Browsing by Author "Maw, Anastasia"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Because we are kaffirs with short hair : a study of embedded trauma and repetition in a community based organisation
    (2004) Ndumela, Nontsikelelo M; Maw, Anastasia
    This research looks at the experience of being a psychologist-in-training providing psychological services to a staff support group in a community-based organisation located in a township. The staff support group consisted of health workers drawn from the local community. At the time I entered the staff support group, the organisation was in a financial crisis and facing an imminent closure. This seemed to have re-evoked earlier traumatic experiences for the community health workers and resulted in a multi-layered response from them, which manifested itself in the discussions in the staff support group.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    A comparison of the trauma and autobiographical narratives of female rape and non-sexual assualt survivors
    (2010) Edross, Sadia; Maw, Anastasia
    Research on the trauma and autobiographical narratives of survivors are two burgeoning areas in the international literature. The focus is primarily on the correlation between particular linguistic features in these narratives and PTSD and depression. Whilst these findings have important clinical implications, feminists and critical psychologists argue that an emphasis on a medical trauma response model for understanding narratives attenuates the influence of socio-cultural context and subjective differences. The primary aim of the current study was to explore whether there were commonalities and differences in the trauma and autobiographical narratives in a sample of South African adult female survivors of sexual and non-sexual assault. A broader aim of the study was to be attentive to the interconnection and influence of multiple factors on the narratives of the participants.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The differences in the psychological impact of trauma between female rape and non-sexual assault survivors
    (2008) Edross, Sadia; Maw, Anastasia
    International research suggests that rape impacts more negatively on the mental health of rape survivors than non-sexual assault. For both groups the post trauma response has mainly been accounted for by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Findings from empirical studies are unequivocal that rape survivors are more likely to develop PTSD. Additionally, a rich body of feminist qualitative research has also been generated, which points to a specific post trauma response to rape. In contrast to an abundance of international studies on rape and nonsexual assault, the psychological impact of these traumas on women in South Africa is underresearched. The purpose of the current study was thus to contribute to this gap, and prospectively explored whether the impact of trauma differs between female survivors of rape and non-sexual assault in South Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    An examination of the role of the regional psychologists in the Western Cape Province
    (2002) Douglas, Gillian Kathleen; Maw, Anastasia
    In the South African public health services, psychologists have traditionally been placed within the tertiary psychiatric health services. Recognition of the role of psychologists in terms of broader mental health care can be attributed to theoretical development in the field of community psychology and the concomitant search for appropriate roles. The restructuring of the health services following democratic elections in 1994 and resultant policy development have resulted in the development of regional and district health services working towards providing comprehensive mental health care within a primary health care model. In line with this, posts for clinical psychologists were created in the regional mental health teams. This study examines the roles of the regional psychologists in the Western Cape Province within the regional mental health teams. Semi structured interviews with the relevant psychologists, together with diarised accounts of their daily activities were used. The data was analysed qualitatively, with additional quantitative analysis enriching and informing the results. The nature of the role of the psychologists is described, together with pertinent contextual factors, which influence that role, both at a macro and micro level, as these create and shape the role adopted by the psychologists. Recommendations are made regarding the effective deployment of psychologists. Areas of difficulty, which need to be addressed, are identified, together with ideas for the further development of psychological services within the primary and secondary health services.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    "I found myself having slept with him" : vulnerability to HIV and the first sexual encounter as described by six young Basotho women
    (2004) Mokitimi, Serialong; Maw, Anastasia
    This study is a qualitative exploration of the first sexual experiences of six young Basotho women between the ages of 16 and 24 and how these experiences leave them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The six young women were interviewed using a semistructured interview schedule focusing on first sexual experiences and knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated from Sesotho into English. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. The themes which emerged were elucidated by linking the findings to the current literature on the vulnerability of young women to HIV/AIDS infection in sub-Saharan Africa. The dominant themes which emerged were: young women are engaging in sexual activity in early adolescence when issues of identity are still being negotiated, they have had little if any opportunity to discuss sex, love and intimacy and to develop their own thoughts about these issues, almost no guidance is offered by parents, teachers or other adults in these matters, peers and siblings are the main source of information and influenced these young women's attitudes towards sex, there was a high level of pressure and coercion by the young women's partners to have sex, there was a disturbing lack of knowledge of reproductive health and misconceptions about the prevention and spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Levels of deprivation in supporting child witnesses in sexual abuse cases : a case study
    (2003) Luyt, Linda Jean; Maw, Anastasia
    Dealing with children who have been sexually abused can cause vicarious traumatisation in those who work with them. This qualitative research used a case study approach to investigate difficulties facing the supporters who work with the child witnesses in the Child Witness Project, which is a project using an empowerment approach to prepare children for court and support them throughout the court processes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    "Now there are no rules" : boundary activity in a psychoanalytically run-group therapeutic intervention for adolescent boys with learning difficulties : a case study exploration
    (2003) Truter, Ben; Maw, Anastasia
    This dissertation attempts to investigate by way of analysis of clinical material, a traditional psychoanalytic approach to working in a group with severely troubled adolescents with learning difficulties. The study is located within a theoretical context of an understanding of adolescent male identity in the Cape Flats area of the Western Cape.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Perpetrators of intimate femicide : a study of forensic records
    (2006) Mayer, Victoria; Maw, Anastasia
