bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Learning Assessment Centre and Organisational Transformation
Authors: Cook Jonathan , Muller Michael , Cutler Ian
Published: March 2013

The learning assessment centre helps managers define learning objectives based on feedback in a group of peers. This study tested the hypothesis that the centre empowers managers to cope with change. Statistical methodology for a pre-test, post-test design using ordinal (Likert) data is also reviewed. Middle managers from a bank undergoing major reorganisation were divided into two matched groups. The experimental group spent three days in a learning assessment centre designed to give them self-insight and an understanding of the bank's requirements during the transformation. The control group received no treatment. Both groups were measured before and after the centre on a self-report measure and completed a peer assessment questionnaire completed by subordinates. Fifty-eight managers completed both pre-test and post-test measures. Whilst the subordinates of the control group reported a drop in their managers' empowerment, the subordinates of the experimental group reported a substantial improvement in their managers' empowerment. The difference between the groups was significant for five of the six areas measured. The difference between the self-reported performance of the two groups of managers was significant for only one area. These findings suggest that the learning centre could provide a solution to companies faced with the potentially destructive impact of major transition on management effectiveness.
The Relationship between Statement Giving at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Psychological Distress among Former Political Detainees
Authors: Kagee Ashraf
Published: March 2013

The therapeutic value of having testified before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has not been previously examined. The objective of the present study was to determine if differences existed in terms of various psychological variables among people who did and did not give a statement to the TRC concerning human rights violations they had experienced during the apartheid era. One hundred and forty-eight black South African former political activists who were detained by the security forces during the apartheid era and subjected to abuse and torture completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, the Impact of Event Scale, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Medical Outcomes Study, Short Form 20. Comparisons between subjects who did and did not give in-camera statements to officials of the TRC yielded null results on all measures, indicating no differences in distress and traumatisation scores between the two groups of survivors. Possible reasons for these results include the likelihood that statement giving is an ineffective mechanism for reducing psychological distress, amnesty to perpetrators of abuse may be a barrier to the successful amelioration of distress in survivors, participants' quality of life has remained poor due to their lack of economic progress following South Africa's transition to democracy and the possibility that the statement giving process was too short, insufficiently structured and not designed to ensure long-term psychological gain.
Perceptions of Workplace Issues among Blue-Collar Workers in South Africa's Gauteng Province
Authors: Lee Gregory John , Mohamed Yunus
Published: March 2013

While research on the workplace attitudes, expectations and perceptions of white-collar workers has flourished over the past decades, there has been considerably less progress on establishing the concomitant contemporary perceptions of blue-collar workers. Within the South African context, this is a substantial gap in understanding. This article therefore reports the results of an exploratory qualitative study of the workplace perceptions, expectations and attitudes of some 300 South African blue-collar workers in the Gauteng region, using a critical incidents technique. Pay issues, humanity and support were found to be the foremost themes in workers' stories with regard to organisational obligations. Common themes regarding employee obligations included adequate work performance, care and protection of the employer's property, maintaining good work relationships and keeping to designated work hours. Compensation-specific issues focused on pay rises and bonuses, while equity and benefits issues were unexpectedly absent. Also absent were stories regarding development, family and HIV/AIDS.
The Biopsychosocial Coping and Adjustment of Female Medical Professionals
Authors: Brown-Baatjies Ottilia , Fouché Paul , Watson Mark , Povey Jenny-Louise
Published: March 2013

Most research on professional women has focused on their stress experience as opposed to their coping and adjustment. In addition, there is a paucity of South African research on coping in general, and on coping and adjustment among medical professional women in particular. This study accordingly investigated the biopsychosocial coping and adjustment of medical professional women in South Africa, by means of an exploratory, descriptive research design. The relationship between participants' scores on coping and adjustment measures was also explored. Three measures were used, namely, a biographical questionnaire, the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI) and the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF). These were administered to 66 medical professional women in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The results indicated that the participants perceived themselves as having an average level of coping resources and adjustment. A significant positive relationship was found to exist between coping resources and adjustment. These results are discussed in terms of their relevance to future research and their practical applicability in terms of support structures for medical professional women.
Positive Emotions, Positive Emotionality and Their Contribution to Fortigenic Living: A Review
Authors: Strümpfer D. J. W.
Published: March 2013

