77 research outputs found
Relationship between childhood abuse and substance misuse problems is mediated by substance use coping motives, in school attending South African adolescents
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Background: In adults, it has been shown that the relationship between childhood abuse and substance misuse problems is mediated by the belief that substance use helps cope with negative affective states. By contrast, in adolescents, it is unknown whether drug use coping motives play this same mediating role.
Methods: Secondary analysis of 1149 school attending adolescents in Cape Town South Africa (average age = 16.24 years, range = 13–23; 60% females). Questionnaire measures obtained during a single test session (among a larger battery) assessed childhood trauma (CTQ), alcohol (AUDIT) and drug problems (DUDIT), and coping orientation (A-COPE) which contained three items assessing drug use to cope with negative affect.
Results: The three types of childhood abuse measured by the CTQ – emotional, physical and sexual – were positively associated with greater alcohol/drug problems, and drug use coping motives. Drug use coping motives mediated the relationships between childhood abuse types and alcohol/drug problems, and these mediational pathways remained significant when gender and other subscales of the A-COPE were included as covariates.
Conclusions: These data are preliminary insofar as drug use coping motives were assessed with a non-validated subscale of the A-COPE. Nevertheless, drug use to cope with negative affect mediated the relationship between all three types of childhood abuse (emotional, physical, sexual) and alcohol/drug problems in school attending adolescents. The implication is that drug prevention programs for this age group should seek to mitigate drug use coping motives.The secondary analysis was supported by an MRC Confidence in Global Mental Health pump priming award (MC_PC_MR/R019991/1) to Hogarth and Seedat, and by an Alcohol Research UK grant (RS17/03) to Hogarth. The original study that collected the data was supported by the South African Research Chair in PTSD, hosted by Stellenbosch University, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Republic of South Africa (Grant No. 64811) and administered by the National Research Foundation, to Seedat and Martin
When Relevance Decenters Criticality: The Case of the South African National Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme
No full textFollowing the formal demise of political apartheid in South
Africa in 1994, critical and community-centred psychologists
have tended to obtain relevance through alignment with the
tenets of social justice and the larger democratic project. This
article draws on the experiences of the Crime, Violence and
Injury Lead Programme (cvi) to illustrate how particular
formulations of scientific and social relevance function to
marginalize criticality and critical scholarship. The author
suggests that relevance without criticality produces forms of
intellectual activity that privilege empiricist traditions, perpetrate
a binary between research and research translation, and
reproduce the myth that intervention work is atheoretical.
The review of the cvi serves as a reminder of the challenges
inherent in enactments of critical psychology. Among the
many issues that critical psychology oriented initiatives like
cvi have to contend with is the task of developing theoretical
and other resources to move between co-operation and critique
in the service of democratic development.Tras la desaparición formal las políticas de segregación (apartheid)
en Sudáfrica, en 1994, los psicólogos críticos y comunitarios
han tendido a ganar relevancia a través del alineamiento
con principios democráticos y de justicia social. Este artículo
recurre a las experiencias del Programa sobre Crimen,
Violencia y Lesiones (cvi) para ilustrar cómo determinadas
formulaciones de relevancia científica y social marginan la
criticidad y la erudición crítica. El autor sugiere que la relevancia
sin crítica produce formas de actividad intelectual que
privilegian tradiciones empiristas que incurren en la disociación
entre investigación y práctica y, así mismo, reproducen el
mito de que el trabajo de intervención es ateórico. La revisión
del cvi sirve para recordar los retos inherentes a las proclamas
de la psicología crítica. Entre los muchos problemas a
los que tienen que enfrentarse las iniciativas orientadas a la
psicología crítica, como el cvi, se encuentra la tarea de desarrollar,
entre otros, recursos teóricos para moverse entre la cooperación
y la crítica en el servicio al desarrollo democrátic
A food sovereignty insight into land, gender and justice in provincial agri-food governance: lessons from nongovernmental organisations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
No full textMasters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The author argues that food insufficiency and gender inequity are conjunctive social ills
which require concomitant analysis and intervention. To assist, food sovereignty offers a
viable heuristic mechanism to critique such a range of injustices associated with present
food systems. However, despite the efforts of its promulgators, researchers regard food
sovereignty’s nexus with gender dynamics as precarious. Given the extent to which
agrarian social structures remain bastions of gender inequity, the shortcoming is likely to
compromise food sovereignty’s transformative potential. Moreover, in acknowledging the
concomitant feminisation of agriculture and deprivation, any failures in public and third
sector strategy have most profound repercussions for smallholder women. Consequently,
the author proposes an intersectional framework of feminist food sovereignty to centralise
smallholder women in governance and development praxes. The framework considers a
layered food systems approach which highlights the sociological dynamics surrounding
intrahousehold food production, processing and consumption. In formulating this
framework, the research undertook a qualitative analysis of third sector insights into food
sovereignty and gender equity in rural KwaZulu-Natal. These findings furthered the
