family therapy models. A country such as South Africa has additional challenges of stigmatisation of mental illness as well as cultural perceptions of illness that may influence barriers to mental health care. These should be considered when designing family therapy interventions. We suggest further research endeavour to explore the applicability of family therapy models for people living with schizophrenia in South Africa. EE in relation to different cultural groups in South Africa should be considered.
Women's Experiences of An Intervention for Violent Men
Authors: de la Harpe Kim , Boonzaier Floretta
Published: March 2013

South Africa has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the world. However, very little research has been done in South Africa on the interventions that combat this violence. We investigated an intervention for domestically violent men through the experiences of six female partners during programme participation. Interpretative phenomenology was used to analyse women's experiences of the intervention programme. During programme participation men continued to dominate female partners by keeping information about domestic violence secret and accusing the woman of being the abuser. Women continued to experience psychological abuse and were ambivalent about the long-term effectiveness of the programme. The study highlights the importance of hearing women's voices when assessing programme effectiveness, predicting future abuse, and increasing the long-term efficacy of intervention programmes.
Career Success of Women Academics in South Africa
Authors: Riordan Sarah , Louw-Potgieter Joha
Published: March 2013

We used career psychology variables found in the literature to explain the career success of academic women in South Africa. The impact of work centrality (moderated by care-giving), motivation, career anchors, and self-efficacy on career success was examined. The sample ( N = 372) included permanently employed women academics in public universities. Path analysis was used to test the proposed model of career success. Seven independent variables remained in the final path model, namely, work centrality; the motivational factors of self-efficacy, motivational expectations, and motivational valence; and three career anchors ( autonomy, entrepreneurial creativity, and service/dedication to a cause). These variables explained the variance of distinctly different dependent variables. For objective career success, publication output and qualifications were positively related to the career anchor autonomy, and negatively to service and entrepreneurial creativity. Teaching evaluation and community service were positively related to motivational valence. Subjective career success was positively related to work centrality, motivational expectancy, and self-efficacy, and negatively to motivational valence. Care-giving responsibility did not impact on work centrality. When the final path model was examined further for differences based on race, career stage (race combined with age), and career progress (job level combined with length of service), career progress was the only significant participant classification criterion. The results of this study were used to develop a framework of excellence promotion for academic women. The study was limited by the type of modelling used and the convenience sample.
Youth Attitudes towards Advertisements Depicting Nudity and Alcohol: Ethical Dilemmas in Advertising
Authors: Dubihlela Job , Dubihlela Dorah
Published: March 2013

Ethical issues are complex and manifest themselves in all aspects of humanity, including business. Advertising ethics are essentially concerned with issues of morality and the moral conduct of advertisers (marketers/advertising professionals). This study is primarily concerned with ethical issues in advertising. Ethics play a definite role, yet there is a lack of clarity on what is ethical and what is unethical when it comes to advertising. This creates dilemmas for professionals who design advertisement campaigns. Specifically, the study examines how the youth are influenced by or respond to advertisements that depict nudity and alcohol. The study reveals that alcoholic and nudity appeals are often used in advertising. Both young men and women are the primary focus and objects in advertisements, with appeals that catch youths' attention in advertisements; usually without much brand recognition. It was found that the youth have different reactions towards these advertisements and are influenced by their context. The youth have differing degrees of negative attitudes towards advertisements depicting nudity and alcoholism. With careful consideration and planning, it is possible for advertisers to find a common ground and use advertisements without offending people in the process. Recommendations to managers and advertising professionals as well as future research gaps on the use of advertisements and ethics are presented.
A Cognitive-Behavioural-Based Counselling Intervention Programme: A Rationale for the Counselling of Adolescents and Youth Living with HIV&AIDS in a Rural South African Town
Authors: L'Etang Shlaine
Published: March 2013

