ABSTRACT
Violence in South Africa has reached endemic proportions. To date, more than 11,000 people have died in politically related violence. The present study is specifically concerned with researching the psychological sequelae of civil conflict and violence on preschool children. Using a combination of participatory and empirical methods, five creche teachers (also trained as field workers) took a random sample of 148 children in their creches. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire for Children was completed by the creche teachers for each of the children under their care. Second, the children were asked to draw pictures of things they had experienced in their life. A significant finding of this study was that preschool children exposed to violence suffered from PTSD. Further, children's drawings showed severe emotional indicators. However, an interesting finding was that these drawings were not good predictors of PTSD; the more a child was able to express emotional trauma through drawings, the less likely he/she would suffer from PTSD. This finding has interesting ramifications for trauma intervention programs for preschool children.
Subject(s)
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Violence/psychology , Analysis of Variance , Art , Child , Child Day Care Centers , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Incidence , Male , South Africa/epidemiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The psychological status of South African Black migrant children whose families had migrated involuntarily from their indigenous residence to an informal settlement was explored. Three groups, each consisting of 50 Black migrant children, were randomly selected from three types of migrant populations. A control group of 50 nonmigrant children was also formed. The Child "A" scale was administered to the parental figures of these children. The results showed differences in the psychological status of the migrant and nonmigrant children as well as between the groups of migrant children. The need for further research to explore the differential impact of premigration socializing experiences on developing migrant children was identified.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Black or African American/psychology , Emigration and Immigration , Psychology, Child , Analysis of Variance , Anxiety , Black People , Child , Habits , Health Status , Humans , Psychological Tests , Social Behavior , South AfricaABSTRACT
One way of understanding the impact of traumatic events is through exploration of cognitive changes that confront a traumatized individual. The author investigated changes in individuals' basic assumptions after traumatic experiences. The participants were 65 people who had been traumatized by representatives of the South African apartheid government. From the total sample, 36 participants had witnessed the violent death of a close relative (sibling, mother, or father). The remaining 29 had been tortured and detained. The author administered the World Assumption Scale (R. Janoff-Bulman, 1989), a semistructured questionnaire on basic assumptions developed for the present study, and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Checklist (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Traumatic events affected the participants' basic assumptions about the meaning and benevolence of the world. The tortured and detained group and the bereaved group showed differences in their assumptions of self-worth following the trauma. Cognitive approaches can yield invaluable therapeutic insights into strategies for coping with trauma.
Subject(s)
Ethnicity/psychology , Race Relations , Social Perception , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Adult , Bereavement , Female , Humans , Male , South Africa , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Torture/psychologyABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the specific impact of a major migration-related stressor on the psychological functioning of Black South African migrants who had been coerced to migrate from their indigenous residence to an area designated by the South African government. Scales measuring stress, locus of control, and psychological status were administered to a sample of 50 involuntary farm migrants, 50 "voluntary" farm migrants, 50 "black spot" migrants, and 50 non-migrants. Subjects were male and female adults aged between 35 and 45 years. Results indicated that migrants perceived more stress and were more psychologically distressed than nonmigrants. This distress was particularly associated with the stressor lose home. Farm migrants perceived more external control than black spot and nonmigrant groups.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Black or African American/psychology , Internal-External Control , Population Dynamics , Social Environment , Stress, Psychological/complications , Adult , Black People , Humans , Life Change Events , Personality Tests , South AfricaABSTRACT
The present study was done to explore the influence of involuntary migration on children's perception of control. Three groups of 50 black South African children each were randomly selected from three types of migrant populations. A control group of 50 nonmigrant children was also formed. To this sample a multidimensional measure of children's perception of control was administered. Analysis showed differences in perception of control by migrant and nonmigrant children as well as among the various groups of migrant children. Such variations were attributed to migration process and differences in educational and socioeconomic status.