Doctoral Degrees (Psychology)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Psychology) by Advisor "Esterhuyse, K."
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Managing adolescent learners with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: guidelines for educators(University of the Free State, 2010-11) Clark, Lesley Enid; Schoeman, W. J.; Esterhuyse, K.The educational setting is extremely difficult for adolescent learners with attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the core and secondary symptoms of which impair their ability to meet the increasing demands of high school and set them up for academic failure as well as behavioural and social adjustment difficulties. Research reveals that high school educators do not always have an understanding of ADHD driven forms of behaviour, and few have been trained in a set of strategies for managing these or for enhancing the academic performance of learners with this condition. This qualitative study was conducted in the secondary phase of a school in South Africa. By means of participatory action research a programme in the form of a handbook was developed providing comprehensive and practical guidelines to assist educators in the management of adolescent learners with ADHD. The results of the program were positive. Educators reported an increase in knowledge about ADHD which enabled them to more easily identify learners with this condition in their classes as well as enhancing their understanding of and empathy towards these learners. Participation in the programme provided educators with the skills and strategies to better manage adolescent learners with ADHD thereby guiding them into more adaptive ways of responding to the educational environment. Educators felt that they had benefitted from participation in the program as the knowledge and skills gained lead to feelings of empowerment as they became more competent in their role as educators.Item Open Access The role of attachment in the relationship between perceived parenting dimensions and bullying among preadolescents(University of the Free State, 2017-11) Carter, Mariska; Van der Watt, R.; Esterhuyse, K.Bullying is the intentional and repetitive use of aggression against targets who cannot easily defend themselves. Bullying may be physical, verbal, or social-relational, or occur in the cyber context. Involvement in bullying is a matter of concern, as it may have negative implications for functioning of perpetrators and victims on individual and contextual levels. Risk factors that consistently correlate with bullying are parenting behaviour and the parent-child attachment relationship. There is limited research investigating the interaction between these constructs in the emergence of behaviour that constitute bullying. Thus, the study had three main objectives, namely (a) to determine whether significant relationships exist between perceived parenting dimensions (acceptance, firm control, and psychological control) and different types of bullying perpetration and victimisation (physical, verbal, social-relational, and in cyberspace); (b) to determine whether these relationships are mediated or moderated by parent-child attachment; and (c) to examine whether there are any significant gender and ethnic differences in different types of bullying perpetration and victimisation. A total of 1078 white Afrikaans- and black Southern Sotho-speaking preadolescents in Grades 5 and 6 from twenty-four schools across the Free State participated in the investigation. A quantitative, non-experimental type of study was conducted, utilising correlational and criterion group research designs. Data were collected during the second and third school terms by administrating measures of bullying, parenting dimensions, and parent-child attachment. Correlational analyses, hierarchical regression analyses, multiple regression analyses, moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses, models of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVAs), and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to analyse the data. The findings suggest that although parenting dimensions significantly correlated with most types of bullying, they explained only a small proportion of the variance. In each case, perceived parental psychological control accounted for the major part of this variance. However, the corresponding effect sizes were found to be small. While attachment mediated most of the relationships between perceived parental acceptance and bullying, it mediated only the associations between firm control and physical and verbal bullying perpetration. Attachment and perceived parental acceptance interacted to influence verbal bullying perpetration. However, regardless of the levels of perceived parental acceptance, preadolescents with a lower quality of parent-child attachment were involved more frequently in verbal bullying perpetration. Attachment neither mediated nor moderated the relationships between perceived parental psychological control and bullying. While no meaningful gender differences were obtained, black Southern Sotho-speaking preadolescents were more involved in physical and verbal bullying perpetration and victimisation compared to white Afrikaans-speaking preadolescents. The results are discussed within a developmental psychopathology framework. Several practical applications of the findings, strengths, and limitations of the study, and areas for future research are highlighted.Item Open Access The design, implementation and evaluation of an HIV counselling skills programme for lay counsellors(University of the Free State, 2020) Mmusi-Makhele, Lerato; du Plessis, E.; Nel, L.; Esterhuyse, K.Lay counsellors provide the majority of public health with HIV counselling and testing services in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. Although lay counsellors are not formally employed, these volunteers provide a variety of basic healthcare services both in facility and community-based programmes. Lay counsellors are not professionally trained, and challenges have been identified in their counselling skills and competence. The study aimed to develop, implement and evaluate an HIV counselling skills training programme for lay counsellors in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State Province, South Africa. An experimental approach through a concurrent triangulation mixed-method design was utilised. Using a pretest-posttest non-equivalent method, 107 lay counsellors were selected through multi-stage non-probability purposeful sampling. Structured interviews, focus group discussions, and the observation of counselling sessions were employed to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The UNAIDS Tools for evaluating Voluntary HIV counselling and testing and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure the variables in the study. Quantitatively, a cross-sectional, correlational, and criterion-group design was used, while thematic content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The results indicated that lay counsellors had inadequate counselling skills and displayed limited competence, especially in pre-HIV test counselling, TB and PMTCT interventions. These results indicate that lay counsellors found it difficult to manage sensitive situations with patients. However, the Mann-Whitney test compared the differences between the experimental and the control groups and indicated no statistical difference in HIV content-based elements. No statistical difference on the competence-based elements in pre- and post-intervention were found for the experimental group. In addition, the participants reported a significant level of emotional exhaustion and work and systemic challenges such as lack of support, supervision, formal employment opportunities, and limited time to conduct counselling and unsafe working environments. However, the MANOVA showed no statistical difference in the emotional exhaustion subscale of the MBI amongst the experimental group. The study indicates gaps in the execution of HIV counselling within HCT services, although the HIV counselling skills training programme was unable to address these discrepancies. The study did reveal systemic and work-related indicators that impact HIV counselling provided by lay counsellors. The need for further counselling training is an arguable one, which should allow for a longer time frame, evaluation and monitoring to meet the needs of HCT services. Future studies should consider longitudinal research, and given the implications of work-related conditions reported, studies can include systemic variables, service users and measures that would address these aspects. In practice, counselling skills and competence are reinforced through regular supervision and on-going training, and this should be standard. Also, reorganising recruitment practices and creating employment opportunities should be prioritised to promote the selection of suitable candidates as lay counsellors.