The term fortology refers to the origins of strength, and is used as an alternative to positive psychology. The purpose of the review is to highlight extant knowledge and the research potential of the field. In the first section of the review, positive emotions are considered as lived experiences, and their significance explained with reference to Fredrickson's Broaden-and-Build Theory. Both short-duration and longer-term effects of positive emotions are reviewed. The contributions of humour, optimism and gratitude to positive emotions are considered, as are ways of increasing the frequency of positive emotions. The second section of the review considers positive emotionality, which is the trait that forms the background to positive emotions. Finally, an overview is given of the role of genetics, the behavioural approach system, natural killer cells and dopamine — each of which plays a part in subjective experiences.
Adventure-Based Experiences during Professional Training in Psychology
Authors: Human Lourens H.
Published: March 2013

This article considers the use of an adventure-based medium, known as ‘ropes courses’, to enhance the personal growth and professional development of Counselling Psychology students. Six students who completed their Master's degree in Counselling Psychology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, between 1999 and 2000 participated in a ropes course day. Each student was asked to reflect, in writing, on four questions relating to his or her experience. Their reflections were analysed in terms of analytic guidelines proposed by Giorgi. Five main themes emerged from the analysis, namely: boundaries, anxiety, roles, cohesion and trust. It was concluded that the ropes course day contributed to the personal growth and professional development of these students and that an adventure-based medium, such as ‘ropes courses’, can be a valuable component of Counselling Psychology training.
Commentary: The Complexity of Evidence or the Evidence of Complexity? A Response to Kagee
Authors: Swartz Leslie
Published: March 2013

The practice of clinical psychology contains many non-rational aspects. If we wish to assert a special place for clinical psychology as a practice different from folk sector techniques which also claim to help people, we must provide evidence for our claim. Kagee (2006) makes an important contribution to our thinking on this issue, but his argument should be modulated by a nuanced consideration of two challenges. These are, first, the challence of producing evidence, and, second, the question of real world efficacy, especially in the South African context. Serious engagement with Kagee's argument is crucial for South African clinical psychology.
The Experiences of the First South African Community Service Clinical Psychologists
Authors: Pillay Anthony L. , Harvey Brian M.
Published: March 2013

The year 2003 saw the introduction of community service for all graduating clinical psychologists in South Africa. While this year of compulsory service in government health facilities brought the promise of much-needed mental health care to underserved areas, the incumbents' experiences and feedback are a vital source of information for the further development and improvement of this innovation. The present study attempted to survey the experiences of the country's entire first group of community service clinical psychologists. Over two-thirds ( n = 52) of the group responded to the mail survey. Among the findings was that more than half the respondents experienced difficulty in finding accommodation. Office equipment, psychological tests and play therapy materials were not available in many cases. About half the sample felt their role was unclear to them and to others, and more than half the respondents were not proficient in the primary language spoken by their patients. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents managed to access supervisory assistance, at least telephonically. Mood disorders, suicidal behaviours and sexual violence were the most common problems encountered. Notwithstanding the difficulties, around 90% of the sample believed they made a difference in the communities they served and that their confidence levels improved during the community service. The results are discussed with recommendations.
All Translators are Bastards!
Authors: Fozooni Babak
Published: March 2013

Using concepts from critical theory and critical psychology, this article investigates various methods involved in the film subtitling process. Concentrating on a particularly complex Iranian film, the article attempts to demonstrate the limitations of both structuralist and post-structuralist methods of translation. The ideological ramifications of nationalism in relation to film translation are critiqued from the perspective of discourse analysis. Finally, some subtitling concepts are proposed as a preliminary step towards a new approach to visual investigation.
The Clinical Presentation of Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia: A Literature Review
Authors: Foster Kim Alison , Swartz Leslie , de Jager Willem
Published: March 2013

This literature review explores the research on the clinical presentation of childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) that was conducted in the period 1994–2004. A literature search was done using Internet search engines and psychological databases to collect English-language journal articles from 1994 onwards. Research indicates that COS is a stable diagnosis. Generally, there is a clear history of premorbid abnormalities, an insidious onset and a deteriorating course. For the majority of cases there seems to be a poor outcome. Despite the limitations in the research conducted thus far, findings provide important insights into COS and several possibilities for future research.
Physical Exercise and Psychological Well-Being
Authors: Edwards Steve
Published: March 2013

