Psychology in South Africa

The objective of this study was to explore and describe nurses' experience of the early identification of depression in the primary care setting of South Africa. A total of 55 female nurses participated in the study (50=black; 5=white). Data were collected through in-depth interviews and naïve sketches. Data were analysed using a descriptive method of open coding. Nurses' experiences were paradoxical in that they perceived both a disrupted and a positive interactional flow between the national health care, community, family and client. Their experiences were also influenced by context of practice—especially the inequitable distribution of resources. Lack of awareness about depression, community and family involvement, and nurses' personal awkwardness towards mental health issues remains a challenge. Depression is known as the "common cold of mental health" (AANS, 2009; Wood, 2008). According to the refined disability adjusted life years (DALY) estimates for Sou...

This article aims to describe Photovoice as a method and process of enacting community engaged research. The multi-dimensional nature of Photovoice is illustrated though a case application, focused on safety promotion in two South African low-income communities. Twenty youth, evenly distributed by gender and ranging in age from 13 to 15 years, were conveniently engaged as participants in the case application. In positioning ourselves as critical commentators, we employ the case application to illustrate the Photovoice process of engaging participants in observations and dialogue about their communities; creating a safe environment for critical reflection on current community realities; shifting participants towards action; and facilitating community change. Our critical reflections and descriptions of the processes and steps inherent to Photovoice highlight the value of a youth- and community-centred approach to research.

This study investigated lived experiences of student nurses working in a clinical psychiatric learning environment in South Africa. Participants were 29 fourth-year student nurses in the clinical psychiatric learning environment at a nursing education institution (females = 27; males =2). They engaged in focus group discussion on their experiences of the clinical psychiatric learning environment. The data were thematically analyzed using Tesch’s method of open coding. The student nurses experienced the environment as growth enhancing on a professional and personal level.

This article reports on the professional quality of life of a sample of participants who were enrolled for an academic programme in Nursing Science (n = 80, females = 91.25%). Data were collected utilising the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL R-IV) Scale. Findings point to high potentiality for compassion satisfaction, high risk for the development of compassion fatigue and moderate to high risk for burnout among the respondents. Understanding professional quality of life offers direction regarding the development of psychosocial support services for student nurses.

The study explored the construction of integrity in a South African work context and from the viewpoint of business leaders (n=6, females = 2 males = 4). Three of the business leaders were managing directors, two senior executive officers and one senior manager. The types of business backgrounds included government, consulting, marketing, mining and construction. Data were gathered using ten in-depth interviews. Grounded theory data analysis yielded ten competencies related to integrity in the work place, including self-motivation, moral courage, self-discipline, consistency, honesty, fairness, diligence, responsibility, commitment, and trustworthiness. The competencies of integrity are clustered into intrapersonal, interpersonal and work orientated competencies.

The healing paradigm implicit in many sub-Saharan African cultures is embedded in African cosmology, and thus the recognition of this is essential for understanding Traditional African Healing practices and implementing collaborative counselling practices. To this end, this article focuses on the cultural importance, or voice, of traditional healers in sub-Saharan Africa. The current article uses an ethnographic approach to analyse systematically the cultural context of indigenous healing practices in sub-Saharan Africa. The anthropological importance of Traditional Healing practitioners, the context of healing, and the changing legal and ethical status of Traditional Healers are addressed as pivotal in furthering the development of this crucial, yet under utilized resource. The authors propose that such cultural understanding is highly relevant to the work of professional counselors. Keywords: African Traditional Healers; traditional healing practice; traditional healing rites and ...

This study examined the mediating effect of ethical leadership on the relationship between workplace ethics culture and work engagement among employees in a railway transport organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The sample consisted of permanently employed staff in a railway organisation in the DRC (n = 839; females = 32%). The employees were required to complete the Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS), the Ethical Corporate Virtue model (ECV) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Mediating regression analyses were conducted to predict work engagement from workplace ethics culture, partialling out ethical leadership. The results show that workplace ethics culture had a significantly positive effect on work engagement. The results further indicated that workplace ethics culture, through the mediation of perceived ethical leadership, had a significantly positive effect on the work engagement dimensions of vigour, dedication and absorption. The findings provid...

