- Title
- A qualitative study of the psychosocial well-being of adolescent females orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Nkonkobe Municipality
- Creator
- Mahola, Mpho Nosisi
- Subject
- Children of AIDS patients Orphans -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSoc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10818
- Identifier
- vital:35807
- Description
- Approximately twelve million children under the age of 18 years worldwide have lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS. Several factors can be considered to contribute to the psychosocial well-being of HIV/AIDS orphaned teenage girls, among others, poverty, lack of social support, post-traumatic stress disorder, stigma and discrimination which have adverse consequences to the said teenager. Evidence suggests that HIV/AIDS orphaned adolescent girls may engage in relationships with older men to fund for school and other expenses and also to fulfil the need for a parental figure or emotional support, affection and attention. Against this background, this research study intended to investigate the psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent females orphaned by HIV/AIDS in the Nkonkobe Municipality. Fourteen Xhosa- speaking adolescent females between the ages of 15 and 18 years were recruited by means of snowball technique to participate in a qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews allowed sensitive issues to be discussed more easily. To ensure confidentiality and anonymity, the researcher suggested pseudonyms for the participants. This took place after the management of Isibindi Community Centre from Alice and Child Welfare from Fort Beaufort, both from the Eastern Cape, South Africa granted permission to conduct the study. The social worker from child welfare and the principal of Lingeni High School, assisted in ensuring that the participants from the two data collection sites, are organized prior the study. The researcher used Guba’s model whereby Guba and Lincoln’s model to ascertain the trustworthiness of qualitative research by following these principles; credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability. The framework analysis which uses a thematic approach was utilized to analyse data. Meanings were formulated and they produced clusters of themes. The findings of the study revealed that HIV/AIDS orphaned adolescent females experienced grief of the loss of parents which made it difficult by deepening poverty and multifaceted challenges. Participants’ psychological well-being was impaired, subsequently they engaged in risky sexual behaviour, that is, substance abuse and multiple sexual partnership. However, an element of hardiness emanated from the participants’ personalities. They demonstrated problem-focused coping with the challenges they confront, despite the lack of consistent support structures. Their resiliency and sense of belonging owing to the nature of support from extended families ignited a sense of purpose amongst the participants. In conclusion, it is recommended that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS should be told of the cause of the death of their parents as this will make them aware of the dangers and consequences of their actions.
- Format
- 231 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Psychology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details | SOURCE1 | mpho.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |