Browsing by Author "Roche, Steven Mark."

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Childrens' justification of preference for other childrens' drawings.
(1983) Roche, Steven Mark.; Krige, Penelope Disa.; Sharratt, Pamela Arlette.
The present study sought to establish the justifications of preference offered by children when evaluating other children's drawings. The sample consisted of seventy children, divided into seven age groups, of 6 to 12 years, having ten subjects in each, with five females and five males. The five stimulus drawings were selected according to specified criteria, and had not been produced by any of the sample. The paired comparisons method was used for presentation, a content analysis undertaken on the transcript of the subjects tape-recorded verbal justifications, and appropriate analysis of variance and significance tests undertaken on this data. Findings show: (i) there to be predominant categories of response - subject matter and colour, with the subject matter taking precedence over colour and usually provocative of identification therewith (ii) that children had distinct preferences for certain pictures (iii) the age and sex of the child to have an influence upon both criteria of preference (for categories of preference age significant at 0,01 level, sex at 0,05), and the frequency of choice of particular drawings (for drawing choice age significant at 0,01 level, sex at 0,05). The study also presents an extensive review of the literature in the area and of the Clinical Method (Piaget 1973) as appropriate to the present study.
The experiences of women in intimate abusive relationships : a phenomenological study.
(2007) Rajkumar, Rooksana.; Roche, Steven Mark.
Violence against women is not only recognized as a pervasive and insidious social problem affecting all societies, but is being increasingly characterized as the most widespread form of human rights violation. South Africa is at this moment, experiencing violent crime at an unprecedented rate. Today, violence has become deeply entrenched in South African society. As such it is not surprising to witness the widespread abuse against women. The researcher begins by examining relevant literature in the area of the experiences of women in intimate abusive relationships. This study makes use of a phenomenological method to explicate the meanings of 6 participants of the Aryan Benevolent Home, a safe house, who have experienced abuse in an intimate relationship. The central aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of abuse women by their intimate male partners. The research was approached from a feminist perspective, using a qualitative methodology. The participants were diverse in terms of age and background and drawn from women seeking help at the Aryan Benevolent Home. Information was obtained by means of a semi-structured interview, which was tape recorded and transcribed for analysis. Anonymity and confidentiality were assured to all participants before the study. The study concludes with the limitations and implications of the findings and recommendations are further discussed.
Gender differences in the preferred and actual sources of sexual education amongst senior secondary school learners.
(2010) Jimmyns, Candice Alexis.; Roche, Steven Mark.
This study investigated whether the current provision of sex education made available through the Life Orientation Curriculum in South African Secondary Schools is directly applicable and relevant to the sexual developmental and identity formation needs of learners at a senior secondary school level. This study resulted from the desire to point out that students at this stage in their lives require more than the precautionary biological information that is often readily available to them through the curriculum as well as other parental and health care sources. A survey was carried out at two single gender schools on the Bluff in Durban and an attempt was made to gather data on the gender differences that arose between the two samples in terms of the sources of sex education from which they are drawing. The sample size was 179 learners with 89 female learners and 90 male learners. The preferred source of sex education by both girls and boys were parents accounting for 34,5% of the girls and 18,6% of the boys. The second highest rated source for boys was their teachers with a frequency of 17,5%. However, girls indicated a greater preference for professional sex educators than teachers with 7,3% and 5,1% respectively. This was different from the sources that the students were actually receiving their sex education from, with boys and girls regarding teachers as their best source with a frequency of 16,5% for boys and 13,6% for girls. The next best rated source for boys with a frequency of 14,2% were male and female friends with a very similar distribution of the boys indicating a preference for male or female friends with a frequency of 7,4% and 6,8% respectively. Girls had a higher satisfaction level than boys with current knowledge of sex however had lower satisfaction level than boys on finding out about things to do with sex. The mean score for girls (M=5,35) is significantly lower than for boys (M=5,44), t=0.386, df172, p<.005 on the topic of satisfaction about finding out about things to do with sex. The mean score for boys for the topic of satisfaction with current knowledge of sex (M=5.60) is significantly lower than the mean score for girls (M=5,77), t=0,925, df171, p<.005. Both boys and girls indicated that parents were not an adequate source of sex education and fathers were less likely than mothers to be involved in communication on the topic of sex with them. Boys were more likely than girls to engage in sexual behavior and activities and be sexually active as indicated by the regression where gender contributed 22,4% to the model (The Sexual Activities Scale) at 0.003 level of significance. It seems that girls are more comfortable to share information iv amongst themselves than boys are. Boys seem more willing to communicate and learn from both genders in their peer groups. The Life Orientation Curriculum has been efficient in informing students on precautionary biological information however boys and girls are interested in learning about sex and sexuality and are not receiving this information from their scholarly source but rather from a number of different sources. There is also evidence that gender differences exist when it comes to learning about sex and thus may suggest that the Life Orientation Curriculum’s sex education component should be segmentable on the basis of gender i.e. the messages about sex should be sculpted in a different manner for boys as compared to girls.
Same-sex couples and adoption : a study of two families.
(2007) De Wet, Leigh.; Roche, Steven Mark.