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: To cite this article: Helena Águeda Marujo & Luis Miguel Neto (2014) Felicitas Publica and community well-being: nourishing relational goods through dialogic conversations between deprived and privileged populations, Journal of Psychology in Africa, 24:1, 161-181

Rwandan leaders in the health and educational sectors have begun to discuss the necessity for establishing culturally appropriate community-based mental health counselling services in Rwanda, especially trauma counselling. The need for a community psychology approach is anchored in the lingering effects of the genocide and the continuing post-traumatic stress symptoms suffered by many in the population. Capacity building in an effort like this would require the design of multi-level counselling curricula that are sensitive to the social structures within Rwandan culture. These curricular endeavours call for the development of a National Counselling Centre to serve as a structural mechanism for organizing community-based counselling initiatives. We consider the community health services needs in Rwanda here, along with associated challenges and strategies for effective mental health services in a country with a recent history of genocide. A community psychology approach to mental hea...

This study investigated the comparative efficacy of a phonics-based reading program and a language experience approach based literacy program to develop reading skills among Zambian early childhood school learners. The learners (n = 1 986; Grade 2 level; females = 50.1%) took either the phonics-based reading program (n = 1 593) or the alternative language experience approach based program (n = 393). They were all assessed for reading skills utilising the Early Grade Reading Assessment test (EGRA) in four languages (Cinyanja, Icibemba, Kiikaonde, and Silozi). Results suggest that learners in phonics-based literacy program were significantly better in letter-sound knowledge in all the four languages. Additionally, they were significantly better in reading skills (non-word reading, oral passage reading, and reading comprehension), yet only in Icibemba and Silozi, as compared to those who took the alternative program. Results reveal that children in the Primary Literacy Program (PLP) ha...

This study investigated the construct validity of a personnel selection instrument known as Scenarios. Data were collected from 93 managers employed by a leading international tobacco company using a situational judgement test (SJT), Scenarios (Howard & Choi, 2004), and two cognitive ability measures, namely Verbal Evaluation (VC1.1: Wilson, Baron, Borkowski, 1991), Interpreting Data (NC2.1: Wilson, Baron, Borkowski, 1991) and the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32i: Bartram, Brown, Fleck, Inceoglu & Ward, 2006). Correlations among the measures were computed. The sample consisted of 71 males and 22 females. 52.86% of the sample was African, 8.57% Indian and 38.57% White. The SJT Scenarios was uncorrelated with cognitive ability tests and trait personality measures.

Most studies available on sexual abuse of pupils in schools have examined the epidemiology of the phenomenon by teachers but have not looked at what the pupils themselves say about why some teachers sexually abuse them. This study sought to determine pupils' perceptions of sexual abuse by teachers within the Zimbabwean school context. A purposeful sample comprising 200 pupils was selected from 25 schools located in the same province where the study was conducted. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. The results supported significant proportions of sexual abuse as self-reported by students. Reasons for teachers engaging in sexual abuse included that ‘they think that schoolgirls are AIDS free’; ‘they lack respect for their pupils’; ‘some girls show off their buttocks to teachers’; and that ‘some girls put on short dresses’. The study shows that pupils hold various perceptions about sexual abuse by teachers in Zimbabwean schools.

This qualitative study explored the psychosocial factors that affect the implementation of an operational risk management framework in a financial institution in Tanzania. A purposive sample of 39 participants from three financial institutions was interviewed using semistructured interviews. The data were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis and the open coding procedure of grounded theory was used to identify the highlighted themes.

The study examined stressors and coping strategies of 281 Social Sciences students at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe (49% female, 51% male). A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results showed that the 7 most common stressors were: finance, reading resources, accommodation, food, transport, inadequate infrastructure and lecturer related problems. The students mentioned 34 coping strategies that were categorized and then analysed for effectiveness. The effects of sex, residence status and academic year differences were evaluated using Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis rank order analysis of variance. There were no significant differences in coping strategies for stressors by demographic variables.

The study investigated the relationship between employees’ perceived workplace ethics culture and climate variables and their level of engagement. A non-probability sample (N = 839; females = 32%) was permanently employed in a railwayorganisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The research constructs were measured using the CorporateEthical Virtues (CEV) Scale, Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). A canonical analysis indicated that the participants’ perceived workplace ethics culture and workplace ethics climate were significantly and positively related to their level of engagement. Structural equation modelling indicated a moderate fitbetween the workplace ethics culture, workplace ethics climate and employee engagement canonical variate constructs.The findings provide evidence that individual’s perception of work ethics culture and work ethics climate explain their level of work engagement.