The nature of quality of life in residential care facilities: the case of White older South Africans

This study describes the nature of quality of life (QoL) from the perspective of older South Africans (n?=?41) in residential care facilities (female =?75%; age range 62–95 years). The residents participated in individual in-depth interviews and focus groups. They also set down their narrative reflections on their QoL in journals. Data were analysed by means of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings reveal the resident older South Africans regard QoL as a spiritually informed worldview of life events, coping with challenges and being mindful of others. The residents perceived QoL to include proximity and quality and reciprocity with others. QoL among older people is context and people specific.     

The role of teammate relationships,communication and self-efficacy in predicting athlete flow experience

This study aimed at testing a structural model of athlete flow in a sample of South African students. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was implemented. Participants completed self-report measures at pre-arranged times that were in close proximity to the completion of athletic activity. Student athletes (n = 235) participating in South Africa's two major sports, football and rugby, were surveyed. The instruments utilised in this study included the Short Flow State Scale-2, the Questionnaire on Experience and Assessment of Work, and the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale. The results indicated positive relationships between the variables and established predictor paths. Teammate relationships and self-efficacy were established to as the best predictors of flow experiences of athletes.     

A relationship with Señor de Carácuaro

The present paper explores the issue of personal relationships in the context of pilgrimage. Most literature about pilgrimage in Latin America focuses on the journey, or on the alleged ‘sacred power’ located in the shrine and sought by the pilgrims. I argue that, from the perspective of the participants’ experience, pilgrimage could be understood in terms of personal relationships with particular holy beings, who are perceived as agents. Through the particular case of Marta, a young Purhépecha woman from Lake Pátzcuaro (Mexico), I will examine the modes in which people from this area relate, interact and communicate with saintly beings in the context of pilgrimage; the connection of vows with quotidian experience; and the implications of relationships with saints for people in their everyday lives.     

Metanoia

SUMMARY

The author draws on her experience working with individual men who are violent to their partners to think about the problem of international violence. A parallel is drawn between a man's feeling of “entitlement” to forcefully keep his partner “in line” and feelings of national entitlement to engage in violence to force one group's agenda on another. The differences between morals and taboos are discussed underscoring the community value of that which becomes socially and ethically “unthinkable.”     

Protective effect of supportive family relationships and the influence of stressful life events on adolescent adjustment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the occurrence of stressful life events and internalizing and externalizing problems, and to analyze longitudinally buffering effects of supportive family relationships. To this end, 100 Spanish adolescents were studied twice, when they were in mid-adolescence (15–16 years) and two years later. They completed questionnaires regarding stressful life events, family relationships, and adolescent adjustment. Results showed that high quality parent-adolescent relationships protected boys and girls against the negative consequences of stressful life events on externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms. The adolescents who enjoyed good relationships with their parents in mid-adolescence did not increase their externalizing problems in late adolescence as consequence of the occurrence of stressful events. However, these stressors did lead to an increase in the number of externalizing problems when the family relationships were of a middle or low quality. These results highlight the important role that supportive family relationships play in the behavioral adjustment of adolescents, protecting them against some negative consequences of stressful life events, and suggest the relevance of supporting parents through resources such as parent education in order to help them to improve their relationships with their adolescents.     

Identity and Emotional Competence as Mediators of the Relation between Childhood Psychological Maltreatment and Adult Love Relationships

This study tested whether identity formation and emotional competence mediated the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and adult attachment styles, and tested the differential long-term effects of psychological abuse and neglect. The sample included 187 undergraduates in romantic relationships. Measures assessed the extent of childhood trauma, family expressiveness, alexithymia, self-esteem, self-concept, and adult attachment style. Results of path analysis showed that emotional competence, but not self-identity, mediated the relationship between psychological maltreatment and adult attachment styles. Self-identity mediated the relationship between psychological maltreatment and emotional competence. Emotional abuse and neglect both were associated with lack of contentment, sense of worthiness and significance, alexithymia, and fearful adult attachment style. Results support the importance of emotional competence for forming adult romantic relationships.     

In Pursuit of Happiness: How Some Young South African Children Construct Happiness

The purpose of the study was to explore the ways in which young South African children construct the notion of happiness. The small-scale study was conducted with children (n=42) in middle childhood between the ages of 6 and 13 years. Four fieldworkers were trained to elicit responses from young children through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and six open-ended questions. This data collection strategy was twinned with the elicitation of graphic representations of ‘happiness’ as expressed and projected by the young children. Observations and audiotape data capturing served as secondary data sources. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed through theme analysis. Axial coding followed open coding as themes emerged. Graphic representations were analysed using basic psychological analysis techniques and then correlated with established themes from the interview data. Results from the study indicate that the participants in the study constructed ‘happiness’ predominantly in terms of relationships, recreation and the attainment of material possessions.     

The Gift of Growing Up in a Same-Gendered Family: A Case Study

This article portrays the personal strengths of children growing up in same-gendered families from a positive psychological framework. One of the major challenges all children growing up in same-gendered families are faced with is the integration of their family experience with that of the wider society outside the home. A narrative approach was used to explore the experiences of children from their perspectives. Five children from eight families participated in the project. Data were created through interviews and a variety of other supportive qualitative techniques. The data were analyzed using a holistic analysis approach and a narrative was subsequently written to illuminate the uniqueness, the specificity and the individuality of each particular child. This article depicts one of these narratives. From this narrative the following personal strengths emerged: humor, a sense of perceived control, socially intelligent disclosure, agency, okayness and the ability to form positive relationships. I propose that remarkable personal strengths are displayed in the way in which children growing up in same-gendered families engage a heteronormative world.     

Towards an Understanding of Nurturing and Restraining Relational Patterns in School Communities

This study aimed to understand the nature of nurturing and restraining relationships in a school communiy. The inquiry entailed a single instrumental case study of a selected school community in a semi-urban context in South Africa. Participants were learners (n=720), teachers (n=33) and administrative and terrain staff members (N=8) as well as two parents. Data on participants' perceptions of relationships in the school community were collected using work sessions/nominal group techniques, visual representations, and focus group interviews. Thematic analysis of the data revealed connectedness, respect, care and transparent communication as aspects that nurture relationships. Limited connectedness between people, the abuse of power, shifting of responsibility and disrespect for one another were revealed as aspects that restrain relationships.