This study was contextualised within a public health model of mental health promotion, with psychological well-being conceptualised as the positive component of mental health and physical exercise conceptualised as a subset of physical activities aimed at improving health and well-being. The research investigated the relationship between regular physical exercise over a period of two to six months and psychological well-being in 26 exercisers at health clubs in the Richards Bay area of South Africa. Psychological well-being was measured by a Well-being Profile, composed of well-being components of mood, lifestyle, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, fortitude, stress management, coping and total well-being score. Regular exercise was defined as meeting the criterion of exercising for an average of 30 minutes a day at least three times a week. The main findings were that regular exercise was associated with significant improvements in total well-being score and especially in the well-being components of mood, sense of coherence, fortitude, stress and coping. These findings are discussed in terms of their significance for the promotion of public health in general and mental health in particular.
The Validity and Reliability of Measures of Right-Wing Authoritarianism in South Africa
Authors: Gray Debra , Durrheim Kevin
Published: March 2013

In this article we examine the findings of three studies of right-wing authoritarianism conducted in South Africa. The main aim of the article is to report on the validity and reliability of measures of right-wing authoritarianism across three samples, namely a group of police officers, a group of students at a historically English university and a group of students at a historically Afrikaans university. Two measures of authoritarianism were used: the 30-item version of Altemeyer's (1981, 1988) Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale and the 14-item version of Altemeyer's RWA scale developed by Duckitt (1993a) for use in South African samples. Participants were also given measures of conservatism, prejudice and political beliefs. These scales were then subjected to analyses of internal consistency, factor analysis and correlational analysis. The findings depart somewhat from previous studies in this area in that they do not show the levels of validity and reliability reported in other contexts, nor do these measures perform as theoretically indicated by Altemeyer (1981, 1988) and Duckitt (1989, 1991a). Across all three samples, low correlations were found with measures of prejudice, conservatism and political party preferences. In addition, the three-component model (authoritarian aggression, authoritarian submission and conventionalism) proposed by these authors did not emerge in factor analysis. These findings cause the authors to question the use of RWA scales in South Africa, with a number of implications for authoritarian research in this context.
Caring for a Spouse with Alzheimer's Disease: Stressors and Strengths
Authors: Potgieter J. C. , Heyns P. M.
Published: March 2013

This study focused on the experiences of eight female participants who were responsible for the daily care of their husbands, all of whom were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. An essentially qualitative research approach, triangulated with certain quantitative measures, was used to identify both stressors and strengths reported by these caregivers. Results from mental health questionnaires showed that the comprehensive social, economic and health-related stressors experienced by caregivers put them at risk of developing serious mental health problems. However, qualitative data obtained from support group discussions, individual interviews and personal diaries highlighted the particular strengths that these caregivers showed and made use of during the caregiving process. These identified sources of resilience might in future contribute towards the development of a programme aimed at keeping this, and similar groups known to be prone to the development of stress-related illnesses, psychologically strong.
Exploring the Interaction between Comorbid Psychiatric and Medical Diagnoses: The Potential Impact of Borderline Personality Disorder on Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)
Authors: Nel Jonathan , Smith Mario R.
Published: March 2013

It is well documented that patient adherence to medical advice and prescription medication is suboptimal. While the reasons for non-compliance are varied and complex, it is essential that they be expounded to facilitate the efficacy of medical interventions. In no other illness is this more pertinent than with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has become the first line of treatment for HIV, but stringent adherence is a prerequisite for therapeutic efficacy. As with other treatments, adherence to HAART is problematic. One factor that may play a significant role is if the patient has a comorbid psychiatric illness. This article provides a theoretical exposition of how a patient with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) might suffer innumerable exigencies with adherence as a hypothesised function of the individual properties of his or her illness that is likely to be compounded when the properties interact with one another.
Predicting Treatment Adherence among Patients Attending Primary Health Care Clinics: The Utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Authors: Kagee Ashraf , van der Merwe Marie
Published: March 2013

Treatment regimens for conditions such as hypertension and Type II diabetes require strict adherence to medical instructions. Yet, adherence among patients living with chronic medical conditions attending public health clinics is typically low. The present study sought to determine the extent to which the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was able to significantly explain variance in adherence intentions and behaviour in a sample of 117 formerly disadvantaged South Africans living with diabetes and hypertension in the Western Cape. The results showed that the linear combination of TPB variables — Attitudes, Perceived behavioural control, and Subjective norms — was able to account for 47 per cent of the variance in adherence intentions and 23 per cent of the variance in self-reported adherence behaviour. The addition of the variables Psychological distress and Social support to the two regression models, hypothesised to add predictive power to the TPB, yielded non-significant results. The findings of the study are discussed in the context of applying theoretical models of behaviour developed in the industrially developed world and tested on middle-class subjects to patient samples in developing countries such as South Africa. Our findings suggest that social cognitive models of health behaviour such as the TPB may be useful in predicting treatment adherence but should be used in a critical and cautious manner.
Potential Behavioural and Psychological Contributions to Ethical HIV Vaccine Trials in South Africa
Authors: Lindegger G. , Milford C. , Ranchod C. , Slack C.
Published: March 2013

