This study used stratified random sampling with respect to the quintile system, involving random selection of schools proportional to the size of each quintile. Females were found to experience significantly higher levels of fear than males as a result.
APPENDICES
INSTRUCTIONS TO TEACHERS FOR ADMINISTERING
CHAPTER ONE
- Introduction
- Background to the study
- Rationale and significance of the study
- Key concepts
- Child
- Adolescence
- Fear
- A Child-centred perspective
- South African schools
- reviews available literature relevant to a child-centred perspective on fears and anxieties experienced by adolescents in South African schools. A contextual approach using
- provides a detailed description of the methodology utilized in the present study including: the objectives of the research; research questions; research design; location of the
- presents the main findings of the present study that emerged from the analysis of the data. The findings will be discussed and presented in tables in terms of frequency and
- provides a discussion of the results by linking the observed trends found in the present study to available literature on the topic. Included is the conceptualization of
The purpose of the present study is to gain a better understanding of how South African children conceptualize and understand their own fear and anxiety in the school context. Included in this chapter is the rationale, significance, objectives, definition of key terms, and an overview of this study.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The Ecological Systems Theory
- The Microsystem
- Individual factors
- Peer-child relationships
- Teacher-child relationships
- The Mesosystem
- Family factors
- The Exosystem
- Community factors
- The Macrosystem
- Cultural factors
- Socio-economic status factors
- Socio-political factors
- The Chronosystem
12 plays a vital role in a child's life to provide a safe, supportive environment so that they can focus on the primary goal of learning (Le Roux & Mokhele, 2011). Furthermore, levels of fear responses were found to be related to cultural differences in the acceptance, reinforcement, and punishment of fear disclosure (Burkhardt, 2007).
A Child-centred perspective
An important strength of ecological systems theory is that children do not simply act on the environment, but that they are both active and responsive in that their responses also shape the environment. By giving children a voice and the right to participate actively in all aspects related to their future, they can also contribute to being part of the solutions rather than being treated as passive recipients (Greene & Hill, 2005).
Childhood fears
- Overview of fear and anxiety
- Persistent fear and anxiety
The findings also indicated that there were differences in the number and levels of anxiety. A study conducted by Muris et al., (2008) examined the origins of common fears in children living in the South African context.
Interpersonal violence in South Africa
- Childhood adversity
- Mode of exposure
- Poly-victimization
- School-based violence
- Overview
- The concept of school-based violence
- Adverse effects of school-based violence
- The prevalence and nature of school-based violence
- Types of violence in South African schools
These findings suggest that the differences in PTSD rates between the two countries may be due to the "much higher levels of exposure to violent crime among South African adolescents" (Seedat et al., 2004, p.173). An international study by Finkelhor et al. 2007) found that children having been exposed to one type of victimization (including abuse, physical assault, bullying, witnessing violence in the community and at the family level) is a strong predictor of exposure to other forms of violence (for example they are more likely to have been victimized by their peers). Further supporting evidence indicates that "exposure to trauma and violence during childhood can cause revictimization and cycling of violence between generations" (Seedat et al., 2009, . p.1015).
A study by Cluver et al., (2010) into the extent of bullying inside and outside school focused on highly vulnerable children in South Africa.
Other forms of childhood adversity
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Other school-based fears
- Overview
- Lack of resources and unsafe infrastructure
- Teachers
- Failure or underachievement
- Teenage pregnancy
- Children with disabilities
According to Burkhardt (2007), findings based on the results of the South African Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-SA) show that 'getting HIV' is the most feared item for children living in South Africa. Cluver et al., (2010) identified poverty and food insecurity as significant risk factors for the developing child living in South Africa. The difference in the quality of education in South Africa means that many children are not exposed to equal opportunities to develop their optimal academic potential.
Reports show that in South Africa children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable as they are 3 to 4 times more likely to be abused than able-bodied children.