Adolescence, on its own, is a tremendously trying period for any young person, and having to cope with the added burden of being HIV-positive can have a devastating effect on a young person's psychological development. This is why the need for strategies and interventions aimed at the mental health of young people living with HIV&AIDS (PLWHA) is becoming increasingly critical. Despite the increased levels of psychological distress faced by HIV-positive adolescents and despite the numerous calls for counselling post-diagnosis, little has been done to meet the psychosocial needs of South African adolescents and youth living with HIV&AIDS from a developmental point of view. This article outlines the initiatives that have been implemented to target the health of young PLWHA and makes the argument that new interventions catering for the psychosocial needs of young PLWHA, in terms of managing the virus, need to be developed. In conclusion, the Cognitive-behavioural-based Counselling Intervention Programme is introduced as one possible means of meeting the psychosocial needs of young PLWHA.
Performance of South African Adolescents on Two Versions of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test
Authors: Blumenau Jeanine , Broom Yvonne
Published: March 2013

In South Africa the multicultural and multilinguistic nature of society has impacted on the cultural appropriateness of psychological tests. In the assessment of memory and learning, tasks such as the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) are widely used although they may not be standardised for the South African context. We investigated how South African learners performed on the RAVLT as well as on an adapted version of this test, the South African List Learning Test (SALLT). The impact of language differences on performance was also noted. Subjects were 54 first (L1) and second language (L2) English speaking secondary school learners. Results indicated that South African learners achieved a higher level of recall on the SALLT than on the Euro-American RAVLT. Findings confirmed the impact of language experience on performance and highlight the necessity for the development and standardisation of culturally relevant psychological tests in South Africa.
Psychological Predictors of Attitude towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help in a Nigerian University Student Population
Authors: Oluyinka Ojedokun
Published: March 2013

Although research on the relationship between psychological factors and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help has been conducted in a wide range of settings, some psychological factors remained unexplored, especially among Nigerian university students. Therefore this study investigated predictive powers of psychological factors (health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence) on atitude towards seeking professional psychological help among 452 students in a Nigerian university. The study was comprised of 234 (51.77%) males and 218 (48.23%) females with mean age of 22 years ( SD = 2.16). Participants completed measures of health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, sense of coherence, and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Results reveal significant independent and joint influence of health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence on attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Findings from this study suggest that professionals in the areas of mental health and psychological well-being might improve students' engagement in psychological counseling through changing their attitudes toward seeking professional help by modifying their unfulfilled psychological, emotional, and social needs.
A Construction of Bullying in a Primary School in an Underprivileged Community: An Ecological Case Study
Authors: Timm Victoria Margaret , Eskell-Blokland Linda Marie
Published: March 2013

This article is based on a master's dissertation completed through the University of Pretoria. Conversations around behavioural problems in three primary schools in Mamelodi, an underprivileged community in South Africa, explored contextually relevant ideas, in the form of discourse, focusing on the experience of bullying from the perspective of the participants (children identified by the school as engaging in bullying behaviour, school staff, and the children's families). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the principals (school gatekeepers), and with other participants identified by each other during the interview process. Two figures prominent in the media on the topic at the time of this study were also included to provide discourses on bullying from wider society. An ecological approach within a post-modern social constructionist theoretical framework was used. In this article one ecological case study from one of the three schools was used to explore the aims. Discourse analysis was used in the construction of the various discourses emerging from the conversations. The participants' ideas around bullying are described, focusing on the discourse themes of “community and bullying”, “profile of teachers in the community”, “bad child, good child”, “undefined problems” and “family discord”. The aim of this article is to provide an ecological description of bullying, through discourse, in the context of this case study by exploring the participants' ideas on and experience of bullying in a primary school situated in the township of Mamelodi. Implications for intervention are considered.
An Investigation of the Relationship between Students' Motivation and Academic Performance as Mediated by Effort
Authors: Goodman Suki , Jaffer Thania , Keresztesi Mira , Mamdani Fahrin , Mokgatle Dolly , Musariri Mazvita , Pires Joao , Schlechter Anton
Published: March 2013