The development of an HIV vaccine is one of the best hopes for the future of the HIV pandemic. HIV vaccine trials involve multiple disciplines and professions, including psychologists and other behavioural scientists. One of the most important aspects of HIV vaccine trials, like all clinical trials, is their ethical conduct. This article argues that many of the ethical issues in HIV vaccine trials have strong behavioural (including psychological) components and implications. The article goes on to examine three complex ethical issues, namely informed consent, harm monitoring, and adolescent participation, to illustrate the contribution that psychologists have to make to these ethical issues. First, it is argued that informed consent (IC), which is an essential ethical prerequisite for trials, relies on certain behavioural components as, for example, in determining how understanding can best be assessed. Also, behavioural research can add to the controversial debate about whether IC could be viewed as a culture-bound phenomenon, or whether first-person consent should be done away with in certain cultural contexts. Second, the issue of harms from trial participation is examined. We argue that assessing and minimising social and behavioural harms for participants — an essential demonstration of ongoing respect for participants — can be usefully informed by behavioural science assessment techniques and counselling. Third, the article addresses the role behavioural science can play in the sensitive ethical issue of adolescent participation in HIV vaccine trials. We argue that psychology can inform the complex assessment of whether adolescents are able to make informed and voluntary decisions about their participation in trials. The article concludes that the contribution of psychology to the ethical conduct of HIV vaccine trials may be seen as a novel and unique contribution of psychology to health research.
Community Members' Perceptions of Enablers and Inhibitors to Participation in HIV Vaccine Trials
Authors: Lesch Anthea , Kafaar Zuhayr , Kagee Ashraf , Swartz Leslie
Published: March 2013

We present the findings of a qualitative investigation into the factors that may enable or inhibit participation in a future HIV vaccine trial. Thirty-seven semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were conducted with trial site community members who had attended HIV vaccine education workshops conducted by the community involvement programme of the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI). Our findings indicate that enablers and inhibitors to participation in HIV vaccine trials may. be further classified as either abstract or concrete. Each sub-theme was classified as an abstract inhibitor, abstract enabler, concrete inhibitor, or concrete enabler. Abstract inhibitors were fear of illness or death, lack of information about HIV/AIDS and HIV vaccines, and an HIV vaccine trial's association with HIV/AIDS. Abstract enablers were participants' reported sense of altruism and quality of life issues, such as protection from becoming infected with HIV. Concrete inhibitors were the monetary costs associated with participation, fear of being tested for HIV and receiving test results, negative reactions from family and community members, time delays between receiving trial participation information and actual enrolment, and a general mistrust of researchers. Concrete enablers were practicalities and convenience, financial rewards, a safe testing environment, positive family reactions to trial participation, the different levels of participation available to different members of the community, the salience of HIV in communities, positive community reactions to vaccine trials, and the presence of role models. In addition to these quadrants, the enablers and inhibitors have also been located within a contextual framework that includes the individual; family, community, and societal levels. Our research contributes to an understanding of the concerns of potential HIV vaccine trial participants within the South African context. Our findings illustrate the applicability of international research to proposed vaccine-trial activities in South Africa and should, therefore, inform the development and implementation of successful community preparedness activities.
The Measurement of Stress in Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Lo Castro Ann-Marie , Schlebusch Lourens
Published: March 2013

The assessment of stress among breast cancer patients is reported in the present article. The aim of the study was to evaluate the complex interplay of stress-related physical, psychological, and behavioural reactions to breast cancer. The further validation of a stress measure, the Stress Symptom Checklist (SSCL), assisted this process. The sample consisted of a cross-cultural group of randomly selected black ( n = 100) and white ( n = 100) women patients with breast cancer. The statistical methods included descriptive, inferential, and multivariate analyses, which were used to analyse the research data. The results clearly indicated that symptoms of unhealthy stress, as evidenced by the SSCL, emerged as separate from the symptoms of associated variables, such as loneliness, depression, body-image dysphoria, and quality of life, further validating the SSCL as a reliable instrument for measuring stress. Both groups of patients showed clinically significant levels of stress, although there was no significant difference in overall stress between the black and white patient groups. The absence of unhealthy levels of stress is expected to contribute positively to breast cancer patients' quality of life and subjective well-being.
Women Suffering through Their Bodies
Authors: Fernandes P. , Papaikonomou M. , Nieuwoudt J. M.
Published: March 2013

