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As South Africa prepared to host the 30th International Congress of Psychology in 2012, a call was made to reflect on the strengths of and challenges facing contemporary South African Psychology. This article presents our response to our brief to focus on social issues by presenting the results of a situational analysis of South African Psychology over the last 5 years and comparing this corpus of data to a similar analysis reported in Macleod. Articles appearing in the South African Journal of Psychology and abstracts in PsycINFO with the keyword ‘South Africa’ over a 5.5-year period were analysed. The content of 243 South African Journal of Psychology articles and 1986 PsycINFO abstracts was analysed using the codes developed by Macleod. Results indicate that an increase in the number of articles, a reduction in the percentage of articles using quantitative methodologies and ‘hard’ science theoretical frameworks (particularly in the South African Journal of Psychology), and an increase in qualitative, theoretical, and methodological articles, and articles using systems-oriented theory (particularly in the South African Journal of Psychology). Traditional topics of assessment, stress and psychopathology continue to dominate, with social issues, such as housing, land reform, development programmes, water resources and socio-economic inequities being largely ignored. Most research continues to be conducted in Gauteng, KwaZulu/Natal and the Western Cape, predominantly with adult, urban-based, middle-class participants, sourced mainly from universities, hospitals or clinics, and schools. Collaborations or comparisons with other African, Asian, South American, and Middle East countries have decreased. While the analysis presented in this paper is limited by its exclusion of books, theses, research reports and monographs, it shows that in published research there are some positive trends and some disappointments. The limited number of social issues featuring in published research, the under-representation of certain sectors of the population as participants, and the decrease in collaboration with, or comparison to, countries from the global ‘South’ represent challenges that require systematic attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods are becoming increasingly popular in social science research. There has recently been a groundswell of literature suggesting that mixed methods should be viewed as a unique form of social enquiry with its own set of philosophical, methodological and practice guidelines, as opposed to the simple combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in one study. In response to three critiques of South African psychological research, this paper argues that regardless of whether we agree that mixed methods is a unique form of social enquiry, the current literature offers useful insights into conceptualising both mixed and mono methods research. It is hoped that this article will stimulate further interest in mixed methods research in South African psychological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and computing technology is pervasive in tertiary institutions and in the world of work. This short report critically evaluates two website development initiatives for undergraduate psychology modules, developed to support traditional face-to-face psychology lectures. In the first initiative, emphasis was placed on developing supplementary course material and exercises to complement lectures. Students expressed favourable attitudes towards the provision of the supplementary course material and content but less favourable attitudes towards training in how to use the World Wide Web. In the second initiative, emphasis was placed on the interactive qualities of the Web. Students expressed favourable attitudes towards the interactive discussion facilities and the provision of past examination and test papers (and answers). The lessons learned from these initiatives are discussed in relation to access to technology on university campuses in South Africa and in relation to the qualities of the web to facilitate learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the biopsychosocial coping and adjustment of adult female Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients in managed health care. The non-probability convenience sample consisted of 36 adult women aged between 18 and 60 years, recruited at a managed health care facility in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, and who volunteered to become part of this study. A biographical questionnaire and two paper- and-pencil measures were used to collect the data. The Coping Resources Inventory (CRI) was used to identify the coping resources used by the participants and the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF), was used as a measure of biopsychosocial adjustment. The biographical questionnaire screened important demographic information essential for the contextual interpretation of results. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were used in the data analysis. The sample perceived themselves as having slightly lower than average levels of coping resources as well as slightly below-average levels of adjustment. Social resources were more readily relied on as a means of coping, and superior adjustment was also indicated in terms of interpersonal and social functioning. A positive correlation was found between patients' coping resources and their adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of scholars during the 1980s and early 1990s questioned the relevance of psychology in South Africa. In this paper we characterise the nature of what became known as the `relevance debate', and then investigate whether South African psychology has become more relevant during the nation's first ten years of democracy. Themes which are identified with respect to this issue include the apparent increasing representation of marginalised groups within South African