Apartheid, Racisrn, and Black Mental Kealth in South Africa, and the Role of Racial Identity
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Apartheid, Racisrn, and Black Mental Kealth in South Africa, and the Role of Racial Identity Dan Hocoy A thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen's University Kingston, Ontario, Canada June, 1997 copyright @ Dan Hocoy, 1997 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibi iographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington ûttawaON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Ywr iSlir Votre ~fëmm? 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Abstract The impact of apartheid and racism in South Africa on Black mental health and self-esteem, anà the role of racial identity in this relationship, were exarnined in this study. First, it was hypothesized that the cognitive (Black self-perception) and affective (Black esteem) components of Black racial identity are empirically independent, and second, that Black self-perception moderates the prediction of self-esteem from Black esteem. Third, the relationship among pexceived racism, mental health (Le., anxiety, depression, psychosomatic symptornatology), self-esteem, and Black self-perception in Black South Africans was hypothesized to be a function of in-group (Black esteem) and out- group (attitude toward Whites) attitudes. These hypotheses were tested with 363 Black South Africans in a nation-wide study in 1995, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The first hypothesis was supported; the second was not. For the third hypothesis, Black esteem and attitude toward Whites were found to moderate the relationship between perceived racism and mental health, rather than act as predictors. Qualitative analysis revealed an alternative pattern of relationships among the variables in the study, and provided a framework for understanding how apartheid and racism may affect mental health. This pattern was confirmed by post-hoc regression analyses and is proposed as a framework with which to understand the relationship between racism and mencal health in other racial or ethnic groups. The importance of qualitative investigation in cross-cultural research was underscored by its indispensability in this study. In addition to these hypotheses, various models originating from North America were tested for their validity in the South African context, including Crossf model for racial identity development, Berry's model of acculturation, and Hocoyfs model of racial identity. The models of Cross and Hocoy found substantial support but required modification for Black South Africans, while Berry's mode1 was fully applicable. Gender differences in response to discrimination were examined as well. Apartheid seems to have resulted in a duality of consequences for Black South Africans. It appears that racism results in lowered mental health and psychological damage, but it also seems to elicit responses of resilience, coping and strength in oppressed individuals. This duality was also found among women who bear the added discrirnicrtion of sexism; gender analyses revealed that apartheid has more serious effects on women than men. This greater oppression against women seemed to be met with an equally greater degree of resilience. Self-esteem was found to be a robust agent in buffering the effects of discrimination for Black South Africans. My journey in academia, culminating in this thesis has been, as rnuch as anything else, a personal quest for self-understanding and the telling of the experience of a person of Colour in a White world. This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of countless people who offered their support, advice, influence, friendship, tirne, and a piece of themselves. To these people, I am forever indebted; 1 wish 1 could thank them al1 here, but can only mention a few that deserve special recognition. To the Black South Africans who took part in my study, I give eternal thanks for your trust, openness, and willingness to share your lives with a stranger £rom another land. The stories of your struggles and triumphs have awakened in me a sense of who 1 am, and the rneaning of life itself. You have moved me by your exarnple, from which I will continually draw inspiration, courage, resilience and forgiveness. Tt is your story 1 document, and your voices that tell the story. To al1 the South Africans 1 encountered, of al1 racial stripes, 1 have been moved by your generosity, honesty, as well as your attitude towards understanding and reconciliation, and your vision of a "newu South Africa. This research could not have been carried out without the assistance of Jenny Pretorius, George Savage, and Mariana Bothma, who turned their Counselling departments and persona1 lives upside dom to accommodate me and my research. Thanks to Don Foster, Norman Duncan, Christina Landman, Johann Pretorius-Heuchert, and Josephine Naidoo for helping me find my footing in South Africa and in its research. A special thanks to al1 the communities that took me into their hearts as well as their homes: the Coloured community of the Cape (especially the friends and family of Pauline Frans, Glynnis Blignaut, and Sheryl-Anne Marais), the Afrikaner communities in the Vaal Triangle (especially the farniiy and friends of Jenny Pretorius) and Pretoria, the English (especially the Byett family in Pinelands), Greek, and Chinese communities throughout the country, the Indian community in Durban, friends in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, the township communities of Sharpeville, Gugulethu, and Khayalitcha, and al1 the African families throughout the country, who entrusted their stories, and shared their lives with me. 1 am eternally grateful to my supervisor, John Berry, for his continual support and his example, without which I would not have had the vision and courage to attempt a thesis of this magnitude, historical importance, and social relevance. 1 would also like to convey the greatest appreciation to my committee members, Dorothy Cotton, who inspires me with her humour, wit and intrepid approach to life, and Rod Lindsay, whose insightfulness and strength of logic and argumentation has been a foundation. Special thanks goes out also to Malcolm Westcott, who painstakingly mentored me on the ways of qualitative research, which allowed me to perceive and understand the humanity behind the numbers. To Ken Dion, the External Examiner of the thesis, I want to express sincere appreciation for your supportive comments, as well as your meticulous review of my work and constructive criticism, the result of which has truly enhanced this dissertation. Thanks to Jane Leach, Najurn Rashid, Marg Lawson, Ji11 Moore, wanda Parkes and BarS Trenhaile, and the rest of those who do not nearly get the recognition they deserve. To my farnily, 1 want to convey my deepest love and gratitude. 1 would like to give honour and respect to my parents, without whose struggle, sacrifice and understanding, 1 would not have been able to pursue an education and path in life unknown to them. To Patricia, my sister, 1 thank you for your devotion and companionship throughout the years. 1 would like to dedicate this thesis to my late Grandmother, to whom 1 owe an understanding of my rich family ancestry and Chinese heritage. I am also indebted to the many who have suffered, sacrificed, and died in the struggle for a different South Africa, without whom this study would not have seen the light of day. May this thesis pay you homage. Your sacrifice will not forgotten. Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vii List of Tables xi List of Figures xii INTRODUCTION Brief Historv of A~artheid Mental Health Conseauences of A~artheidand Racism Racial Identitv Cosnitive and Affective Elements in Racial Identity Relationship to Self-Esteem Cross' Conceptual Framework for Black Racial Identity The South African Context and the Acculturation Framework Perceived Racism and Other Variables in the Study Attitude Toward Whites and Black Esteem Mental Health: Anxietv. Depression, and Psvchosomatic Sm~tomatolo~v Self-Esteem The Need to Intesrate Existinq Paradisms The Cells of the Intesrated Framework Gender Differences Feminist Methodoloqv Overview and Desisn Hmotheses METHOD (QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION) Equivalence in Ouantitative Variables The Phenomenolosical A~proach In£ormal Interviews Informants and Samplins Procedure 54 Formai Interviews 55 Informants and Sam~linsProcedure 56 Method of Analysis 56 The Interview. 58 RESULTS (QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION) 59 Theme Descriptions 61 How Racisrn Affects Mental Health: The Eaeriential Framework 70 METHOD (QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION) Participants and Sarn~linsProcedure Questionnaire Statistical Analvses Em~loved