This article is concerned with the nature of suffering as experienced by women struggling with problems related to the body. Since the body is viewed as integral in the formation of a woman's identity and self-concept, any illness, ailment, or deficiency associated with it may lead her to experience pain and suffering. To explore meanings of personal suffering, three contexts were chosen, namely familial breast cancer, eating disorders, and infertility. A qualitative approach, using the case study method, was adopted to provide rich descriptions of the different experiences of suffering. In-depth interviews were conducted with women living with familial breast cancer, eating disorders, and infertility. Two women were chosen for each context. The results show that for these women suffering manifested as loss, isolation, loneliness, anger, and emptiness. Suffering encompassed the physical, emotional, and social spheres, and entailed a deep and complex experience of pain. It was also evident that suffering remains a personal issue that depends on a person's life circumstances, personality, past and present experiences, the problem at hand, and the surrounding environment.
‘Om Langs Die Pad Te Kraam’: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Perspective on Undisclosed Pregnancy
Authors: Kruger Lou-Marié , van der Spuy Tanya Monique
Published: March 2013

This article focuses on the phenomenon of pregnant women not acknowledging their pregnancies. Such women typically enter the health care system at a late stage and thus get little or no prenatal care. The phenomenon of undisclosed pregnancy is explored by focusing on two case studies of pregnant research participants in a project concerned with the psychological distress of female farm workers in the Western Cape. These two pregnant women were interviewed for a total of ten hours about topics such as psychological distress and well-being, coping and resilience, family and personal history, physical health, interpersonal relationships, reproductive issues (specifically pregnancy and motherhood), and sexuality and body, but did not reveal to their interviewers that they were pregnant. Follow-up interviews were conducted with the participants in an attempt to form a psychological understanding of their failure to disclose their pregnancies during the interviews. In the follow-up interviews, it became clear that the participants also did not reveal that they were pregnant to their families, their friends, their employers, or any health care workers. The interview data suggested that these two participants construed pregnancy as something to feel guilty, ashamed, and anxious about. Their conscious or unconscious response to this material bodily event was to not recognise or acknowledge it, neither to others nor to themselves. This finding is analysed in the context of the literature concerning the subjective experience of and psychological responses to pregnancy, with specific reference to reports of ‘motivated unawareness’ or ‘denial of pregnancy’ in the pregnancy literature. The question of how to understand the participants' experiences and response to pregnancy is then analysed within a postmodern paradigm, using a feminist psychoanalytic perspective.
Using Logistic Regression to Detect Bias When Multiple Groups are Tested
Authors: Kanjee Anil
Published: March 2013

When tests are administered to examinees from different language or cultural backgrounds, the detection of biased items, or differential item functioning (DIF), is a crucial step in ensuring that no one group is at a disadvantage. One problem, however, is that most DIF procedures are only applicable to two-group comparisons. When three or more groups are compared, the use of multiple pair-wise comparisons is problematic due to high Type 1 error rates, and it is not clear whether items identified as DIF between two groups also function differentially for other groups. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of using the logistic regression (LR) procedure to simultaneously detect DIF in multiple groups. Two LR estimation procedures, LR1 and LR2, were applied to data simulated for three groups, with 10 per cent of the items simulated as displaying uniform and nonuniform DIF in groups 2 and 3. In addition, the items were simulated to reflect negligible, moderate, and large DIF effect sizes. LR1 was based on multiple pair-wise comparisons and LR2 was based on simultaneous comparisons. Results indicate that both LR procedures could successfully detect DIF when multiple groups are compared with the LR2 as the preferred technique, given the higher detection rate and the lower Type 1 error rate. However, it is important to consider the effect size as well, to determine whether items detected reflect negligible, moderate, or large DIF.
Personality Reconceptualised: A Millonian Approach?
Authors: Laher Sumaya
Published: March 2013