This study investigated the relationship between university students' motivation and their academic performance, with effort acting as a mediating variable. The study strives to add to the body of knowledge on motivation, effort and academic performance, with specific reference to tertiary level institutions in the South African context. Motivation is separated into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, which were used as the independent variables. Academic performance is the dependent variable, which was measured using the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). A quantitative relational design was employed to investigate the degree to which motivation predicts a students' academic performance. The data were collected through an online questionnaire from a convenience sample of 254 commerce faculty students within a university in the Western Cape, ranging from first year to fifth year of study. The empirical results obtained from the data, using the Pearson correlation coefficients, indicated significant relationships between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and academic performance. Evidence was further found that students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation influenced the amount of effort they exerted in trying to achieve their desired performance outcome. Through the use of Baron and Kenny's procedure to test mediation, effort was found to be a partial mediator of the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and academic performance. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis of the data indicated that intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of academic performance, followed by effort. In the regression model extrinsic motivation could not explain unique variance in academic performance.
Individual Responsibility for Health and HIV Infection: A Critical Investigation of the Lived Experience of HIV-Positive Women
Authors: du Plessis Gretchen
Published: March 2013

Individual responsibility for health is a popular discourse that extends to prescriptions on how to live ‘positively’ with HIV. This study used in-depth interviews over several months with 10 women at public healthcare clinics in Gauteng to examine their uptake of such prescriptions. The transcripted narratives were analysed using qualitative coding of emergent themes. Foucault's notion of technologies of the self is used to illuminate exemplars from interviews on how these women struggled to forge new identities as women living with HIV and to take responsibility for their health and that of their loved ones. It is demonstrated how material deprivation, dependence on the state and stigma contoured the lived experiences of these women. It is concluded that a notion of healthy consumers, free to choose and take responsibility for their own health, obfuscates the constraints that women living with HIV may face.
A Critical Review of Instruments Assessing Characteristics of Community
Authors: Kramer Sherianne , Seedat Mohamed , Lazarus Sandy , Suffla Shahnaaz
Published: March 2013

Community development is critical in South African and other low- to middle-income contexts characterised by unemployment, violence, poverty and poor infrastructure. The current asset-based trend in community research emphasises constructive community development and change through the mobilisation of existing and unrecognised community resources and skills. Following this trend we critically examine the conceptual soundness and logic of asset-based community assessment instruments. We give particular attention to measures of social capital, social cohesion, community resilience, and sense of community. Our review reveals that while the asset-based approaches embody an important shift away from the deficits orientation, their associated instruments, which bring discursive impositions, are marked by conceptual and operational ambiguities, troubling assumptions about community and uneasy power dynamics in their implementation. We suggest that such challenges may be addressed through the employment of measures that draw on both quantitative and qualitative paradigms, and that assume participatory strategies to implementation.
Multiracial Families and Contact Theory in South Africa: Does Direct and Extended Contact Facilitated by Multiracial Families Predict Reduced Prejudice?
Authors: du Toit Megan , Quayle Michael
Published: March 2013

Contact theory holds that increased contact between members of different groups can improve intergroup attitudes and reduce prejudice if it meets certain quality criteria, such as equal status, common goals, and cooperation within the contact situation. It is now emerging that even extended contact, or the mere knowledge that an ingroup member has a close relationship with an outgroup member, can lead to more positive intergroup attitudes. However, in South African society optimal contact is uncommon because most social spaces and structures are governed by strong norms of microsegregation that ensure that genuine optimal contact is uncommon. Given that multiracial families exemplify most features of optimal contact while radically challenging social norms of segregation, they may be important nodes for effective prejudice-reducing contact in South African society. This exploratory study investigated the extent to which general contact with people of other races, direct contact with multiracial families (i.e. personally knowing a member of a multiracial family), and extended contact with multiracial families (i.e. knowing someone who knows a member of a multiracial family) predicted reduced prejudice, reconciliatory race-policy attitudes and reduced intergroup threat. The results show that all three forms of contact predicted significantly reduced prejudice and that direct contact with multiracial families significantly predicted reduced prejudice over and above the effect of general interracial contact. Therefore we argue that contact researchers should consider more carefully whether normatively supported contact or radically norm-violating forms of contact optimally disrupt practices of microsegregation. Additionally, we argue that multiracial romantic relationships and families deserve increased attention and support as important nodes of prejudice reduction in South African society. However, general contact was also associated with reduced support for race-based social policies which supports the argument that the prejudice-reducing effects of interracial contact may be at least partially offset by other effects that may hinder broader social change.
Relationships between Academic Achievement and Personality Dynamics during Adolescence
Authors: Munteanu Anca , Costea Iuliana , Paloş Ramona
Published: March 2013