Conclusion
As many studies show that children's exposure to chronic adversity is common in South Africa, it is therefore important to emphasize that these children are at significant risk of being in a state of persistent fear and anxiety (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005; Cluver et al., 2010; Nansel et al., 2004; Seedat et al., 2004: Shields et al., 2009). Research provides strong evidence that childhood exposure to violence is associated with psychological distress, poor psychosocial adjustment, and high levels of fear (Abrahams & Jewkes, 2005; Cluver et al., 2010; Nansel et al., 2004; Seedat et al. , 2004). It is therefore not surprising that, due to the high prevalence of violent crime in South Africa, the negative consequences of interpersonal violence on childhood development have been extensively studied (Abraham & Jewkes, 2005; Barbarin et al., 2001; Cluver et al. , 2010; Jewkes et al., 2010; Shields et al., 2009).
However, a study by Shields et al. 2009) found that the intensity of negative psychological effects may vary depending on the context in which exposure to violence occurred, such as school or neighborhood, highlighting the importance of further research to consider the site of exposure.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Introduction
- Objectives of the study
- Research questions
- Research location
- Research Participants
- Sampling
- Preliminary study
- Development of content categories
- Conceptualizing the categorisation of adolescent fears
- Coding the pilot data
- Finalizing the codes and preparing a coding schedule
- Data collection procedures
- Data analysis
- Statistical analysis of the data
- Measures taken to ensure validity and reliability
- Validity
- Reliability
- Chapter summary
A preliminary study was conducted to identify potential threats to the validity and reliability of the research. Not all participant responses could be easily coded, so the researcher added miscellaneous or residual categories. The anonymous approach of the questionnaire allowed the participants to answer the open-ended questions, which may be considered sensitive, honestly.
The next chapter will discuss the main findings that emerged from the data analysis in this study.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
- Introduction
- Demographic characteristics of participant’s responses
- Demographic characteristics of the school sample
- Frequency and rating of fear by resource domains
- Frequency and rating of fear content domains
- Frequency and rating of specific fear manifestations
- Problems with peer relationships
- Interpersonal trauma direct exposure
- Achievement including failure and underachievement at school
- Proposed Solutions
- Chapter summary
P39: "The BTK gangsters came to our school last year and tried to kill all the students". P54: "The scariest thing is when a gang called BTK threatened us and ended up killing people and we didn't go to school." P80: "The scariest thing was when the BTK group threatened to kill all the schoolchildren".
72 P31: 'The scary thing is that you would be beaten by the teacher at our school every day'.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION
Introduction
The Conservation of Resources Theory
- Secondary resource domain
- Tertiary resource domain
- Most frequent fear in terms of content domain: Threats to survival or physical integrity
- Most highly rated fear in terms of content domain: Threats of death, loss and separation from significant others
- Most frequent fear in terms of specific fear manifestations: Problems with peer relationships
- Most highly rated fear in terms of specific fear manifestations: non-interpersonal threats to the individual’s survival
- Fears related to gang activities
- Fears related to violence or threat of violence from a school teacher
- Fears related to failure and underachievement at school
- The relevance of applying the Conservation of Resources Theory to the present study
The observed trends of this study are thus consistent with the conservation of resources theory, which suggests that survival is the primary concern of all people and that the closer an individual is to a threat to survival, the higher the level of fear they will experience (Hobfoll, 1998). Because secondary resources are an indirect route to primary resources, the findings of this study are consistent with the predictions of conservation of resources theory, which ranks resources according to the resource's proximity to survival and predicts that the closer a person is to a survival threat, the more likely they will be feared. (Hobfoll, 1998). These observed trends are consistent with the conceptualization of fears in terms of conservation of resources theory, which predicts that the closer an individual is to losing or the threat of losing resources directly necessary for survival and physical integrity, the higher the level of fear. fear (Hobfoll, 1998).
Preservation of the resource theory thus also takes into account the development of childhood and can be successfully applied in
Fears not evident in the findings of the present study
82 Resource theory therefore provides a framework that can be applied at a broad level across cultures (Hobfoll, 1998). Highlighting the need for future research on childhood anxieties to explore cultural diversity, the Conservation of Resources theory (which posits that stress is experienced as a result of a threat of loss or actual loss of resources) provides a valuable framework that can be used to assess specific fears related to culture because its hierarchical nature provides useful insight into how certain resources are valued in a given context and also the associated fear responses resulting from a threat to those valued resources (Burkhardt, 2007 ; Greene & Hill 2005; Hobfoll, 1998; Papalia, 2006). Furthermore, as a significant amount of research has been conducted on developmentally appropriate fears, Conservation of Resources theory recognizes that as children develop and their needs change, the relative value of their resources also changes (Burkhardt, 2007; Greene & Hill, 2005; Papalia, 2006).