The field of personality theory and assessment is often criticised for two reasons. The first is the lack of an integrated theory of personality that considers the intrapsychic, interpersonal, environmental, and biological aspects involved in personality development. The second is the Eurocentric nature of most theories. This article critically explores Millon's model of personality as a possible stepping stone towards a more holistic and integrated approach to personality and its assessment. Particular consideration is given to the cross-cultural aspects of personality theory and assessment internationally and in the South African context. In this regard, it is demonstrated that while Millon's model might provide some potential directions to follow in terms of creating a holistic and cross-culturally applicable model of personality, it is still lacking. The link to evolutionary psychology, and hence to biological aspects of personality, as well as the environmental or cross-cultural aspects of personality, needs more development. As with other personality theories, the Millonian approach is largely Eurocentric.
Factors Affecting Resilience in Children Exposed to Violence
Authors: Ward C. L. , Martin E. , Theron C. , Distiller G. B.
Published: March 2013

Exposure to violence puts children at risk for developing a variety of problems, including depression, anxiety, and conduct problems. The extent to which children's individual, family, school, and peer group characteristics influence resilient responses to violence exposure was investigated amongst Grade 6 students living in a high-violence community in Cape Town. The majority (68.44%) reported both witnessing and being a victim of violence. Both witnessing and victimisation by violence were found to be positively associated with anxiety and depression, but only victimisation was positively associated with conduct problems. Peer delinquency was positively associated with both depression and conduct problems. Involvement in conventional after-school activities was negatively associated with anxiety, and school support was negatively associated with both depression and conduct problems. No association was identified between parent support and any of anxiety, depression, or conduct problems. However, this latter finding may be related to measurement problems, or to participants' reports that they were most likely to be victimised in their homes (rather than at school or in the neighbourhood). While this study is limited by its cross-sectional nature, it implies that key sites for intervention are after-school activities, school support, peer delinquency, and home life.
Predicting Eyewitness Identification Accuracy with Mock Witness Measures of Lineup Fairness: Quality of Encoding Interacts with Lineup Format
Authors: Tredoux Colin , Parker Janat Fraser , Nunez David
Published: March 2013

After viewing a staged crime under varying levels of encoding optimality, eyewitnesses made identifications from lineups that were either presented to them as a simultaneous line of people, or individually, in sequence. Lineups did not contain the perpetrator of the staged crime, and were purposefully constructed to have varying levels of bias. There was an interaction between encoding optimality and type of lineup, with sequential-presentation lineups leading to more correct rejections than simultaneous-presentation lineups for moderate encoding optimality. Sequential-presentation lineups did not provide good protection against mistaken identifications in the two other conditions of encoding optimality. Measures of the fairness of the lineups significantly predicted identification rates for both simultaneous-presentation lineups and sequential-presentation lineups, regardless of encoding optimality.
Post-Divorce Relocation: In the Best Interests of the Child?
Authors: Strous Martin
Published: March 2013

This article focuses on factors that should be considered when determining whether post-divorce relocation is likely to be beneficial or detrimental to the psychological well-being of children. The article is a reflection on psychological literature and legal cases as opposed to an empirical study. The central arguments of the article are that (a) a continuing shared parental responsibility model rivals the traditional primary caregiver model, (b) downplaying a child's emotional attachment to a non-relocating parent places that child at emotional risk, (c) depriving children of ready access to non-custodian parents to whom they are attached may violate children's rights, and (d) the ‘best interests of the child’ standard has advantages in the evaluation process. Implications of these arguments are discussed and a framework for relocation evaluations is offered. While acknowledging the need to protect parents' mobility rights, the ‘best interests of the child’ is recognised as the principle of paramount importance. In relocation cases, individualised decisions as to a child's best interests necessitate consideration of various factors, which are explicated.
Parents' Understanding of the Causes and Management of Their Children's Epilepsy in Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Authors: Keikelame Mpoe Johannah , Swartz Leslie
Published: March 2013

