South African Journal of Psychology

Resilience research has traditionally revolved around individual risk and protective factors that enable people to succeed in spite of adverse circumstances. More recently, the scope of resilience research has expanded into the interpersonal realm, giving rise to constructs such as family resilience (FR). In this systematic literature review, we identify the empirically validated determinants of family resilience, with particular reference to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Twelve databases were searched for relevant peer-reviewed publications from 1991 to 2010. A review of the findings revealed several familial and social resilience-building factors for families in LMICs. We discuss these findings in relation to findings from better-resourced contexts and provide recommendations for future research.

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder that affects 1% of the world's population. Family interventions whereby the patients and their relatives can attend psychiatric therapy sessions are effective at preventing relapse of symptoms. In a country such as South Africa where there has been a shift from institutionalisation to community care, family therapy treatment models are an important option to explore. Although there is a paucity of research on family therapy for schizophrenia in the South African context, we found a number of studies conducted in both developed and developing countries. Problems with adherence to medication, lack of psychoeducation and low expressed emotion (EE) were identified as challenges to effective family therapy models. A country such as South Africa has additional challenges of stigmatisation of mental illness as well as cultural perceptions of illness that may influence barriers to mental health care. These should be considered when designing family therapy interventions. We suggest further research endeavour to explore the applicability of family therapy models for people living with schizophrenia in South Africa. EE in relation to different cultural groups in South Africa should be considered.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the world. However, very little research has been done in South Africa on the interventions that combat this violence. We investigated an intervention for domestically violent men through the experiences of six female partners during programme participation. Interpretative phenomenology was used to analyse women's experiences of the intervention programme. During programme participation men continued to dominate female partners by keeping information about domestic violence secret and accusing the woman of being the abuser. Women continued to experience psychological abuse and were ambivalent about the long-term effectiveness of the programme. The study highlights the importance of hearing women's voices when assessing programme effectiveness, predicting future abuse, and increasing the long-term efficacy of intervention programmes.

We used career psychology variables found in the literature to explain the career success of academic women in South Africa. The impact of work centrality (moderated by care-giving), motivation, career anchors, and self-efficacy on career success was examined. The sample (N = 372) included permanently employed women academics in public universities. Path analysis was used to test the proposed model of career success. Seven independent variables remained in the final path model, namely, work centrality; the motivational factors of self-efficacy, motivational expectations, and motivational valence; and three career anchors (autonomy, entrepreneurial creativity, and service/dedication to a cause). These variables explained the variance of distinctly different dependent variables. For objective career success, publication output and qualifications were positively related to the career anchor autonomy, and negatively to service and entrepreneurial creativity. Teaching evaluation and community service were positively related to motivational valence. Subjective career success was positively related to work centrality, motivational expectancy, and self-efficacy, and negatively to motivational valence. Care-giving responsibility did not impact on work centrality. When the final path model was examined further for differences based on race, career stage (race combined with age), and career progress (job level combined with length of service), career progress was the only significant participant classification criterion. The results of this study were used to develop a framework of excellence promotion for academic women. The study was limited by the type of modelling used and the convenience sample.

Dominant and hegemonic masculinities typically place women and men at risk of contracting HIV through reinforcing gender inequalities. Challenging these masculinities is increasingly seen as a precondition for tackling HIV&AIDS. Narratives of masculinity are the symbolic tools, which men draw upon to construct their social identities. Understanding the composition of these narratives of masculinity is central for understanding how narratives of masculinity may, or may not, shape HIV-related health behaviours. The media is a central space in which narratives of masculinity are produced and reproduced. We analyse five days' worth of the newspaper, the Daily Sun, in December 2008 to identify the different narratives of masculinity that circulate in the newspaper. Through thematic analysis we identify three different global-narratives: (i) Masculinity and work, (ii) Masculinity, violence and crime, and (iii) Masculinity and HIV. We explore each of these narratives and suggest how they may create contexts in which certain HIV-related health behaviours are more or less likely. We suggest that despite the variation in the narratives of masculinity circulating in the Daily Sun these narratives are limited and typically undermine HIV-related health behaviours by either sustaining a masculine ideal that is unachievable, emphasising a narrative of a disempowered masculinity, or by providing limited masculine narratives around HIV&AIDS. We emphasise how this undermines HIV prevention and suggest possible approaches to challenging these narratives.