    Intimate femicide is prevalent in South Africa, and represents the lethal end of a continuum of male perpetrated intimate partner violence. For various reasons attention has only begun to be paid to intimate femicide in the last three decades. International research has established existing rates for intimate femicide, mostly in North America and the United Kingdom, and has confirmed that intimate femicide constitutes a unique form of homicide, which does not fit with the established patterns for other forms of homicide. South African studies have predominantly focused on establishing the rate of intimate femicide in the country. This study sought to examine a smaller number of intimate femicides (n=24) within a broader context in order to provide information, not only on the perpetrator and the victim, but also the state and status of their relationship, and to investigate how the perpetrator accounts for the event.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The psychological impact of rape : a long longitudinal study of adult female survivors in the Western Cape, South Africa
    (2013) Maw, Anastasia; Tredoux, Colin
    There is a broad body of research which suggests that rape is highly pathogenic, most commonly described in terms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The bulk of this research has been conducted in developed countries. In contrast, despite very high rates of rape in South Africa, there is almost no research in this country on the psychological impact of rape, either in the immediate aftermath or in the longer term. This research sought to investigate whether female survivors of rape, living in a palpably different context to those within which the majority of research has been conducted, present with symptomatology similar to that described in the international literature. Sixty-four adult, female rape survivors presenting with a complaint of rape within the last 72 hours at a post-rape health care facility located within a low socio-economic, urban context, were enrolled into the study. Survivors were interviewed at 1, 4, 12 and 24 weeks post-rape. The quantitative questionnaires assessed pre-assault, assault and post-assault variables and included a psychiatric assessment instrument. There was evidence of a high degree of both psychiatric and psychological distress over a period of six months from the time of the rape in over half of the women taking part in this study. The majority of survivors met a diagnosis of PTSD at the Weeks 4,12 and 24 interviews.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    She sat with her legs open, he danced with a man : attitudes to non-normative gendered behaviours in a university student population
    (2004) Miller, Myra; Maw, Anastasia
    This study is an exploration of the attitudes of first year psychology students (n=382) at the University of Cape Town to gender norm violations. Two variations of a questionnaire were administered to assess the degree of acceptance or unacceptance of behaviours that deviate from the expected norms for men and women. The questionnaires were similar in that scenarios used were the same. However, in the second variation of the questionnaire, the gender was reversed. This was done to control for factors beyond gender stereotyping which may confound the results. Analysis of Variance (AN OVA) was carried out on the data. Broadly speaking, the findings indicated that both men and women agreed on a large number of gender acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for both sexes but differed in their assessment of the degree of un acceptability. Levels of tolerance varied, with women being generally more tolerant than men. Men appeared to be more critical of one another, but their behaviours were also more censored by women. Attributions also varied with women's violations of gender boundaries being seen as sexually suggestive, whereas the violations committed by men led to them being seen as potentially homosexual. Closer analysis revealed that subtle underlying gender biases were present, with a range of behaviours being only slightly more or less acceptable for one gender than the other. Based on these findings it is argued that both men and women are subject to the same gender stereotyping and are thus in agreement as to which behaviours are deemed unacceptable and thus police their own and the opposite sex accordingly. The subtle differences could be accounted for by the internalisation of longstanding gender norms that are deeply entrenched even within a population living in an era of gender equality and non-discrimination.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Speaking with rape survivors : an analysis of the stories women share
    (2006) De Swardt, Catherine; Maw, Anastasia
    Rape is an all too familiar phenomenon in South Africa. Yet, whereas there is a growingliterature in the west, which examines the everyday understandings of rape amongst women, inSouth Africa documented understanding of rape is largely contained within theoretical-sociological explanations for its high prevalence. This study aimed to explore the ways in which a group of rape survivors in the Western Cape, South Africa, make sense of rape and its impact on their lives. A secondary aim was to examine whether Western trauma classifications provide a useful framework for understanding the impact of rape in this context. The study formed the qualitative component of a larger quantitative study focused on women's adherence to anti-retroviral medication post rape (The Post Exposure Prophylaxis Study). The research question was approached from a feminist social constructionist perspective, using qualitative methodology. In depth interviews with ten rape survivors were carried out, six months postrape.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Subjective accounts of post-rape adjustment amongst South African rape survivors
    (2007) Booley, Ayesha; Kaminer, Debbie; Maw, Anastasia
    This study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of rape survivors, with a greater focus on the ongoing process of post-rape adjustment, as compared with the immediate psychological impact. The research employed feminist, qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten rape survivors from the Rape Crisis office in Observatory, Cape Town, in the Western Cape. The interviews were recorded and the transcripts were analysed using grounded theory. The following broad thematic areas were identified: (1) psychiatric symptoms, (2) sense of self, (3) relationships with others, (4) coping attempts, and (5) grappling with meaning. The latter two thematic areas formed the focus of the study, and were discussed in more detail The main findings suggest that (l) subjective experience of the rape is more significant than the specific characteristics of the assault, (2) post-rape adjustment is not so much about recovery, but rather finding ways to adjust, which includes finding ways to live with the rape and making peace with the rape, and (3) meaning-making IS central to the process of post-rape adjustment. In addition, participants in the current study offered some alternative discourses to that of pathology. Recommendations for future research in this area are offered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Trauma and repetition : an intersubjective perspective
    (2004) Elkon, James Tamor; Maw, Anastasia
    This research study employed the single case-study method with the aim of illustrating how extraordinarily difficult it can be within a South African context to name racial, gender and class differences and their concomitant painful histories within the therapeutic space. The evolution of trauma is followed with particular emphasis on its relationship to gender. This case study focuses particularly on the intersubjective space generated between a White, male intern psychologist and a Coloured, female survivor of gender based violence. Material gathered over an eleven-month treatment period highlighted a resistance of both parties to acknowledge and engage with issues, such as race and gender, which threatened both client and therapist with early traumatogenetic repetitions within the therapeutic space.