Maatskaplikewerkhulpverlening aan gesinne in egskeidingsituasies

English: Divorce is a serious problem phenomenon that is increasing in our society, whilst numeruous households in our community are affected by it. Insufficient information is available with regard to the type and extent of social work services that should be rendered to families in divorce situations. The focus is essentially on specific areas such as the legal aspects attached to divorce. There is no uniformity in social work services that are rendered to families in divorce situations. The danger therefore might be that the family members should struggle on their own through the trauma of their divorce situations. This issues therefore forms the motivation for the study. The focus was, during the literature study, on the theoretical foundation of social constructionism which was used as the conceptual framework for the study. The literature overview focuses further on the narrative approach which results from the social constructionism and has been utilized as a strategy during the study. The literature study also focused on the three most prominent divorce models described in the literature as well as the most important services and resources which are available to families in divorce situations. An overview was given about the meaning and reality constructions which the different family members attached to their divorce situations. The literature overview was completed with a discussion of the participatory action research which was used as research method during the empirical study. The literature study was supplemented with an empirical study according to a qualitative investigation. Participatory action research was utilized as the method of research. Adult white males and – females who were in the process of divorce, or either already been divorced, as well as a limit number of some of the children of the participants were involved in the research. Individual interviews, groupdiscussions and a workshop were utilized to establish the needs and existing reality constructions of the participants. Groupdiscussions were done mostly on weekly basis and took approximately ninety minutes per discussion. During the interaction processes and the action phase of the participatory action research, the narrative approach was utilized as strategy. The participants got the opportunity to define their problem dominated themes and to externalized it by means of the utilization of the narrative approach. Unique outcomes were identified gradually in the participants stories which were then again utilized as the basis in the developing of new narratives. The new story includes specific outcomes and planning, focussed on the needs and problems identified by the participants. As the participants put into effect their actions and planning they succeeded in completing the tasks which were identified as relevant to cope with their divorce situation. The process of interaction which took place throughout the research lead to a continuous process through which participants changed and/or transformed their existing reality constructions concerning their divorce situation. This resulted in behavioural change of the participants. The “definitional ceremonies” confirmed the new stories which were facilitated through witnesses. “Remembering conversations” provided the opportunity to participants to arrange persons and resources in such a way that those who support the new narratives becomes more prominent in their lives. During the “taking it back practices” the contributions of participants to the life of the researcher were acknowledged. The life of the researcher therefore was described more richly. In accordance with participatory action research, participants were recruited throughout the project and become part of the project for the divorced (or persons in the process of a divorce) within the church community where the research was conducted. The process of participatory action research became entangled with the process of social work service delivery to individuals and families in divorce situations in such a way that the research became a sustainable modus operandi towards such individuals. The social worker could gradually take less responsibility for the process. The narrative approach seems to be an ideal stategy to implement participatory action reseach and eventually, as in this research project, to render social work services to families in divorce situations. As the process unfolds the participants were able to successfully complete the tasks that are necessary to adjust to their divorce situation.