This article shares the findings of a study done in Khayelitsha, a peri-urban township in Cape Town. The study explored what parents understood as the cause of their children's epilepsy and how they managed the condition. The objective was to provide information that may be used to inform the design of appropriate health promotion interventions to address the problem. Twelve parents of children with epilepsy were interviewed through a semi-structured interview schedule. Most participants did not know the cause of their children's epilepsy. The known medical causes were meningitis, tumour, and heredity. Evil spirits ( amafufunyane) and bewitchment were reported by some participants as the cause of their children's epilepsy. Major findings were the lack of understanding of the correct use of seizure medication, the appropriate use of first aid measures, the importance of disclosing the condition, and regular check-up. Some participants reported having used traditional and Western treatment. Although the study findings cannot be generalised, they highlight potential implications for collaborative approaches to address epilepsy. These approaches should empower children with epilepsy and their carers through supportive health promotion interventions that address contextual factors impacting on the problem as a ‘whole’. There is also probably a need for training health care workers in epilepsy care and management. Further research is needed to investigate the difficulties encountered by children with epilepsy at school.
Extra-Task Stimulation on Mathematics Performance in Children with and without ADHD
Authors: Greenop Kirston , Kann Lisa
Published: March 2013

The optimal stimulation theory developed by Zentall (1975) holds that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will demonstrate high levels of activity when faced with a task or situation of low arousal or stimulation. Both Zentall's early work and more recent research have supported the theory. The present study aimed to add to this literature by comparing children with and without ADHD on an academic task under two counterbalanced stimulation conditions. The first required children to do mathematics problems in silence, and the second required doing the problems with their favourite music playing. Twenty-two children with ADHD and 20 children without ADHD, with a mean age of 9.75 years, were hypothesised to perform significantly differently under the two conditions. Mathematics performance was scored as Correct, Number attempted, and Accurate (number correct divided by number attempted). A repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that generally no main effects for group (ADHD and non-ADHD) nor condition (music and silence) were observed. The only significant finding was that Accuracy (the complex mathematical calculation) improved for both the ADHD and non-ADHD groups, an effect not influenced by order of task presentation. This finding supports the optimal stimulation theory for all children under both order conditions, and is not specific to ADHD.
Teaching and Learning: Addressing the Gap through Learning Styles
Authors: Kiguwa Peace , Silva Adilia
Published: March 2013

Skogsberg and Clump (2003) have argued that there are major differences in the learning styles of students depending on the course they are undertaking. Hence, psychology students demonstrate a particular set of learning styles. It is vital to utilise these unique learning styles to address the needs of these students during the first-year level of higher education. Using the Biggs Study Process Questionnaire, we found that of the 319 psychology first-year students at the University of the Witwatersrand that participated, 175 demonstrated primarily surface learning. This finding was used to revise the first-year psychology tutorial programme, including assessments, in an attempt to facilitate deeper learning strategies. We discuss these initiatives and the major challenges that we have experienced in implementation.
Engaging Critical Thinking: Lessons from the RDA Tutorials and Projects
Authors: Israel Nicky , Pitman Michael , Greyling Mike
Published: March 2013

It is becoming increasingly important that university students, especially those intending to study at postgraduate level, develop the ability to engage critically with the material presented to them and to translate that material into real-world contexts (Candy, 2000; Spronken-Smith, 2005). It has been argued that providing the elements for facilitating deep learning through collaborative and problem-based techniques, as well as aligning course outcomes, teaching processes, and assessment, ensures a synthesis between the course design and lecturers' expectations of students (Barraket, 2004; Biggs, 1996). This short report will briefly examine our attempt to enact deep learning, problem-based learning, and constructive alignment principles in the project and tutorial tasks of an advanced psychology research design undergraduate module (RDA IIB). Both the practical steps taken to implement these principles and their evaluation will be discussed, as well as implications for future practice.
Reflections on Teaching Undergraduate Psychology to Part-Time Adult Students
Authors: Laher Sumaya
Published: March 2013

Teaching the part-time adult student provides numerous challenges not encountered in full-time undergraduate teaching. This short report presents these differing characteristics and the steps taken to cater for them in the Discipline of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand using an autoethnographic approach (Ellis & Bochner, 2003). These reflections are discussed within the context of andragogy (Knowles, 1980), transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1997), and situated cognition theory (Caffarella & Merriam, 1999).
Make Indigenes Unconscious of Whiteness: A Response to Green, Sonn, and Matsebula
Authors: Ratele Kopano
Published: March 2013

Green, Sonn, and Matsebula (2007) present a useful review of studies that theorise, research, and suggest possibilities of looking at race and racism through the lens of whiteness. In the process, however, they elide some intriguing specifics of the history of race in South Africa, such as that in the entire history of the race classification board there were no instances of any African turning white or of any white person changing into the category of African. By placing the focus on white rather than black subjectivity, whiteness studies runs the risk of drawing attention away, not only from the suffering, but also from the resilience, beauty, and love, that arises, for indigenous people, out of a history of oppression and solidarity.
The South African Former Detainees Distress Scale: Results of a Rasch Item Response Theory Analysis
Authors: Kagee Ashraf , de Bruin Gideon P.
Published: March 2013

