THE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF A FAMILY RESILIENCE- ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMME JOANITA HOLTZKAMP Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University Promoter: Prof A P Greeff December 2010 DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the authorship owner thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. December 2010 Copyright © 2010 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved ii SUMMARY A probe into resilience research has revealed that psychologists have taken on the role of “keepers of the crypt”, where our attained knowledge has been “entombed” by virtue of our reluctance to allow it to bear practical fruition. Consequently, the impetus of the research is a response to the aforementioned gap and is explicated in four phases: Phase 1: A detailed literature review consisting of the review and integration of appropriate preceding resilience research, thereby serving as a possible reference guide for future studies; Phase 2: Provision of a succinct, comprehensive framework for programme development within the field of psychology; Phase 3: Family hardiness was selected as the resilience quality to be attended to via the development of a universal, multidimensional resilience-enhancement programme; Phase 4: An assessment of whether the resilience-enhancement programme is successful in developing the selected resilience quality in families. Following the salutogenic approach, the main theoretical foundation of the investigation resides in the Resiliency Model of Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Thompson, 1991). The significant contribution of the research is its provision of a framework for programme development within the field of psychology. Self-report questionnaires and open-ended questions were completed by mothers as representatives of their families. Therefore, the research amalgamated both qualitative and quantitative measures in its quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest natural control-group research design. A total of fifty families living in the Western Cape, South Africa participated in the research. The statistical trends observed in the study hinted at the enhancement potential of family hardiness. It became evident that gender, level of education, income and occupation, emotional intelligence and the time frame of interventions affected the enhancement potential of family hardiness. Age may also play a role, but iii the conflicting research results render conclusions about the correlation between age and hardiness questionable. Comparative studies would clarify this aspect. Future studies attempting to develop these findings further, need to consider the influence of factors such as gender, level of education, income and occupation, emotional intelligence and the time frame of interventions. Family hardiness is but one of the identified resilience qualities. An exploration of the enhancement potential of other identified resilience qualities will provide a plethora of interventions for service providers to choose from, enabling them to meet families and communities at their point of need. iv OPSOMMING Nadere ondersoek van veerkragtigheidsnavorsing het aangedui dat sielkundiges die rol van “bewaarders” aangeneem het, waar ons versamelde kennis verberg word as gevolg van ons onwilligheid om dit prakties toe te pas. Gevolglik is hierdie navorsing gedoen in respons op bogenoemde gaping in die navorsing, en word dit in vier fases gelewer: Fase 1: ’n literatuuroorsig wat die voorafgaande veerkragtigheidsnavorsing integreer en hersien ten einde as verwysingsgids te dien vir toekomstige studies; Fase 2: Die voorsiening van ‘n omvattende raamwerk vir programontwikkeling binne die veld van die sielkunde; Fase 3: Gesinsgehardheid is gekies as die veerkragtigheidsfaktor om deur middel van ’n universele, multidimensionele program verryk te word; Fase 4: ‘n Bepaling om te ontdek of die veerkragtigheidsverrykingsprogram suksesvol is om die geselekteerde veerkragtigheidsfaktor in families te verryk. Die studie is gedoen vanuit die salutogeniese benadering. McCubbin en Thompson (1991) se “Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation” is as teoretiese basis benut. Die navorsing se betekenisvolle bydrae lê in die voorsiening van ‘n raamwerk vir programontwikkeling binne die veld van sielkunde. Selfbeskrywingsvraelyste en oop vrae is deur moeders as verteenwoordigers van hulle gesinne voltooi. Die navorsing het dus van beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metings gebruik gemaak in die kwasi-eksperimentele voortoets-natoets, natuurlike kontrolegroep navorsingsontwerp. ’n Totaal van vyftig families wat in die Wes-Kaap van Suid Afrika woonagtig