Increasingly, same-sex couples are choosing to become parents. According to Patterson (1992, cited in Mallon, 1997), it is estimated that in the United States of America alone, there are between six and 14 million children being raised by gay and lesbian couples. This study explored the experiences of same-sex parents as they moved through the adoption process, and once they had become parents. Two couples (a gay male couple and a lesbian couple) were interviewed. The study used an ecological theoretical framework in order to understand the myriad influences on the individuals' and couples' experiences. The Voice-Centred Relational Method (Mauthner & Doucet, cited in Ribbens & Edwards, 1998) was used to analyse the data qualitatively. Major themes that emerged from the data include the ways in which parents negotiate roles with partners, the impact of societal reactions (and heteronormativity) on the couples, the quality of relationships between family members and the influence that these had on the couples' experience of parenting.
Social support, satisfaction with life and general well being of caregivers of people with schizophrenia.
(2006) Mahango, Madipere.; Roche, Steven Mark.
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects a person's ability to think and function well. Perceptions, feelings, and behaviour become impaired, making it difficult for the person to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to other people (Dyck, Short & Vitaliano, 1999). According to Brady and McCain (2005) schizophrenia does not only affect individuals, but the entire family. Very often a family member becomes the primary caregiver to a loved one with schizophrenia. Brady and McCain (2005) point out that the lifetime emotional, social, and financial consequences experienced by individuals with schizophrenia have significant effects on their families. Family responses to having a family member with schizophrenia include: care burden, fear and embarrassment about the illness signs and symptoms, uncertainty about the course of the illness, lack of social support and stigma. This study investigated the nature of the relationship between indicators of psychological well- being (satisfaction with life and general well- being) and social support as a stress buffering mechanism in a sample of 29 caregivers who were not affiliated to a support group and 30 caregivers in a support group residing in the areas within Polokoane Municipality. The instruments used were the General Well - Being Schedule (Dupuy, 1977), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985) and the Social Support Appraisal Scale (Vaux, Phillips, Holley, Thompson, William & Stewart, 1985). Findings revealed a positive correlation between satisfaction with life and social support appraisal for example in a support group. A negative correlation was found in caregivers who were not affiliated to a support group between social support appraisal and general well - being. Furthennore social support appraisal was found to be the best predictor of satisfaction with life. Additionally the fmdings revealed no significant difference in general well - being between the two groups. This study was however conducted in areas within the Polokoane Municipality using a small sample which limits the generalizability of findings. It is recommended that future studies use a larger and representative sample as well as instruments that have been culturally nonned. This study examined the psychological well - being of 30 caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia affiliated to Tshepo Family Support Group and 29 caregivers of people living with schizophrenia who were not affiliated to a support group. The study indicated the importance of being connected with other families living with people diagnosed with schizophrenia. By connecting with other families living with schizophrenia caregivers may not feel isolated and may also share the challenge of caring for someone with schizophrenia, this would increase the caregivers' psychological well - being.
Trainee teachers' beliefs about, and attitudes towards, gay and lesbian learners : a correlational study.
Lees, Alison Claire.; Roche, Steven Mark.
This study’s predominant aim was to investigate whether a correlation existed between the knowledge about homosexuality, and the attitudes towards homosexuals, of trainee teachers in KwaZulu-Natal. The scarcity of empirical data guiding homophobic intervention programs in teacher training colleges, as well as the importance of such research, led to the motivation behind this study. This study was therefore based upon the following objectives; to explore whether low levels of knowledge about homosexuality was related to high levels of homophobic attitudes, to test whether the previous attendance on a course in which homosexuality was included in the syllabus resulted in significantly higher levels of knowledge and lower levels of homophobic attitudes, and finally to make preliminary recommendations for intervention programs based on the findings of this study. This research used quantitative methodology with a correlational research design to achieve its objectives. A sample of 106 first year students at a teacher training college in KwaZulu-Natal were given questionnaires that comprised of 2 psychometric scales; Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire (Harris, Nightengale, & Owen, 1995) and The Modern Homophobia Scale (Raja & Stokes, 1998). Biographic information as well as scores for each participant was obtained indicating their knowledge about homosexuality and attitudes towards gay men, lesbians and homosexuals in general. Findings of this study indicate that lower levels of knowledge about homosexuality are related to higher levels of homophobia. It was also found that previous attendance on a course in which homosexuality was included in the syllabus did not result in significant differences in the trainee teachers’ knowledge about, or attitudes towards homosexuality. Supplementary findings of this study indicated that male trainee teachers’ attitudes towards gay men are significantly more negative when compared to female trainee teachers. Furthermore, knowledge about homosexuality scores for male trainee teachers were significantly lower when compared to female trainee teachers. Another supplementary finding suggested that having close contact with a homosexual individual resulted in significantly lower levels of homophobic attitudes in trainee teachers when compared to those who did not. Preliminary recommendations for homophobia-intervention courses that were made based on this study’s findings included the need to address the low levels of knowledge about homosexuality, the need to expand the scope of the course content to include broader issues of sexuality, specifically gender roles, and lastly to include contact with homosexual individuals while on the course.