Conservation of resources theory thus provides valuable new insight into how adolescent children conceptualize and understand their fears and anxieties within the South African context.
Proposed solutions
This may have contributed to the absence of certain specific fears reported in this study. This study recognized the importance of exploring children's experiences of fear and anxiety in the school context from a child's perspective in an attempt to access a better understanding of how children conceptualize their own fear. Research participants in this study reported specific details regarding gang activity, which included the name of the gang 'Born to Kill' (BTK) and that students in the school were specifically targeted.
By including children in the research process, the present study was in accordance with the United Nations Convention on.
Comparative studies
For example, research participants in this study reported specific fears related to gang activity. Thus, the use of open-ended questions in this study helped to provide information-rich results that contributed to a broader set of findings. Despite the different methodological approaches used to investigate children's fears in the South African context, Burkhardt's (2007) study and the present study yielded results.
The differences in the results of Burkhardt's (2007) study and the present study, however, appear to be related to the occurrence of childhood fears at a more specific level.
Ecological Systems Theory
- Individual factors
- Problems with peer relationships
- Problems with teacher-child relationships
- The school context
- Proposed solutions
- The relevance of applying the Ecological Systems Theory to the present study
Although Burkhardt's (2007) study revealed that South African children had the greatest fear of 'getting HIV', and contrary to the findings of this study, it was found that fears related to 'interpersonal threats to survival or bodily integrity' were the largest contributors to children's fear , both of which are related to the primary resource category, which is directly related to threats to livelihoods. In terms of understanding adolescent fears related to peer problems, ecological systems theory offers a framework that can explain the perception of fear as a dynamic, evolving process that is strongly influenced by the day-to-day interactions of the individual developing child and their relationships (e.g., peer relationships in a given context, for example in school) (Bronfenfenbrenner, 1979). However, participants in the present study revealed that the teacher-child relationship often leads to increased levels of fear due to the threat of violence by teachers in school.
This view is also consistent with the child-centred approach of the present study (Greene and Hill, 2005).
Limitations
Therefore, the demand characteristics of the current study may have influenced the findings (Foxcroft & Roodt, 2005). The scope of this study may constitute a limitation, as the findings were based on the reports of adolescents living in the North West Province, who cannot necessarily be assumed to be representative of all South African adolescents. However, the majority of the research participants in the current study were South African in colour.
The focus of the present research was to investigate the experience of fears and anxieties of adolescents in a school context.
Implications
- Methodological Implications
- Implications for future cross-cultural research
- Implications for future research on the various stages of human development
- Implications for the South African context
- Implications for intervention
Based on the findings of the current study, it is therefore important that future research on normative childhood fears be aware of the potential limitations of Fear Survey Schedules. Findings from the current study have important methodological implications for future research on normative childhood fears. Further research is recommended to confirm the findings of the current study using the framework of the Conservation of Resources theory to.
Furthermore, the findings of the current study were in line with previous studies which indicated that high levels of fear are common in South African schools and need to be urgently addressed (Burton, 2013; De Wet, 2003).
Conclusion
The current study found that students feared failure and underachievement, highlighting the need for improved academic skills. Suggested solutions from participants in the current study indicated that safety and security measures in schools should be improved or implemented to prevent 'outsiders' from gaining access to school grounds. The current study considered a holistic perspective on understanding adolescent children's experience of anxiety in the South African school context.
By recognizing the importance of exploring children's experiences of fear and anxiety in the school context from a child's perspective, this study was able to access a more complete understanding of young people's childhood fears relevant to the contemporary South African context.
THESE QUESTIONS REFER TO THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED AT HOME IN THE LAST YEAR. THESE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU AT SCHOOL IN THE LAST YEAR. What is the scariest or most exciting thing that happened to you AT SCHOOL in the last year (describe what happened in the space below.
THESE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU IN YOUR COMMUNITY IN THE PAST YEAR.
