Resilience in Swazi families in which a member has passed on

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify resilient factors in thirty Swazi families who had experienced death of their member. The researcher used a questionnaire that included qualitative components as well as the following measurement scales: Social Support Index, Relative and Friend Support index, Family Problem Solving Communication Index, Family Hardiness Index, The Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8, Family Time and Routine index. Thirty families were given questionnaires which one adult and one adolescent had to complete. Prior to the main study responses were elicited from a small focus group as to the meaning of the concepts of family, crisis and resilience. Participants' understanding of family was not confined to the immediate, biological nuclear family, but extended to those people from whom one gives and receives unconditional love, trust, support, and with whom there is a sense of togetherness. Crisis was defined by the participants as a highly emotional state of psychological turmoil which the person concerned feels totally unable to cope. Personal resources which would normally be used are overwhelmed and the accompanying feelings of helplessness lead to bewilderment, distress, despair and even panic. Resilience was understood as having inner strength and the ability to overcome and move forward in times of crises. Qualitative results indicated that Swazi families perceived the following rank ordered strengths to have helped them during their bereavement; having a supportive community, respect of family members, support of relatives, open communication between family members, religion, support of friends, trust within family members, understanding within the family, intra family support, understanding and love within the family, financial stability and inner strength.

This study indicated the following significant resiliency factors in Swazi families: both child's and parent's perceptions of: social support; reformulation of the problem, mobilization of the family to get and accept help and family time and routines such as having meals together. Other significant resiliency factors included children's perceptions of control, and parents' perceptions of family importance.