The present study was undertaken to determine the performance of items on a scale developed to measure distress associated with the experience of political detention and torture during the apartheid era in South Africa. In Stage 1 of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants who were former detainees. These qualitative data were used to form the 24 items of the South African Former Detainees' Distress Scale. In Stage 2, the 24-item scale was administered to 148 participants and the data were analysed using Rasch analysis. The results of the analysis revealed large standardised residuals and significant chi-squares for seven items which, when deleted, fit the Rasch model relatively well. The person-separation reliability was 0.91, which suggests that overall the scale reliably separates individuals with different trait levels. The item hierarchy showed that respondents were most unlikely to endorse items reflecting bitterness regarding the effects of participation in the anti-apartheid movement. Rather, they were most likely to endorse items relating to everyday financial and health problems and general distress. The hierarchy that emerged in the analysis appears to lend support to the construct validity of the distress scale.
Suicide Ideation in Adolescent South Africans: The Role of Gender and Coping Strategies
Authors: Meehan Sue-Ann , Peirson Almarie , Fridjhon Peter
Published: March 2013

With an increasing number of studies showing a rise in adolescent suicidal behaviour and a wealth of literature concerning adolescent coping strategies, this study examined both these issues within a South African context. The interplay between social, political, and economic factors in South Africa, with its history of apartheid, must impact upon the lives of adolescents living in this country and play a role in stress, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and possible suicidal ideation. The objectives of the study were to determine the coping strategies exhibited by a South African sample of adolescents, the relationship between these coping strategies and suicidal ideation, and to investigate whether gender had any influence on this relationship. This study therefore aimed to get a better understanding of the relationship between the variables: suicidal ideation, coping strategy, and gender. Such research is important in learning to understand how adolescents cope, in order for caregivers and professionals in the field to be able to identify potential suicide ideators through their behaviours and coping strategies. A sample of 161 adolescents in grade eleven completed a demographic questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Scale (PANSI), and The Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ). The findings indicated the majority of the sample (51 %) had a positive outlook on life, feeling optimistic about the future most or a good part of the time. Further results showed that males and females followed the same pattern of coping by scoring highest on the functional coping strategies and lowest on the dysfunctional one. There was a significant difference between males and females on each coping strategy, with females scoring higher than males in each case. Correlation studies indicated a positive significant relationship between active coping (functional coping strategy) and positive suicidal ideation scores (positive outlook on life) and between withdrawal (dysfunctional coping strategy) and negative suicidal ideation scores (negative outlook on life). Results for each gender differed, with the female sub-sample revealing significant correlations between functional coping strategies and positive suicidal ideation scores, while the only significant correlation found within the male sub-sample was between the dysfunctional coping strategy and negative suicidal ideation scores.
Adolescent Participation in HIV Vaccine Trials: Cognitive Developmental Considerations
Authors: Kafaar Zuhayr , Swartz Leslie , Kagee Ashraf , Lesch Anthea , Jaspan Heather
Published: March 2013

Adolescents form an important target group for HIV vaccine trials for a number of reasons. These include the high HIVprevalence and incidence rates amongst adolescents, early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners, and other high-risk sexual behaviours. It has therefore been argued that the focus of HIV vaccination attempts should be on early adolescents younger than 15 years of age. Indeed, vaccination of adolescents prior to their sexual debut has been argued to have the potential to be one of the most effective ways to curb the HIV pandemic. While the biological and epidemiological arguments for vaccination of adolescents have been elucidated, this article offers some insight into the cognitive aspects of decision making in adolescence that may inform strategies vaccine trial sites might employ when dealing with adolescent participants. After a brief overview of the educational, biological, and relationship changes that occur during adolescence, this article explores some of the more pertinent cognitive changes that occur during adolescence. More specifically, this article explores the cognitive changes during adolescence that affect decision making, such as differences between younger and older adolescents in (a) choice, (b) comprehension, (c) creativity, (d) compromise, (e) consequentiality, (f) correctness, (g) credibility, (h) consistency, and (i) commitment. Research findings relating to the above changes are discussed, creating an argument for the exclusion of early adolescents in vaccine trials and the concomitant active engagement with middle adolescents.