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Hope and Child Well-Being in the context of Community Violence. S. Isaacs S. Savahl Department of Psychology University of the Western Cape Cape Town South Africa. Genesis and conceptualisation. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Hope and Child Well-Being in the context of Community
Violence
S. IsaacsS. Savahl
Department of PsychologyUniversity of the Western Cape
Cape TownSouth Africa
2001 – in response to the need for more accurate and relevant data on the state and well-being of South Africa’s children and the absence of effective measuring and monitoring initiatives – key child rights researchers embarked on a range of evidence based initiatives
Institute for Child and Family Development (UWC) supported by UNICEF, British Council and the National Development Agency, embarked on project developing indicators of well-being using child participation methodology
Project was conducted in two provinces and included 400 child participants between the ages of 9 – 17
Data collection followed a sustained contact model and incorporated a skills development component, over a 6 month period
Genesis and conceptualisation
1. Participants unanimously regarded personal safety and security as the most significant indicator of well-being
2. Hope emerged as the pervasive theme in discursive activity of participants and was regarded as an important determinant of well-being
Key Emerging Themes
What have we got to look forward to? If we finish Matric, get pregnant, get hooked on drugs…might as well start now… (Urban Group 1)
How do we escape this… every day gang fights, drinking, drugs, this is our life, that’s all there is for us… there’s no hope for us… (Urban Group 7)
yes, you kind of inside you in this little umm like a box in this thing and there’s no way out because you the only one in the box and that’s how we feel when you constantly have to face these things that we can’t do anything about and you the only one there at the moment… (Urban Group 3)
Child Indicators Project Ideologic
al Constructions of
Childhood
Influence of hope on
the relationship between exposure
to community violence
and children
and adolescen
ts’ perceptions of well-
being
Hope and Well-being in the context
of community violence: A qualitative exploration
Safety and
security as a key dimension of child
well-being
Influence of self-esteem
and social support on the
relationship between exposure
to community violence
and adolescen
ts’ perceptions of well-
being
Child’s life-world in many of our communities is characterised by violence
While violence no longer has a socio-political manifestation, it undoubtedly has a socio-political genesis with interpersonal, community, domestic manifestations to a large extent informed by Apartheid and colonial policies.
Key drivers of violence are social inequality, poverty, unemployment, patriarchal constructions of masculinity, substance abuse, intergenerational cycling of violence (Seedat et al, 2009)
The context of violence in South Africa
Between 2008 – 2009 approx 50 000 children were victims of
violent crimes (SAPS)
Between 2009 – 2010 this figure rose to 56 500 (SAPS)
Individuals younger than 19 yrs accounted for 10% of all
deaths
19% victims between the ages of 0 – 10
29% of all sexual abuse cases are against children aged 0 –
10
Crime and violence against children in South Africa: Key facts and figures
Hope and Well-being in the context of community violence: A qualitative exploration
Serena Isaacs, Shazly Savahl
Defining “Hope”
Hope◦ a “cognitive set involving the beliefs in one’s
capabilities to produce workable routes to goals (the pathways component) as well as the self-related beliefs about initiating and sustaining movement towards these goals (the agency component)” (Snyder et al., 1997, p. 401)
◦ Hope is centred in the cognitive ◦ Emotions are seen as a consequence of cognitive
processes regarding goals
Hope: Key literature Gilman, Dooley and Florell (2006):
◦ The relationship among adolescent students’ level of hope and various academic and psychological indicators of school adjustment was investigated in a quantitative study
Low levels of hope: ◦ irregular school attendance, ◦ behaviour◦ dropping out of school ◦ academic achievement
Edwards et al. (2007) ◦ validated the children’s hope scale.
Hope correlated positively: ◦ positive affect, life satisfaction, ◦ Family/friend support and optimism.
Aims and Objectives
AimThe aim of the research study was to ascertain
adolescents’ perception of community violence exposure and the extent to which those perceptions influence their sense of hope
Specific Objectives• To ascertain how adolescents understand and give
meaning to community violence.• To determine the way in which adolescents
understand and give meaning to hope within the context of community violence.