conceptual link between food sovereignty and gender in context. Furthermore, to test the
viability of such a framework as an apparatus of critique, analysis of relevant governance
arrangements was undertaken. The feminist food sovereignty insight was imbricated
within an existing diagnostic framework to engender holistic critique of food systems
governance arrangements. Ultimately, the researcher offers multiple recommendations to
consolidate governance and development praxes for the dual benefit of gender equity and
food sufficiency
CUANDO LA RELEVANCIA DESPLAZA A LA CRÍTICA: EL CASO DEL PROGRAMA NACIONAL SOBRE CRIMEN, VIOLENCIA Y LESIONES EN SUDÁFRICA
No full textFollowing the formal demise of political apartheid in South Africa in 1994, critical and community-centred psychologists have tended to obtain relevance through alignment with the tenets of social justice and the larger democratic project. This article draws on the experiences of the Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme (cvi) to illustrate how particular formulations of scientific and social relevance function to marginalize criticality and critical scholarship. The author suggests that relevance without criticality produces forms of intellectual activity that privilege empiricist traditions, perpetrate a binary between research and research translation, and reproduce the myth that intervention work is atheoretical. The review of the cvi serves as a reminder of the challenges inherent in enactments of critical psychology. Among the many issues that critical psychology oriented initiatives like cvi have to contend with is the task of developing theoretical and other resources to move between co-operation and critique in the service of democratic development
Reflecting on practice: negotiating challenges to ways of working
No full textIn this paper I explore some of the issues associated with teaching and researching in the context of dominant/non-dominant group relations. The paper stems from observations, experiences and challenges that I have encountered in researching with indigenous Australians including Aboriginal people from the mainland and Torres Strait Islander people, and teaching undergraduate and post-graduate subjects on cultural diversity.
I suggest that guidelines for working in culturally sensitive ways across cultural boundaries are needed and should include issues of power that are implicit in processes of knowledge production (i.e., what we know, how we know, and on whose terms we know) and social identity construction. I also argue that the writing of indigenous authors in Australia, and other contexts, are important resources for promoting critical reflection because it serves to disrupt taken for granted ways of knowing. At a minimum, I suggest, these writings bring into focus the relationships between power and social identities. I focus on the tensions and challenges associated with negotiating the messages conveyed in Aboriginal authors’ writings about self-determination, colonisation and culturally sensitive and transformative practice and research. I locate the reflection within the broader literature base on indigenisation and the development of culturally sensitive psychology. I conclude that engaging in the explication of power associated with social identities in these contexts can be challenging but it is an important part of creating a culturally sensitive psychology
When Relevance Decenters Criticality: The Case of the South African National Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme Cuando la relevancia desplaza a la crítica: el caso del Programa Nacional sobre Crimen, Violencia y Lesiones en Sudáfrica
No full textAbstract Following the formal demise of political apartheid in South africa in 1994, critical and community-centred psychologists have tended to obtain relevance through alignment with the tenets of social justice and the larger democratic project. This article draws on the experiences of the Crime, Violence and injury lead Programme (cvi) to illustrate how particular formulations of scientific and social relevance function to marginalize criticality and critical scholarship. The author suggests that relevance without criticality produces forms of intellectual activity that privilege empiricist traditions, perpetrate a binary between research and research translation, and reproduce the myth that intervention work is atheoretical. The review of the cvi serves as a reminder of the challenges inherent in enactments of critical psychology. among the many issues that critical psychology oriented initiatives like cvi have to contend with is the task of developing theoretical and other resources to move between co-operation and critique in the service of democratic development. Keywords: community psychology, criticality, relevance. Resumen tras la desaparición formal las políticas de segregación (apartheid) en Sudáfrica, en 1994, los psicólogos críticos y comunitarios han tendido a ganar relevancia a través del alineamiento con principios democráticos y de justicia social. este artícu-lo recurre a las experiencias del Programa sobre Crimen, Violencia y lesiones (cvi) para ilustrar cómo determinadas formulaciones de relevancia científica y social marginan la criticidad y la erudición crítica. el autor sugiere que la relevancia sin crítica produce formas de actividad intelectual que privilegian tradiciones empiristas que incurren en la disociación entre investigación y práctica y, así mismo, reproducen el mito de que el trabajo de intervención es ateórico. la revisión del cvi sirve para recordar los retos inherentes a las proclamas de la psicología crítica. entre los muchos problemas a los que tienen que enfrentarse las iniciativas orientadas a la psicología crítica, como el cvi, se encuentra la tarea de desarrollar, entre otros, recursos teóricos para moverse entre la cooperación y la crítica en el servicio al desarrollo democrático
Comparison of 2 dementia screeners, the test your memory test and the mini-mental state examination, in a primary care setting