is, het aan die navorsing deelgeneem. Die statistiese neigings wat in die navorsing waargeneem is, sinspeel op die verrykingspotensiaal van gesinsgehardheid. Dit het aan die lig gekom dat geslag, opvoedkundige vlak, inkomste en beroep, emosionele intelligensie en die tydsduur van intervensies die v verrykingspotensiaal van gesinsgehardheid beïnvloed. Ouderdom kan ook ‘n invloed hê, maar die teenstrydige navorsingsresultate in dié verband maak gevolgtrekkings oor die korrelasie tussen ouderdom en gesinsgehardheid twyfelagtig. Vergelykende studies sal die bogenoemde kan uitklaar. Toekomstige studies wat poog om die bevindinge van hierdie navorsing verder te ontwikkel, moet die invloed van faktore soos geslag, opvoedkundige vlak, inkomste en beroep, emosionele intelligensie en die tydsduur van intervensies in ag neem. Gesinsgehardheid is maar een geïdentifiseerde veerkragtigheidsfaktor. Verdere ondersoeke na die verrykingspotensiaal van ander veerkragtigheidsfaktore sal ‘n oorvloed van intervensies aan diensleweraars beskikbaar stel, ten einde in die behoeftes van families en gemeenskappe te voorsien. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This body of work is dedicated to my grandparents, Jackie and Piet Bouwer and Hester and John-Henry Holtzkamp. I feel so privileged that you are still a part of my life so that I may continue to learn from your eminent wisdom and vast experience. You ground the heavy stones so that your descendants’ life trajectories may be easier than your own. It is this sacrifice that paved the way for me to dream without parameters. As a result, no dream has seemed out of reach. Your work ethic instilled in me the knowledge that effort and hard work give fruition to dreams. You took a genuine interest in my academic career and, when you spoke of me, you spoke with pride. This served as a constant motivator and source of inspiration. Your unwavering faith provided me with the conviction that all things are possible when you walk in the Lord’s grace. His arms have been my constant refuge. Thank you for teaching me these valuable life lessons. My respect for you is infinite – matched only by my love for you. Prof. Greeff, you were the first to voice the hope of my heart that I can continue with my studies. You believed that I would be able to bring it to fulfilment. Consequently I believed. Your support has been steadfast and your guidance invaluable. It has been a joyous experience working with you. I will be your loyal student forever. Prof. Kidd, once again you patiently managed to make statistics understandable. Thank you. This research would not have been possible without the contribution of the Delft and Klapmuts research participants. I am humbled that you have allowed me to learn from your resilience. vii All thanks be to my Lord, who qualified the called. You birthed my dream and I live only to serve Your purpose. Oupa Piet 10 January 1918 – 24 June 2008 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ii SUMMARY iii OPSOMMING v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii LIST OF ADDENDUMS xiv LIST OF FIGURES xv LIST OF TABLES xvi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY 1 1.1 Resilience defined 3 1.2 Relevance of the research 4 1.3 Gaps in the literature: the need for a South African focus on family resilience 5 1.4 Contribution to programme development 7 1.5 Problem statement and focus 7 1.6 Chapter review 8 1.7 Chapter conclusion 10 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF FAMILY RESILIENCE 11 2.1 The salutogenic approach 11 2.2 Family systems theory 13 2.3 Family stress theory 16 2.4 The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model (FAAR) 17 2.5 Key processes in family resilience 18 2.6 The Resiliency Model 22 ix 2.7 Chapter conclusion 25 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 26 3.1 Investigations into family resilience 26 3.1.1 Resilience traits and abilities of individual family members, such as optimism, humour and the ability to support oneself 27 3.1.2 Internal resources and support available to the family system 28 3.1.3 The family’s utilisation of their internal strengths and durability to manage problems outside their boundaries 32 3.1.4 Family hardiness 32 3.1.5 Family integration and stability, fostered by family time together and routines 35 3.1.6 Social support, involving network and esteem support of being loved and cared for 36 3.1.7 A passive appraisal coping style in the midst of crises 40 3.2 Programmes venturing resilience enhancement 42 CHAPTER 4: PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT 52 4.1 The historical inception of programme development 52 4.2 Theoretical approaches to psychoeducation 54 4.3 Programme development models 57 4.4 Programme implementation