South African Journal of Psychology

In September 2005 the South African Journal of Psychology (SAJP) published a special focus section on ‘Racial isolation and interaction in everyday life’ (SAJP volume 35 number 3). The professionalism of the research undertaken and the calibre of the researchers notwithstanding, we argue that labelling this collection of studies a stock taking of racial segregation in contemporary South Africa is not justified. The studies presented in the special focus section do offer the reader an assortment of expert research that contributes to debate on the issue, but we argue that there are limitations to this research and important issues arising from it that ought not to be discounted. In this commentary we argue that in terms of a stock tacking of racial interaction in contemporary South Africa, the reader is offered a rather limited analysis in that the research presented focuses almost exclusively on privileged spaces. In the light of the fact that the reader is presented with a stock taking in “racialised terms” (Foster, 2005, p. 495), some debate on the concept of race would not have gone amiss. We would also have welcomed more debate on the ‘turn to the material’, and the implications of that in terms of its political utility.

Marx and Feltham-King offer an insightful critique of the special focus section of the South African Journal of Psychology (SAJP) (volume 35 number 3 2005) on ‘racial’ contact and isolation in everyday life. They note several methodological limitations of the studies presented and point to some potential misinterpretations of the overall message. In this response, we clarify and defend the rationale of the special focus section and acknowledge its limitations. We also argue, however, that Marx and Feltham-King's commentary fails to offer any forward-looking vision of how to develop psychological research on ‘race segregation’ in South Africa. What is required now is a concrete programme of work that advances our knowledge of the issues at the heart of this exchange.

Since the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, much effort has been expended on overcoming the institutionalised racism that characterised apartheid. The transformation of higher education, particularly with regard to the merging and incorporation of institutions, is such an example. This article is an analysis of discourses on race emerging in the talk of students and staff during the incorporation of a historically white satellite campus (Rhodes University East London) into a historically black university (University of Fort Hare). The argument, which relies on Essed's notion of everyday racism, infused with insights from discursive psychology, is that higher education institutions are racialised through the intricate interweaving of macro-level processes and discourses that recur in everyday talk and practices. In their talk, the participants in the study persistently assigned racialised identities to the institutions (Rhodes is white and Fort Hare is black) and invoked a ‘white excellence/black failure’ discourse. ‘White excellence’ folds in on, and is reproduced by, the desirable, modern, urban space and an appeal to Euro-American standards. Institutions and individuals are positioned as being able to overcome ‘black failure’ by moving into white space and through intense personal labour.

Re-tellings of the trauma story are a standard component of most current therapeutic interventions with trauma survivors. However, the exact therapeutic processes whereby trauma narratives may facilitate change are not always clearly explicated in the literature. In order to identify these processes, a review was conducted of the published literature on those psychotherapeutic interventions for trauma that centralise the role of the trauma narrative in the recovery process. The review indicates that six therapeutic processes have consistently been proposed through which producing a trauma narrative as part of the therapy process may facilitate recovery from post-trauma pathology: emotional catharsis; the creation of linguistic representation; the habituation of anxiety; empathic witnessing of injustice; developing an explanatory account; and the identification of purpose and value in adversity. The role of the therapist during the trauma re-telling may differ in important ways, depending on the specific therapeutic process that the therapist and client are concerned with at a particular point in therapy. The implications for trauma counsellors, and for future research, are discussed.

In this article we examine the findings of three studies of right-wing authoritarianism conducted in South Africa. The main aim of the article is to report on the validity and reliability of measures of right-wing authoritarianism across three samples, namely a group of police officers, a group of students at a historically English university and a group of students at a historically Afrikaans university. Two measures of authoritarianism were used: the 30-item version of Altemeyer's (1981, 1988) Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale and the 14-item version of Altemeyer's RWA scale developed by Duckitt (1993a) for use in South African samples. Participants were also given measures of conservatism, prejudice and political beliefs. These scales were then subjected to analyses of internal consistency, factor analysis and correlational analysis. The findings depart somewhat from previous studies in this area in that they do not show the levels of validity and reliability reported in other contexts, nor do these measures perform as theoretically indicated by Altemeyer (1981, 1988) and Duckitt (1989, 1991a). Across all three samples, low correlations were found with measures of prejudice, conservatism and political party preferences. In addition, the three-component model (authoritarian aggression, authoritarian submission and conventionalism) proposed by these authors did not emerge in factor analysis. These findings cause the authors to question the use of RWA scales in South Africa, with a number of implications for authoritarian research in this context.

This article explores whether and how an integrated approach to health promotion, which draws on indigenous and other worldviews and approaches, can be developed to address more effectively biopsychosocial challenges that constitute barriers to learning and development in education contexts. More specifically, the article aims to investigate whether and how indigenous perspectives to health promotion have been incorporated into support services in Native American contexts and what lessons can be learnt from this for the South African context. An analysis of relevant literature and interviews with 25 key informants in Native American contexts in the United States highlighted the following key challenges relating to incorporating different views of and approaches to health promotion in education in South Africa: facilitating ‘paradigm shifting’ or mindset change; addressing power dynamics relating to ongoing colonialism; developing culturally responsive education support services and life skills education curricula; and developing strong school–community partnerships. The article argues that these challenges could be successfully pursued within a South African health promoting schools framework that reflects the different perspectives of role players in this context.

