Browsing by Subject "Parents"

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    Open Access
    An exploration of risks and resources related to parental burnout among parents of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behaviours that challenge in Atlantis, Western Cape, South Africa
    (2025) Lategan, Maxeen; Kleintjes, Sharon; Coetzee, Jacobus
    Introduction: Parental burnout, an emerging phenomenon, may be experienced when there is a persistent imbalance between demands and resources in a parents' role. Parental burnout includes an overwhelming exhaustion related to parental duties, emotional distance from your child and the feeling of loss of accomplishment of your parenting role (Mikolajczak & Roskam, 2018). Against the backdrop of South Africa's history and remaining socio-economic challenges, it is likely for parents of persons with IDD and CB to develop parental burnout, considering the high parental stress that they endure. I conducted a scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute PRISMA-Scoping review guidelines to provide an overview of existing literature on risks and resources that may influence the development of parental burnout in parents of children, adolescents and adults with IDD and behaviours that challenge. The scoping review yielded five peer reviewed papers from high income countries. Papers mainly focused on (1) informal and formal support structures as protectors against parental burnout; (2) co-parenting and in addition to the balance between risks and resource elements, other elements that arose as influential on parental burnout, were (1) the characteristics of the child; (2) parental hypervigilance; (3) COVID19 stressors; and (4) religion as a coping mechanism. Overall, the findings of the scoping review suggested that parental burnout in this cohort is under researched both internationally and in South Africa, informing the purpose for my study. Study Aim: The study aimed to explore the stressors and resources among parents of adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and co-occurring behaviours that challenge in Atlantis in the Western Cape, a province of South Africa. Methods: With permission from the research site and approval from the university's human research ethics committee, applying an exploratory phenomenological approach, I conducted nine semi-structured interviews to saturation. Research participants were not all parents but confirmed primary caregivers of adults with IDD and CB. The participants, all residents from Atlantis, were homogenous in their race as they were all people of colour. They were diverse in gender as both males and females were included and ages ranged between 38 and 72. Findings: I used Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory' and the ‘balance between risks and resources theoretical framework' (Mikolajczak & Roskam, 2018) to analyse the gathered data, applying thematic analysis principles. On micro level, the following themes were identified: (1) coming to grips with a diagnosis; (2) managing behaviours that are challenging; (3) parental personality; (4) emotional intelligence; (5) parental self-compassion and perfectionism; (6) gender; and (7) high parental chores and duties as opposed to time for leisure were identified. These are factors mediating parental burnout on an individual level. On meso level, the following themes were identified: (1) co- parenting; (2) the impact of siblings; and (3) the relationship between day care facilities and families. The relationships between these systems and how they influence parental burnout are considered. On macro level, (1) religious views; and (2) societal inclusivity was identified contributing factors. On exo level, (1) access to social grants; (2) access to education; (3) access to health care services and (4) access to therapeutic services were identified. Lastly, the chrono level considered how changes over time may mediate or expedite the development of parental burnout. Conclusion: The scoping review and semi structured interviews had overlapping themes whilst also sharing unique experiences including: (1) the difficulty in managing wonderous behaviour in an unsafe community, which is a challenge distinctive to the setting of this study; and (2) planning for the future. Research participants in my study were highly focused on having plans in place for their relative for continuity of care when they are no longer able to care for them. Although a few participants reported experiencing some of the signs of parental burnout, the findings suggest that they rely strongly on the protective factors to preserve and act with resiliency in the face of adversity.
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    Open Access
    Condom use and sexuality communication with adults: a study among high school students in South Africa and Tanzania
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Namisi, Francis; Aaro, Leif; Kaaya, Sylvia; Onya, Hans; Wubs, Annegreet; Mathews, Catherine
    BACKGROUND: Fostering adolescents' communication on sexuality issues with their parents and other significant adults is often assumed to be an important component of intervention programmes aimed at promoting healthy adolescent sexual practices. However, there are few studies describing the relationship between such communication and sexual practices, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the relationships between adolescents' communication with significant adults and their condom use in three sites in this region. METHODS: Data stem from a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a school-based HIV prevention intervention implemented in Cape Town and Mankweng, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Only data from comparison schools were used. The design is therefore a prospective panel study with three waves of data collections. Data were collected in 2004 from 6,251 participants in 40 schools. Associations between adolescents' communication with adults about sexuality issues and their use of condoms were analysed cross-sectionally using analysis of variance, as well as prospectively using multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses showed that consistent condom users had significantly higher mean scores on communication (across topics and communication partners) than both occasional users and never-users, who had the lowest scores. After controlling for condom use at the first data collection occasion in each model as well as for possible confounders, communication scores significantly predicted consistent condom use prospectively in all three ordinal logistic regression models (Model R2 = .23 to .31). CONCLUSION: The findings are consistent with the assertion that communication on sexuality issues between adolescents and significant adults results in safer sexual practices, as reflected by condom use, among in-school adolescents. The associations between communication variables and condom use might have been stronger if we had measured additional aspects of communication such as whether or not it was initiated by the adolescents themselves, the quality of advice provided by adults, and if it took place in a context of positive adult-adolescent interaction. Studies with experimental designs are needed in order to provide stronger evidence of causality.