Resilience in Xhosa families where there is a juvenile delinquent
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Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
South Africa is one of the most violent countries with most crimes committed by the
youth. Following conviction and sentencing of a young person the transition is
normally very difficult for the family. It may indicate a need for change in order to find
harmony.
The study examined resilience in 50 Xhosa speaking families who have a juvenile
delinquent that has been sentenced for a period of not less than 1 year. In each family
one parent (n=50) and one adolescent (n=50) were interviewed. The researcher used
self-report questionnaires to access information. A standardized questionnaire was
used for gathering information regarding family composition, employment, level of
education, income, age and gender of the respondent’s nuclear family members. The
questionnaire had an open-ended question which asked for the respondents’ opinion
on which factors or strengths they believed helped their family through the difficult
time. The following standardized questionnaires were also used; Family Hardiness
Index (FHI), Social Support Index (SSI), Relative and Friend Support Index (RFSI),
Family Time and Routine Index (FTRI), Family Problem Solving Communication
(FPSC), Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI 8) and Family Crises
Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale (F-COPES).
The key coping strategies used by individuals, spouses, parents and siblings were
reliance on spirituality, seeking support of relatives and friends, sharing with family
and remaining positive in the midst of adversity. There is however a need for more
research to be done in a wider population of South Africa so as to allow for
generalizability of the findings.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of a PhD in Community Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012.
Keywords
Resilience -- Xhosa families, Juvenile delinquency