Psigofortologie by die leergestremde leerder

English: The purpose of this study was an investigation of the dynamics of psychofortological factors in learning disabled learners in order to make a contribution to their vocational preparation and adjustment in the outside world. The advancement of the learning disabled learner's psycho-fortological functioning for successful functioning after school leaving is therefore the primary focus of the study. The investigation is directed towards the psycho-development of the learners who experience problems, as well as towards the prevention of problems in adulthood. The rationale of the study is to be found in the investigated functioning aspects: i.e., psycho-fortological factors such as coping, assertiveness, fortitude and sense of coherence which are important for functioning in the workplace. The field of study of psycho-fortology focusses upon the psychologically healthy individual, more specifically, the individual who remains psychologicallyand physically healthy in spite of stress and crisis situations. Aspects discussed are the learning disabled adolescent, learning disability, the demands made by school leaving and the task and terrain of the special school. An investigation was done into the connection between the learner's psychofortological functioning, namely, his/her coping skills, assertiveness, sense of coherence and fortitude and his/her functioning. The aspect of assertiveness was analysed to determine to what degree anxiety, associated with social situations, is problematic for the learning disabled learner. The empirical investigation consisted of a quantitative and a qualitative component. In the quantitative investigation the following scales were used to operationalise the psycho-fortological constructs: the fortitude questionnaire of Pretorius (1998), the assertivenessquestionnaire of Gambrill and Richey (1975), the sense of coherence questionnaire of Antonovsky (1987) and the COPEquestionnaire of Carver, Scheier and Weintraub (1989). A functioning index was drawn up by the investigator herself. Reliable indices were procured for all the scales. The findings of the quantitative investigation indicate that the learning disabled learner's grade and age correlate with his/her functioning and with the psycho-fortological aspects senseof coherence and assertiveness: the higher the grade (and age), the lower the level of functioning and the more negative the psycho-fortological indices, and vice versa. In the present investigation it was also found that the specific psychofortological indices "comprehensibility" (sense of coherence) "initiating personal contact" (assertiveness) as well as the learner's self-appraisal (fortitude) show a high correlation with the index of the learner's functioning. It appeared that a high level of functioning is connected to a positive self-appraisal (fortitude), the ability to conduct oneself assertively and a good grasp of the stress situation. The results of the qualitative investigation to a high degree support the findings of the quantitive investigation. The considerable deficiencies associated by the quantitative investigation with low functioning, namely, limitations regarding selfappraisal, sense of coherence, comprehensibility of the stress situation and assertivenessare confirmed by the qualitative investigation. From the results of the qualitative investigation it became evident that certain aspects, namely, constructing a positive and realistic future perspective through the experience of success, independent assertive conduct, a realistic, positive self-image and effective problem solving skills had to be included in a psycho-development programme. A psycho-development progamme was drawn up on the basis of the results of the empirical investigation as a contribution to the advancement of the psychological strengths of the learning disabled learner in particular, as well as of senior learners in general.