psychology, the conscious responsiveness of psychologists to post-apartheid policy imperatives and issues, their alignment with international theoretical trends, and finally, an increasing recognition of the political nature of South African psychology. The authors conclude that a more productive approach within future debates regarding relevance in psychology would be to examine the nature of knowledge production within the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a study of stress responses in workers at a sawmill in a small rural community which had been affected by prolonged industrial relations conflict. Workers went on strike in July 1997 over a dispute over contributions to a provident fund and there was much conflict and hardship in the community in the ensuing months. In December, a large sample of workers completed a set of scales which measured anxiety, depression, specific impacts of the strike and three stress response moderators (social support, sense of coherence [SOC] and religious practice). In a factor analysis, two factors were identified. The first was interpreted as a “response to the strike” factor. The positive pole of this factor was associated with having difficulty coping with the stress of the strike, being sensitive to the negative impact of unfair labour practices, responding positively to trade union activity and having a larger number of social supports. The second factor was interpreted as representing “negative versus positive cognitive set”. The positive pole of this factor was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms and Iow levels of SOC and involvement in religious practice. Although the correlational methodology does not allow for the demonstration that particular variables served as stress response moderators, the results suggested that response to the strike was largely independent of the stress response moderators and was probably mediated by other social and interpersonal factors. The inverse relation between anxiety and depression, on the one hand, and SOC, on the other, replicates previous findings and is discussed in terms of incompatibility of competing cognitive sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on adolescent youth living in the townships of the Midlands region of KwaZulu- Natal. The subject sample has lived within violence stricken communities for most of their lives. It was assumed that all participants were also victims of poverty and social discrimination. Four different communities, with varying profiles of political and criminal violence, combined with varied access to resources were selected. A life events scale, a symptom checklist and a coping scale were used to ascertain the degree of psychological distress. The results indicated that a number of individual and community variables are likely intervening variables. This led to the development of an interactionist model, which indicates that a number of mediating and/or moderating variables operate which enhance resilience or alternatively place an individual at greater risk for the development of psychopathology. Other probable mediating variables, not fully investigated in this study but suggested in recent literature, are discussed. These include cognitive attribution, meaning of the violence to the individual and the community as well as the nature of the ‘enemy’. The need for greater focus on factors which facilitate coping both at community and individual level are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress occurs when appraisal of the demands of a situation exceed the available resources under conditions where failure to meet the demand is perceived as having negative consequences. Stress is neither considered to be merely an event or response but rather a complex interaction of interrelated constructs and processes reflecting the relationship between intrapersonal and stituational variables. Although, the identification of general categories of stress is possible; it is important to acknowledge the significance of individual differences, especially with respect to cognitive evaluation procedures. The concurrent responses considered in this paper are self-confidence and state anxiety; both of which are related to potential pre-competitive performance stress. Antecedents and consequences are examined with respect to elite competitive springboard divers. Recommendations for future research propose continuous assessment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much debate at present around changing the professional structure of psychology to better meet the needs of South African society. In this paper this debate is assessed in terms of the requirements of the employment sector. Employment advertisements, for psychology and social and human science graduates appearing in three national weekly newspapers over 21 years, from 1976 to 1996, were analyzed. From the data it appears that the role of psychology in the 'New South Africa' is changing, with new opportunities opening up for graduates with broad as opposed to narrow professional qualifications. The implications of this for the professional structure of the discipline of psychology are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the career development theory of social psychologist Donald Super, with a focus on the theory's application to black South Africans. Topics the measurement of career maturity and career decision-making; the cultural context for psychological theories on career development; cultural bias in Super's career theory; and research on the application of career theories for minorities.

The article comments on a paper by A. Kagee on the imminent demise of South African (SA) psychology. It examines the acceptance of SA psychologists in clinical practice of Kagee's statements regarding human behaviour. It highlights the commentary of L. Swartz on Kagee's statements on the SA mental health professional's failure to incorporate empirical findings in their clinical works, noting Kagee's lack of evidence.