This study focused on the experiences of eight female participants who were responsible for the daily care of their husbands, all of whom were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. An essentially qualitative research approach, triangulated with certain quantitative measures, was used to identify both stressors and strengths reported by these caregivers. Results from mental health questionnaires showed that the comprehensive social, economic and health-related stressors experienced by caregivers put them at risk of developing serious mental health problems. However, qualitative data obtained from support group discussions, individual interviews and personal diaries highlighted the particular strengths that these caregivers showed and made use of during the caregiving process. These identified sources of resilience might in future contribute towards the development of a programme aimed at keeping this, and similar groups known to be prone to the development of stress-related illnesses, psychologically strong.

The purpose of this study was to establish the role played by subjective perceptions of physical health in the relationship between psychological well-being and two social contexts that are stratified by socio-economic differentials pertaining to race, socio-economic indices and infrastructural resources. An availability sample of 514 participants from Potchefstroom (n = 384) and Mafikeng (n = 130), North West Province, completed questionnaires on the perceptions of health and psychological well-being. Regression equations were computed to explore the viability of relationships between context and subjective perceptions of physical health, context and psychological well-being, and psychological well-being and subjective perceptions of physical health. Structural equation models showed that subjective perceptions of physical health mediate the relationship between context and psychological well-being. The implications of the findings are indicated.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether spirituality mediates between context and psychological well-being. Context was defined in terms of differentials pertaining to race, socio-economic indices and infrastructural resources. An availability sample of 514 participants from Potchefstroom (n = 384) and Mafikeng (n = 130), North West Province, completed measurements on spirituality and psychological well-being. Regression analyses indicated the viability of relationships among context, spirituality and psychological well-being, and differences were observed between the two contexts in the amount of variance explained. Structural equation models showed that spirituality mediates the relationship between context and psychological well-being.

The professional category of Bachelor of Psychology (B.Psych.) Registered Counsellor was created in order to deliver psychological services at a primary health care level to previously disadvantaged communities. Between 2002 and 2004 the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in the Eastern Cape, produced 84 graduates in this category. In an attempt to follow the career paths of these graduates, a survey was undertaken to determine how many graduates had progressed to the stage of professional registration and were working as Registered Counsellors, and to explore their present status and employment experiences. It was found that very few had registered with the Professional Board for Psychology and that most were continuing postgraduate studies or had moved into alternate career fields. Themes that emerged from the survey concern difficulty with registration, difficulty with employment, and lack of public and professional knowledge of the scope of practice of the Registered Counsellor. There were also some positive perceptions regarding the value of the Registered Counsellor category and the quality of training.

This study explored first-year students' beliefs about the relevance of positive mood to self-regulation. Students were supplied with the definitions of ten constructs relating broadly to aspects of general health (Physical health), positive mood (Psychological well-being, Emotional response, Hope, Explanatory style, Self-Esteem) and self-regulation (Self-regulation, Self-efficacy, Motivation, Intelligence) and asked to indicate whether they believed a causal relationship to exist between pairs of constructs, and in which direction the causal relationship was perceived. An interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) approach was followed to extract a composite mental model of students' beliefs about positive mood and self-regulation. Findings indicate that students perceive positive mood constructs to be causally related to aspects of self-regulation. A mental model was extracted that depicted students' beliefs about positive mood and self-regulation as a complex system consisting of four interlinked feedback systems, namely Input states, Evaluatory mechanisms, Future perspectives and Active participation. Constructs associated with positive mood (Psychological well-being and Explanatory style) were identified as primary driver and primary outcome respectively.

The empirical relationship between study orientation as measured by the Study Orientation in Mathematics Questionnaire (SOM) and achievement in mathematics was investigated for Grade 9 learners from five racially integrated, secondary schools in the Northern Cape province in South Africa. A series of hierarchical regression analyses was performed to determine the percentage of the criterion (mathematics achievement) variance that could be explained by study orientation in mathematics. This investigation was augmented by the further exploration of learners' attributions regarding the causes of their achievement in mathematics. The results emphasised the importance of the set of study orientation variables as predictors of achievement in mathematics for both genders and all three race groups (i.e., black, white and coloured students). Study milieu and problem-solving behaviour appeared to be the most significant individual predictors of mathematics achievement for both genders, and both black and white Grade 9 learners. The causal attribution of achievement scales jointly contributed significantly to the explanation of the variance in mathematics achievement for the following groups: male, white and coloured learners with positive perceptions of their achievement; and male, white and black learners with negative perceptions of their achievement in mathematics