ABSTRACT The study examined the influence of social support and gender on depressive symptoms among orthopaedic patients. Three hundred (161 males and 139 females) patients of National Orthopaedic hospital, Enugu, aged 20 to 35 years (mean age = 23.90, SD = 2.70), participated in the study. Social Support was measured using Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, while depression was measured using Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Two-way analysis of variance sho...
ABSTRACT There has been no research in Namibia on rehabilitation and social reintegration of individuals who were involved in prostitution. Aim: The aim of this mixed method study examines the self perceived obstacles that act as hindrances to breaking with prostitution. Method: The purposive sample consisted of 19 participants, male and female aged 17 to 45 years. They were contacted through the Council of Churches in Namibia that provides a rehabilitation programme to prostitutes. Each ind...
ABSTRACT Namibia has a long history of colonialism and apartheid (racial segregation) which resulted in the liberation struggle to free the country and its people. The independence of Namibia in 1990 witnessed the voluntary repatriation of exiled Namibian people back home. Children of the liberation struggle (CLS) is the term used to refer to the children of veterans who were under the age of 18 years before independence. Since 2008, demonstrations and demands for jobs from government by the ...
ABSTRACT Rape myths serve to blame the victim, justify the perpetrator's actions, and discount the violence of rape (Burt, 1980; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). For perpetrators, these rape myths are thought to reduce the expected negative consequences of committing rape. As for society, it is clear that rape myth acceptance precedes rape and sexual aggression (Chapleau & Oswald, 2010). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent of support for rape myths among a sample of studen...
Abstract Corpse handlers in mortuaries are a distinct population, prone to the development of psychological challenges. Previous studies have linked their susceptibility to stressful work environments, characterized by recurrent confrontation with corpses. During the year 2016, 46 staff members at the state mortuary facility in Windhoek handled 4 347 human bodies, highlighting the frequency with which they make contact with human remains. Moreover, corpse handlers are frequently subjected to ...
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to provide insight into the nature of homophobic discourse and how it manifests itself in Namibia. Therefore, the first objective of the study was to explore homophobic discourse in Namibia. The second research objective was to examine a few gay men’s awareness and experience of the homophobic discourse in Namibia. The third objective of the study was to investigate the psychological outcomes of homophobic discourse on gay men in Namibia. The literature re...
ABSTRACT HIV is considered a global disease, infecting and affecting the lives of millions of people. So far, the psychological experience of being HIV-positive has not yet been investigated sufficiently. The aim of this study is to explore how HIV-infected individuals evaluate their own lives, particularly how they find meaning in living with this life-threatening virus and how they cope with their HIV-positive status by making meaning out of it. Work done on meaning making and coping by Par...
ABSTRACT The global corporate setting changes swiftly as a result of technological, economic and political developments. Due to these phenomena it has been noted that staff members in general experience a great increase in emotional strain, leaving a need for an effective program focussed on enhancing employees’ ability to deal with such stressors via an increase in their trait emotional intelligence. With such an enhancement the employees would experience improved levels of empathy, emotio...
ABSTRACT This research study aimed to bring about greater insight into the topic of bereavement, especially with regards to children and adolescents. Questions that were answered included: How and why do people grieve? How can one help a person to cope with his/her grief? How do children grieve, and is it different from adults' grief? What do adults understand by children’s reactions to loss? The sample population was pre-defined according to the following characteristics. Primary and secon...
ABSTRACT There is silence on Namibian families who have a member with Down syndrome (DS). Hence, research is needed regarding the experiences, stress and well-being of families who are caregivers of a family member with Down syndrome. This is important to parents who begin their married lives with a Down syndrome child in the family since it will provide them with a balanced perspective of what to expect. In addition, most studies on the experiences of caring for a Down syndrome were conducte...
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore life crises prevalence of both employed and unemployed early adults in Windhoek, Namibia, by comparing differences in life crisis reporting between them. The study also aimed to determine gender differences in life crisis experiences of early adults, if any, and also the areas in which life crisis was most experienced. Guided by a quantitative approach, an Adult Crisis Episode Retrospective Self-Assessment Tool (ACERSAT) was used to collect the da...
ABSTRACT This research study aimed at exploring and describing psychosocial experiences of adolescents diagnosed with cancer. A cancer diagnosis is known to be a life-altering experience which disrupts normal development. Often, adolescents bring to the cancer experience a different dimension of psychosocial circumstances because of their developmental life stage. This research study employed an exploratory qualitative research design to explore the psychosocial effects of a cancer diagnosis ...
ABSTRACT Employment in education has been found to be one of the most stressful career paths around the world, with some of the highest burnout rates. The field of Positive Psychology have started to research this career path, because quality education is a powerful tool in ensuring economic, democratic and social development of nations. The National Association of Namibian Teachers Union (NANTU) states that many of the country’s educators want to leave the profession because of high job de...
ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality globally, leading to an annual death rate of 1.8 million. In 2017, over 700 people died from TB in Namibia. Moreover, despite the scale-up of high-quality Directly Observed Treatment Short Course strategy (DOTS) to control TB in Namibia, treatment success rates (TSR) fall short of the global target of 90%. Unsuccessful treatment outcomes are a risk drug resistant TB. Consequently, the study aimed to model the population, patient and d...