Much research conducted within the context of stigma related to HIV and AIDS focuses on the effects of stigma without reflecting on the complex social processes which contribute to its construction. In order to render HIV and AIDS interventions and treatment strategies more effective, it is important to consider the function of stigma. This study reflects on the complex social processes underlying children's understandings and construction of stigma related to HIV and AIDS. The study used qualitative interview and focus group data generated in a project on barriers to learning. The findings suggest that the process of stigma construction functions as a protective othering response that may provide a necessary psychological defence in the often overwhelming context of HIV and AIDS. A focus on how children make sense of stigma is at the heart of changing future health behaviours in this context.

In post-divorce and post-separation contexts, overnight visitation is being recommended with increasing frequency for non-resident parents. However, there is confusion as to whether sleepover access serves the best interests of young children. My purpose in this paper is to raise awareness and to encourage debate on children's needs regarding overnight contact during early developmental phases. I review available research and reflect critically on emerging trends with reference to attachment theory, practical experience, parental and gender rights, cultural considerations, and adversarial legal contexts. I suggest that insistence on overnight contact in highly contested matters may be a form of overkill that serves parental and legal demands more than the best interests of children, and conclude that individual cases should be assessed with reference to, amongst other things, processes of separation, reunion, and attachment.

Ethical issues are complex and manifest themselves in all aspects of humanity, including business. Advertising ethics are essentially concerned with issues of morality and the moral conduct of advertisers (marketers/advertising professionals). This study is primarily concerned with ethical issues in advertising. Ethics play a definite role, yet there is a lack of clarity on what is ethical and what is unethical when it comes to advertising. This creates dilemmas for professionals who design advertisement campaigns. Specifically, the study examines how the youth are influenced by or respond to advertisements that depict nudity and alcohol. The study reveals that alcoholic and nudity appeals are often used in advertising. Both young men and women are the primary focus and objects in advertisements, with appeals that catch youths' attention in advertisements; usually without much brand recognition. It was found that the youth have different reactions towards these advertisements and are influenced by their context. The youth have differing degrees of negative attitudes towards advertisements depicting nudity and alcoholism. With careful consideration and planning, it is possible for advertisers to find a common ground and use advertisements without offending people in the process. Recommendations to managers and advertising professionals as well as future research gaps on the use of advertisements and ethics are presented.

Adolescence, on its own, is a tremendously trying period for any young person, and having to cope with the added burden of being HIV-positive can have a devastating effect on a young person's psychological development. This is why the need for strategies and interventions aimed at the mental health of young people living with HIV&AIDS (PLWHA) is becoming increasingly critical. Despite the increased levels of psychological distress faced by HIV-positive adolescents and despite the numerous calls for counselling post-diagnosis, little has been done to meet the psychosocial needs of South African adolescents and youth living with HIV&AIDS from a developmental point of view. This article outlines the initiatives that have been implemented to target the health of young PLWHA and makes the argument that new interventions catering for the psychosocial needs of young PLWHA, in terms of managing the virus, need to be developed. In conclusion, the Cognitive-behavioural-based Counselling Intervention Programme is introduced as one possible means of meeting the psychosocial needs of young PLWHA.

In South Africa the multicultural and multilinguistic nature of society has impacted on the cultural appropriateness of psychological tests. In the assessment of memory and learning, tasks such as the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) are widely used although they may not be standardised for the South African context. We investigated how South African learners performed on the RAVLT as well as on an adapted version of this test, the South African List Learning Test (SALLT). The impact of language differences on performance was also noted. Subjects were 54 first (L1) and second language (L2) English speaking secondary school learners. Results indicated that South African learners achieved a higher level of recall on the SALLT than on the Euro-American RAVLT. Findings confirmed the impact of language experience on performance and highlight the necessity for the development and standardisation of culturally relevant psychological tests in South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between learning strategies, self-esteem, intellectual functioning and academic achievement among first-year engineering students in South Africa. The current study also intended to determine which variables would contribute significantly to academic achievement. Four measures (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Organiser, and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices) were administered to 111 students. The students' final examination results served as a measure of academic achievement. Modest but significant correlations were found between self-esteem, learning strategies, Organiser, and academic achievement. Results further revealed Attitude, Freedom from Anxiety, Test Strategies, and Organiser as significant contributors to academic achievement. Implications for educational practice are discussed.