Browsing by Author "Isaacs, Gordon Michael"

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    Crisis intervention as a form of therapy for persons with homosexual concerns : an experimental study
    (1979) Isaacs, Gordon Michael; Helm, Brunhilde
    Thirty male patients who, because they were experiencing homosexual crises, had made contact with a walk-in crisis clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, were admitted to a series of therapy sessions based on the model of crisis intervention as expounded by Naomi Golan. The Paper reports upon a study which examined the degree of anxiety associated with the crisis, and measured the efficacy of crisis intervention techniques in reducing anxiety and distress. Two basis tests were administered: one before therapy and the other upon completion. The first test was the Kinsey Homosexual-Heterosexual rating scale to gauge the level of the patients' undertaking of their homosexual-heterosexual spectrum and to facilitate therapy. The second test consisted of ten items selected from the Manifest Anxiety Scale (M.A.S.).Using Magoon's validation of the study (which differentiated items in terms of levels of significance) and using Busses' study (which produces a follow-up item analysis of the M.A.S.), the writer selected those items that were significant at the 5% level or better, and also those that could be broken down into the following categories: (a) items which were indicated by physical anxiety or discomfort. (b) items which were indicated in verbal terms. In this way items were identified as correlates of anxiety experienced by persons with homosexual problems (in a crisis state). A rating scale was constructed using a five-point semantic differential for each item.
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    The growth of homosexual identity : an empirical study from a social work perspective of crisis in sexual identity experienced by a sample of homosexual persons in Cape Town, with special reference to cultural factors
    (1989) Isaacs, Gordon Michael; Helm, Brunhilde
    This study seeks to investigate the nature of homosexual identity and its development, to explore the manifestation and incidence of crisis among homosexuals, and to determine the relationships between crisis and homosexual identity growth. Furthermore, it attempts to identify the idiosyncratic features of the South African "gay experience" and to examine the way such experience impinges on homosexual identity development. Given the gravity of the recent phenomenon of AIDS and its increasing appearance, the study extends to an investigation of AIDS, and its link with crisis and homosexual identity. Finally, the study seeks to indicate how Social Work may address the diverse needs of the gay collective, including strategies to deal with AIDS. The study employs a combination of methodological techniques which include the application of clinical case material, an extensive survey of research literature, a newspaper inquiry, participant observation, random interviews and a mailed questionnaire. (This questionnaire was designed to tap information with regard to demographic profiles, the unfolding of sexual identity, "coming out", crisis, and attitudes towards a local South African gay organisation.) It presented a choice between fixed alternative items but also elicited open-ended commentary. A forty-eight percent response rate was received to the mailed questionnaire. On the basis of research, the writer has developed a theoretical model of homosexual identity growth which comprises various developmental stages ranging from early infancy to late adulthood. The study concludes that homosexual identity growth is a dynamic and on-going process catalysed by the interaction between self, society, and sub-culture. Homosexual identity is strongly linked to the gay sub-culture which presents a classic double-bind; it acts as a symbolic family for the homosexual person but it also perpetuates the expression of behaviours and emotions which are externally regarded as non-legitimate. Hence, crisis is universally experienced by homosexuals as part of their process of identity development, and is usually associated with "coming out". Crisis can be expressed in egocentric (internal) or sociocentric (external) terms, and may occur at any stage. The level of self-acceptance and self-esteem varies with each individual, and personal fantasy, as a core element of sexuality, is a key indicator of the extent of identity resolution.