Browsing by Author "Skinner, Donald"
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- ItemOpen AccessFactors caregivers believe helped their preschool children to cope with a parent's detention and subsequent events : a study from the Western Cape(1989) Skinner, Donald; Swartz, LeslieAn exploratory study of factors that caregivers felt helped their child, in preschool at the time of the detention, to cope with a parent's detention was conducted. It is part of a broader study looking at the consequences for these children of the parent's detention. Semi-structured, depth interviews were conducted with the prime caregivers of the child, in 1986 and then a follow-up study was done in 1988. The original sample contained 19 subjects between the ages of two and six years, from a range of contexts. In the follow-up study 13 caregivers were re-interviewed. The research was done in cooperation with community groups who provided the contacts and gave direction. Caregivers reported a wide range of factors which they felt assisted coping, with varying levels of success. Results are reported in brief before a more detailed discussion is entered into, including case reports. The most commonly cited factor was the availability and use of social support and support structures, which appeared to be extensive in most cases. Family centered coping strategies were reported to be important where they were applied, particularly if the family was able to sit down as a whole and address the problems it faced. Politically centered strategies were also used. The focus in these was on obtaining information on detention so as to make sense of the situation and the use of political structures to give vent to emotions. Other aspects of coping not covered by the above areas include strategies such as keeping a regular routine. As was found in the 1986 study (Skinner and Swartz,L., 1989), security of life following the detention was found to be important in assisting the child to come to terms with the previous stressor.
- ItemOpen AccessHow do the youth in two communities make decisions about using condoms?(2001) Skinner, DonaldFrom the behavioural perspective, there is a key problem that needs to be overcome to enable effective action against the HIV epidemic. Why do people who are aware of and understand the nature of the HIV epidemic and how to protect themselves, choose to behave in a manner that puts them at risk? Historically, the social sciences have proposed multiple theories that attempt to explain how people make decisions, about the nature and structure of conscious thought, and how information is processed. There are acknowledged gaps in these theories, but what will be argued here is that an improved application of this theory may give us better direction. This paper will examine how the youth in two communities near Cape Town make decisions about condom usage. Three theories will be employed to attempt to understand the data collected - namely Lay Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behaviour. During the research, information was obtained from 43 depth interviews, two focus groups and a survey of 406 respondents. The theories are able to examine, from different perspectives, problems behind the behaviour choice. Using the data from the depth interviews and the focus groups, Lay Theory offered the following explanations: culture was influential in supporting gender dominance and multi-partner sexuality; and in social situations, both men and women felt a pressure to conform to pre-set roles, to undermine condom usage and to emphasize sexual pleasure. The Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour offer more insight into individual decision processes by examining the roles of attitudes, the influence of those close to the person, and perceived controls of behaviour. Factors that were important included sexual desire, love, fear of partner's anger and whether there was knowledge of where to get condoms and how to use them. The data generally showed a lack of belief on the part of the respondents that AIDS really would affect them. These theories do not provide all the answers, but taken together they could provide some useful insights into the contribution of psychology theory and on how to design and implement intervention campaigns.
- ItemOpen AccessA practical application of psychological theory : use of the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour to gain a better understanding of HIV related behaviour among youth in the communities of Kayamandi and Mbekweni(2001) Skinner, Donald; Foster, DonThe aim of the research was to assess the potential contribution that research guided by psychological theory can make to understanding how the respondents from these two communities make decisions concerning HIV. The Theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behaviour (TPB) were used primarily (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, 1988).
- ItemOpen AccessVulnerability in children due to HIV/AIDS : Literature review and factor analysis(2009) Skinner, Donald; Myer, LandonThis study aims to use factor analysis to increase our understanding of how these threats covary and comibe to increase the vulnerability of groups of children. Data was drawn from a survey of children aged 6-14 in Kanana in the North West Province, which was part of a larger study to develop best practice interventions for working with orphaned and vulnerable children.