The purpose of the present study is to establish whether the psychological personality type, the energetic pattern, the emotional pattern and the motivational structure of personality have any influence on academic achievement among adolescents. In order to achieve this goal, 100 Romanian adolescent subjects were tested, randomly chosen from the same high school. The instruments used were: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Motivational Structure of Personality Questionnaire. To rate the academic achievements of the subjects, we used their annual average grades obtained in the previous academic year. According to our purpose and objectives, three hypotheses were developed, in order to provide the study with a coherent path. The results indicated that the psychological personality type does not influence academic performance significantly: students, whether they possess these personality traits or not, can have similar academic achievements. The energetic and emotional patterns are not preliminary conditions for the academic performance of adolescents; nevertheless, certain motivational traits appear to be paramount conditions. Understanding the relationships between motivation and personality, distinctive components of academic performance may be applied to guide students towards the disciplines and programs in which they are most likely to succeed. In light of the results of the present study, it is necessary that a further analysis be carried out, based on the present data obtained. The main thesis of our research is that there is a discrepancy between the actual configuration of schools and the potentials and needs of adolescents, with the effect of diminishing the formative value of the educational process. Knowledge of the factors influencing academic achievement enables to predict which students will and which will not perform well in the educational process, thus influencing the configuration of the adolescents' future.
The Reliabilities of an English, Afrikaans and Isixhosa Version of the SDO6 Scale in South Africa
Authors: Meyer Ines
Published: March 2013

This study established the internal consistency of the SDO6 scale as a measure of Social Dominance Orientation in South Africa. The reliability was determined for its original English version and for newly developed Afrikaans and isiXhosa forms. Reliabilities were determined for various demographic sub-groups. The English and Afrikaans forms showed high internal consistencies throughout, which were comparable to those found in other societies. The isiXhosa version of the scale had low internal consistencies, except for participants who had completed their schooling. Deleting three items from the isiXhosa scale improved its reliability for high school students to an adequate level. It is suggested that future research establishes the scales' validity in the South African context.
Culture and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Proposed Conceptual Framework
Authors: van Rooyen Kempie , Nqweni Zinziswa C.
Published: March 2013

It is widely accepted that the understanding of any psychological disorder needs to be contextualised within cultural parameters. The notion that current diagnostic taxonomies are not always universally applicable does not mean that all symptoms are not applicable. We present a framework that is aimed at being a starting point from which to delineate universal and culture specific elements of PTSD. The framework follows the possible influence of cultural factors on (a) the formation of an intrusive memory, (b) an understanding of how such a memory becomes pathological, and (c) how symptoms are expressed from the intrusive memory core of PTSD. While the framework presents certain elements (e.g. intrusive memory and core schemas) as centrally important, the focus is on a heuristic framework that allows for the study of the dynamic interaction between potentially universal and cultural factors and how this interaction may produce the symptom profile generally seen with PTSD. Tentative recommendations are made for a research agenda and are presented after a brief exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of such a framework.
Contextual Elements of Palliative Caregiving in a Low-Income Community
Authors: Uren Sarah A. , Graham Tanya M.
Published: March 2013