No full textDementia is an important cause of morbidity but is often neglected in primary care settings. This relates, in part, to perceived difficulties with diagnosis and the need to focus on more pressing physical complaints. Screening provides a potential first-step solution. Existing screening measures are regarded as either too time consuming or insufficiently sensitive and specific. The Test Your Memory (TYM) questionnaire was recently developed in response to this problem. Its utility as a cognitive screener has not been assessed in primary care settings. In this study, we measured and compared the performance of an adapted English as well as Afrikaans translation of the self-administered TYM to the Mini-Mental State Examination, the current accepted standard screening instrument for dementia, in 100 older primary care patients in South Africa. We found a strong positive correlation of total scores between the measures, with a higher internal consistency for the TYM. The TYM was also easily self-administered. Our results, in conjunction with previous validation findings and diagnostic accuracy for the TYM, suggest that it has clinical utility and potential as a cognitive screener in this context. © The Author(s) 2012
Violence Prevention Research in Africa, 2002 to 2020: Lessons From the African Safety Promotion Journal
No full textIn this study, we examined trends in research on violence prevention in Africa from 2002 to 2020 through a content analysis of manuscripts published in the African Safety Promotion: A Journal of Injury and Violence Prevention (ASP). With a focus on intentional injury and violence prevention scholarship, the analysis aimed to assess how publications in the ASP documented and contributed to the field of violence prevention over two decades. Drawing from a dataset of 270 manuscripts, we selected 94 for detailed analysis based on their relevance to violence-related themes. Each manuscript was categorised according to its research focus, prevention type and intervention modality, and author characteristics. The findings reveal a strong concentration on violence, with studies primarily dealing with the nature and extent of violence, risk and protective factors, and prevention or intervention strategies. Among the strategies, tertiary prevention efforts predominated, with a focus on enforcement and education strategies. Author characteristics indicated that most manuscripts were co-authored, with most authors identified as female and affiliated with South African institutions. The results underscore a concentrated research focus on the magnitude and impact of violence in Africa, key vulnerable groups and critical interventions. However, the study also reveals significant gaps, particularly in research on primary prevention and broader interdisciplinary collaboration. These findings, based on an analysis of publications in one Africa-focused journal, call for greater research investment in comprehensive, context-specific violence prevention strategies and more publication platforms to address the particularised health and social challenges faced by African populations
Children's representations of sources of safety in a high violence community
No full textIncludes abstract.South African youth are at risk for injury and victimisation and those living in high violence contexts are particularly vulnerable to physical threats. Insight into how children keep themselves safe has immense practical relevance, however little has been documented regarding children's perceived sources of safety. Using the methodology of Photovoice, ten children were recruited from a high violence community to take photographs of "things", "people" and "places" that made them feel safe. Interviews were then conducted with the children about their photographs. Using thematic analysis, photographs were first categorised to identify which sources of safety were most commonly represented by participants. Thereafter, the narratives of participants' photographs were analysed to develop an understanding of how and why these sources of safety were salient. In the analysis of the photographs, public spaces were more frequently represented as safe than private ones. Other children were more frequently identified as sources of safety than adults and there was a prominent concern with physical barriers and home security mechanisms. The analysis of participants' narratives revealed that the above places, people and items afford safety by providing (1) physical security (2) interpersonal connectedness (3) spiritual connectedness; and (4) the improvement of social conditions through the development of infrastructure. These findings are considered in relation to existing literature and recommendations for child safety promotion strategies and for future research are offered
Reflecting critically on the researcher-participant encounter in focus groups: Racialized interactions, contestations and (re)presentations of South Africa’s “protest culture”
No full textSouth Africa has a considerable history of public protest from which a contemporary “culture of protest” has emerged. Despite the wide-ranging body of research on protest in South Africa, few studies have considered critically the discursive space in which researchers and participants are embedded. In this article, we use discursive psychology to examine reflexively how South African protesters discursively contest, (re)produce, and negotiate South Africa’s culture of protest in the presence of their comrades and researchers. Our analysis focuses on the making of “protest culture,” discursive resistance in the research setting, and the effect of researcher silence. We conclude by calling for protest researchers to remain sensitive to power differentials operating in research settings, while establishing a discursive space within these settings wherein participants feel heard and researchers do not attempt to mute their presence to achieve "neutrality".Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS)The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article: This project is supported by the South African Medical
Research Council Intramural Research Fund [grant number 47541]; and Unisa Ukuphepha 2:
Demonstrating Compassionate and Safe Communities in Africa [project code 822500]
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