• Participants• Purposively selected based on specific criteria• 14-15 years of age• Lived in a high violence area (selected on the basis of police statistics) • Selected from a high school within the area• 6 males and 8 females (14 participants)
• Procedures• Data Collection• 2 focus groups (3 males/4 females)• Conducted in both English and Afrikaans
• Data analysis• Analysed by thematic analysis as Braun and Clarke (2006)
• Ethical Considerations• Voluntary participation: all participants and parents given information
letter• Signed consent/assent forms• Confidentiality ensured
Method
The meaning of hope within a context of community violence: From faith to the future
Hope is “wishing,” “your values,” “self-esteem.” Linked hope to the future & motivation Hope is strongly connected to
religion and faith
Offer solace during challenging times Gives one patience and endurance Hopelessness, even in the face of adversity, served no
purpose
“Something one would like to have happen”“It motivates you ja...passed the negative side.”
“You’re used to it already so if I get robbed you don’t worry anymore
because you know tomorrow the same
thing is going to happen
Hopelessness, was connected to people who commit crimes and even suicide
Participants all had a vision for their future – knew their interest in their prospective careers
Violence in their community seemed to inspire them to do better
FR: I see myself overseas.
MR: I see myself studying
FR: Beauty therapistMR: Civil
engineeringMR: IT
“It gives you, not more power, but it motivates you. It gives you more
motivation.”
Limitations of study
Age group of participants Definition of hope needs to be
explored/expanded further
Implications for child well-being
They have a socialised understanding of violence, it’s causation, perpetuation and consequences.
Violence removes adolescents’ sense of power and control – attempt to regain it by perpetuating violent acts
A strong connection was made between hope and faith/religion
Adolescents also connected hope to the future and had a vision for themselves in the future
Fostering a sense of hope in adolescents very important Adolescents indicated both directly and indirectly that
their exposure to violence did not negatively affect their vision of the future or their perceived sense of hope
An investigation into the influence of hope on the relationship between exposure to community
violence and children and adolescents’ perceptions of well-being
Shazly Savahl, Serena Isaacs, Candice Rule, Rose September and Sabirah Adams
Our focus is on exposure to community violence, with the literature suggesting the following:
Internalising problems: PTSD, fear and anxiety, depression, low self-esteem
Externalising problems: violent and aggressive behaviour, sleep disturbance, anti-social behaviour, poor academic functioning, substance use
Effects of exposure to violence on children is well researched
Social support
Social supportQuality of Family Relationships
Parenting Peer relations
Neighbourhood qualityGender
AgeIndividual Characteristics
Hope?
Protective and risk factors similarly well researched:
Is exposure to violence a predictor of child well-being
To what extent does the construct of ‘hope’ moderate or mediate that relationship
Research question
A 3rd variable acts as a mediator when it transforms the predictor or input variable in some way. The 3rd variable is the mechanism through which the predictor variable affects the output variable
Mediator variable
ECV(Predictor)
Well-Being
(Output)
Hope(Mediator)
A 3rd variable acts a moderator when it affects the direction or strength of the relationship between the predictor and output variable. It is also referred to as the buffering variable
Moderator Variable
ECV(Predictor)
Well-Being
(Output)
Hope(Moderator)
Design: Pearson Product Term Regression Sample: 568 adolescents 14-15 yrs 348 females and 218 males Selected from 6 Schools (stratified random
sampling) in the EMDC South Instrumentation:
◦ Kidscreen 52: Child Well-Being Scale (52 items)◦ Recent Exposure to Violence Scale (22 items)◦ Child Hope Scale (6 items)
Method
Linear regression to determine if ECV significant predictor of well-being
Result: Negative moderate but significant relationship between ECV and child well-being. Increased ECV predicts a decreased level of well-being
Results
Pearson Product Term Regression to determine if Hope mediates or moderates the relationship
Results: Hope did not significantly mediate the
relationship Hope significantly moderated the
relationship
Results
Confirms the influence of hope as protective or resilience factor
Hope should be seriously considered in prevention and intervention strategies
Sense that hope could disrupt intergenerational cycling of violence
Hope is unfortunately a volatile construct and persistent negative engagements could erode any positive influence
Speculation that hope interacts with other protective factors
Multi-systemic therapeutic intervention models
Implications
Standardise Hope Scale for South African context
Standardise Exposure to Violence Scale for South African Context
Explore the nature of the pathways between these and other variables using SEM (Partial Least Squares)
Directions for future research