Despite the importance of community-based palliative care in South Africa, there is little research on the experiences of formal caregivers in low-income settings, and the contextual challenges they encounter in providing caregiving services. We investigated the ways in which contextual factors affect formal caregivers' experiences of caregiving in a community-based environment. Eleven individual interviews were conducted with participants from a community-based palliative care organisation in Gauteng. The data were considered from an interpretive phenomenological perspective and content analysed into themes that converged around the contextual influences on caregiving experiences. The themes provided insight into how caregivers construct their role in relation to the community they serve, the ways in which stigma and poverty affect their role, and their perceptions of the importance of knowledge within caregiving. The findings suggest that contextual factors are an integral and neglected component of understanding the experience of caregiving.
The Role of School Engagement in Strengthening Resilience among Male Street Children
Authors: Malindi MacAlane Junel , MacHenjedze Nyika
Published: March 2013

Globally, considerable numbers of at-risk children continue to disengage from school by dropping out and adopting street life for various reasons. These children survive in environments that are devoid of resilience-promoting resources. In South Africa, non-governmental organisations accommodate street children in shelters and send them to schools. This qualitative South African study examined whether or not school engagement strengthened resilience among male school-going street children in residential care. We conducted three semi-structured focus group interviews with the street children who volunteered participation in this study. The study involved 17 street children aged between 11 and 17 years. The participants had lived on the streets for periods ranging from three months to five years. The participants were in Grades 6–11. The transcribed interviews were thematically analysed. The findings showed that school engagement strengthened resilience among the participants by promoting pro-social change, future orientation, opportunities for support, learning of basic skills and restoration of childhood. The findings show researchers, health-care and educational practitioners that through school engagement, schools can expose street children to healthy and supportive social and academic environments in order to enable them to regain their childhoods, remain in school and function resiliently. The findings therefore, reconfirmed school engagement as a powerful, multifaceted resilience-promoting resource even for children with street life experiences.
Schooling and the Development of Verbal Thinking: Tshivenda-Speaking Children's Reasoning and Classification Skills
Authors: Muthivhi Azwihangwisi E.
Published: March 2013

The article examines rural South African primary school learners' performance on classification and generalisation tasks to demonstrate the connection between verbal forms of thinking and the socio-cultural activities in which, and through which, verbal thinking develops. The study explored the relationship between learning and development and the specific linguistic practices and sociocultural activities in which learners' development takes place to demonstrate the functioning of heterogeneous thought processes employed by learners during problem solving activities. The results suggest that different ways of thinking and concept development are rooted in and shaped by the forms of sociocultural activities and discourse modes in which learners participate. The specific finding on the peculiar differentiation of abstract-categorical mode of reasoning; informed by TshiVenda discourse modes of thinking, emphasizing abstract but functional class relations, has important implications on how formal knowledge and classroom learning activities for these learners are to be organized.
Psychology Training Directors' Reflections on Evidence-Based Practice in South Africa
Authors: Kagee Ashraf , Lund Crick
Published: March 2013

Despite its importance in the international arena, the evidence-based movement appears to have had little impact among South African clinical and counseling psychologists. We interviewed 13 of the 18 directors of psychology training programmes to understand the extent to which these programmes were rooted in an evidence-based approach to psychological practice; how important directors thought it was to emphasise an evidence-based approach in psychology training; and how students were taught to use research to inform their ongoing practice as clinical or counselling psychologists. Directors expressed a range of positions including opposition to evidence-based practice (EBP), support for EBP, and equivocality about EBP. Those who were opposed to EBP based their opposition on a “critical” approach to evidence, epistemological and ontological differences with the notion of EBP, and the conflation of theoretical orientation with EBP. Concerns were also raised in relation to areas of psychological need that lacked a research base, cultural factors that did not fit well with EBP, and different viewpoints on what constituted evidence. However, among several training directors, EBP was considered essential, particularly in light of the need to offer cost-effective services in an under-resourced setting like South Africa. These results are discussed in the context of the international evidence-based movement in mental health. Three recommendations flow from our research, namely, that the Health Professions Council of South Africa engage formally and vigorously with EBP for psychological interventions; that the Psychological Society of South Africa (PSYSSA) place the matter of EBP squarely on the organisational agenda; and that a standardised accreditation of clinical and counselling psychology training programmes be developed according to locally developed criteria for assessing EBP.
Where is the Dialogue? A Social Constructionist View of Empirically Supported Treatments
Authors: Fourie David P.
Published: March 2013

Since the publication of the list of empirically supported treatments by the American Psychological Association in 1995 a controversy has resulted between those who view positive psychotherapeutic outcome as resulting from the use of specific (listed) techniques and those who lean towards the so-called common or relationship factors rather than particular techniques as necessary for such outcomes. This paper examines the controversy and shows that both sides follow the same objectivist/empiricist and reductionist epistemology. In contrast, the paper adopts a social constructionist perspective and shows that the idea of therapeutic outcome as linearly determined by either technical or common factors or a combination of these is a misleading oversimplification which fails to account for the dialogue which is the core of psychotherapy. Rather, positive outcome is viewed as mutually constructed in a unique dialogue which encompasses both common and technical factors. This takes the form of the conversational development of a new understanding or reframe of the problem followed by action which is deemed appropriate to the new understanding. This view is illustrated by practical examples.
Snow White and the Curse of the Wicked Witch: The Poisoned Apple, the Deep Sleep and the Awakening Kiss
Authors: Opperman M.C. Ian , Roets H.E.
Published: March 2013

Patients in therapy complain about their inability to change dysfunctional and repetitive patterns in their lives. In this article an explanation, of why we re-enact dysfunctional patterns and attract dysfunctional relationships, is proposed and integrated into a theory, namely, the Creation and Manifestation of Reality theory, explaining the impact of perceived traumatic experiences, mostly in childhood. The fairy tale of Snow White is used to illustrate the theory: The poisoned apple represents the impact of the perceived traumatic event, the subconscious conclusions and decisions formed, culminating over time into a hypnotic blueprint or subconscious life script. The deep sleep represents how dysfunctional behaviour patterns are re-enacted, through the creation and attraction of painful experiences in this subconscious or hypnotic “magic spell”. Snow White is finally rescued by the kiss of the prince, symbolising the breaking of the curse, the subconscious pattern is de-hypnotised and the patient can make new conscious decisions about their core self beliefs. Three case studies are used to illustrate the application of the theory in hypnotherapy practice. Continuously searching for better ways to help patients is at core the role of the psychologist in practice.
Considering Channelling and Transpersonal Phenomena from a Quantum Physics and Developmental Perspective
Authors: Welch Jennifer M. J.
Published: March 2013

This paper is divided into two sections. The first section considers the phenomenon of channelling and other transpersonal experiences and concepts in the light of recent research papers on aspects of quantum physics. In the second section, the author discusses research into the possibility that the human capacity for transpersonal experience may be understood from a developmental perspective.
Is it Just about the Crime? A Psychological Perspective on South African Emigration
Authors: Marchetti-Mercer Maria C.
Published: March 2013

Various economic and socio-political reasons are usually given to explain people's decisions to emigrate from South Africa, and violent crime is often cited as the most compelling factor. By contrast, little attention has been paid to the psychological context within which the decision to emigrate is made. In this article, the experiences often South Africans prior to their emigration from South Africa are discussed. This qualitative study formed part of a larger research project exploring the impact of emigration on South African family life. The results suggest that the socio-psychological context within which the decision to emigrate is made is highly complex and involves a number of interlinked factors. Although emigrants are aware of the impact of their departure on the people and systems surrounding them, they need to cut themselves off psychologically from significant others in order to leave and socially disengage from the home country. Consequently, it is argued that emigration affects not only the people leaving, but also those left behind (and who, according to the findings of this study, do not generally benefit from the move). Therefore adequate psychological and practical preparation is recommended and the needs of elderly people left behind are highlighted.
Patterns of Physical Assaults and the State of Healthcare Systems in South African Communities: Findings from a 2008 Population-Based National Survey
Authors: Njuho Peter M. , Davids Alicia
Published: March 2013

A national population-based household survey on HIV prevalence, incidence, behaviour, and communication was conducted in South Africa in 2008, by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). A multi-stage stratified random sampling approach was used. Questions on the perceptions people hold regarding physical assaults, healthcare systems and service delivery in the community were incorporated into the questionnaire. This study presents findings based on these questions. Evidence on physical assaults occurring within a community exist, where 5.1% ( n = 14,359) of respondents aged 12 years and older reported to have witnessed someone in the household being physically assaulted by another person in the community, within the past 12 months. Physical assaults occurred more frequently among adults, with male strangers being the main assaulters. Perceptions on the performance of the government were rated poorly in fighting violence against women (49%) and children (48%). The health services available to female victims of physical and sexual violence are insufficient, as indicated by 58% of the respondents, while 11% indicated that there were no services at all. Marital status and race are the key demographic characteristics associated with violence in the community. Healthcare systems require much improvement, as respondents indicated dissatisfaction with (1) the amount of time patients had to wait for services (76%), (2) the treatment by healthcare personnel (60%), (3) the availability of emergency services (67%), and (4) the availability of medicines (58%) in medical centres in their areas. Specific interventions to address violence issues in society as well as inequality and cultural relations need to be formulated. Formulation and implementation of interventions that strengthen healthcare systems need to be done in a fair and equitable manner. Such interventions should ensure a steady supply of medical products, and create a more effective and efficient delivery system.
Entering the Abyss: Countertransference When Working with Torturers
Authors: Bing Elaine , Snyders F.J.A.
Published: March 2013

Countertransference themes which developed in therapeutic and research relationships with torturers are described and explored. They include dysregulated affect, a sense of role reversal, disconnection from others, anger, a sense of betraying victims and the disruption of long-held beliefs. Ways of dealing with countertransference in relation to perpetrators are also discussed.
Spiritual Meanings of Illness in Patients with Cervical Cancer
Authors: Mabena Nthabiseng , Moodley Prevan
Published: March 2013

In a health crisis such as diagnosis with cancer and its subsequent treatment, patients may draw on spirituality to attach meanings to the illness. In South Africa, patients' meanings of chronic illness may also be shaped by a specific African religious context. To describe psychological understandings of chronic illness, 16 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer for six months or longer were interviewed at a South African hospital, and the qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. This paper reports on spiritual meanings, as one component of these psychological understandings that get attached to living with cervical cancer. For holistic management of cervical cancer patients, and by extension for palliative care, spiritual dimensions should not be neglected; all members of any multi-disciplinary oncology team should be alerted to these dimensions to provide adequate care.
Narratives of Power and Abuse in Gay Relationships in the Cape Metropole
Authors: Henderson Neil
Published: March 2013

This qualitative study, which employed a semi-structured guide with in-depth interviews, examines how gay men construct a gay identity and have relationships within a heteronormative society in the Cape Metropole, South Africa. Data were collected via an MP3 player and each interview was transcribed and analysed using content analysis. The sample distribution included 15 gay men aged between 20 to 46 years. Of these, 12 participants were black (six coloured, three Indian, three African) and three were white. The study examined to what extent unequal power relations and forms of abuse are reported in current practices of gay male relationships. In this article, I will unpack how the intersection of class, age, and other forms of social inequality facilitate abuse before examining how abusive experiences reported emerged out of heteronormative stereotypes, where the ‘masculine’1 partner dominated decision-making and where the ‘feminine’ partner was expected to engage in traditionally ‘feminine roles’. Participants reported surveillance and/or punishment to ensure compliance. In sexual practices, psychological and sexual abuse occurred where normative gender power relations were in operation, leading to experiences of unwanted sexual practices and being infected with HIV. There were further examples where abuse was linked to homophobic and traditional cultural practices. Some of the gay men experiencing abuse in their relationships appeared to resist normative gender power relations, in that the majority of participants found agency to end their relationships in different ways — suggesting that power relations can be interrogated.
Resilience Research with South African Youth: Caveats and Ethical Complexities
Authors: Theron Linda C.
Published: March 2013

Studies of resilience, or the process of adjusting well to major challenges commonly associated with negative outcomes, have proliferated in recent years. Despite the popularity of this research focus, there are suggestions (anecdotal and published) that the study of resilience needs to be interrogated. In this article, I respond to these suggestions by offering a synthesis of the international critiques (published from 2000 to 2012) levelled at youth resilience studies. International critiques are rooted in a post-structuralist, transactional-ecological understanding of resilience processes, which differs from earlier person-focused conceptualisations, and which explains positive adaptation as a dynamic collaboration between youth and their social ecologies. Essentially, these critiques highlight five pitfalls that have the potential to undermine ethical and meaningful resilience research. To avoid these pitfalls resilience researchers need to: consider the role of social ecologies when youth do not resile; pay attention to the hidden costs of resilience; measure resilience accurately and comprehensively; engage in evidence-based research practice; and account for how culture and context nuance resilience processes. Using this synthesis, I then appraise studies of South African youth resilience (1990–2011) to illustrate how local studies have only partially acknowledged the caveats and ethical complexities inherent in investigations into processes of positive adjustment. I argue that unidimensional and non-systemic studies of resilience do, indeed, need questioning, but that mindful, participatory studies of resilience, grounded in post-structuralist conceptualisations of hardiness, should be welcomed. In conclusion, I suggest possible future directions for resilience research among South African youth that draw on a synthesis of best practices that have been demonstrated empirically.
The Neurocognitive Phenotype of Apathy following Acquired Brain Damage
Authors: Njomboro Progress
Published: March 2013

Apathy is one of the most common neuropsychiatric sequelae of acquired brain damage. The disorder is usually defined in terms of observed deficits in motivation related behavioural, emotional, and cognitive aspects of goal directed activity. Most neuropsychological research on apathy has focused primarily on its associated neurocognitive correlates; particularly those related to executive dysfunction, or its association with other clinical syndromes like depression. Results from these studies have been mixed, probably reflecting the use of different neuropsychiatric samples and assessment tools, or reflecting the differences in the conceptualisation of apathy across studies. In this study we ask whether performance on ‘standard’ executive tests would distinguish brain-damaged patients with apathy symptoms from those without apathy. To potentially strengthen the power of the possible relationships between apathy and executive function we included brain-injured patients with varied aetiologies, and used a much broader range of ‘executive function’ tests than in previous studies. Results indicate that the Tower of Hanoi puzzle is sensitive to apathy symptoms. Patients with apathy symptoms were significantly impaired on the task compared to non-apathetic patients. Performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, the Hayling and Brixton tests, and the Stroop test failed to show this distinction. We discuss these findings and their implications for treatment and rehabilitation.
A Preliminary Standardisation of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for Setswana-Speaking University Students
Authors: Gadd Christi , Phipps Warwick D.
Published: March 2013

Psychological and neuropsychological assessment in South Africa currently faces various challenges; most prominent is the need for appropriately standardised tests. The absence of adequate standardisations and norms currently hampers practitioners' confidence in administering tests in South Africa. We aimed to conduct a preliminary standardisation of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for Setswana-speaking university students. The testing instructions were translated into Setswana and 93 subjects were assessed using a computerised version of the WCST. Regression analysis indicated that gender, age, and level of education had no influence on subjects' WCST sub-scores, except for Trials to complete first category, which was influenced by age. Therefore, one norm table — including the means and standard deviations for the purposes of calculating standard or Z-scores — was constructed for the entire 18- to 29-year-old age group for Number of categories completed, Total number of correct responses, Total number of errors, Perseverative responses, Perseverative errors, Non-perseverative errors, Failure to maintain set, Learning to learn, and Percent conceptual level responses, while separate norm tables were constructed for the two age groups, 18 to 19 years and 20 to 29 years, for Trials to complete first category. It was also found that the WCST displays adequate internal consistency. This standardisation is, however, subject to limitations and it is recommended that a full standardisation be conducted for Setswana-speaking individuals.