International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies

FAMILY CHALLENGES AND COPING MECHANISMS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the health and well-being of families in South Africa, amplifying family challenges and requiring modifications to their coping mechanisms. While the pandemic has been successfully managed in South Africa, some challenges, such as those related to poverty, loss of income, and economic uncertainty, have been exacerbated. This study, which used an exploratory qualitative research design, sought to offer insight into the coping mechanisms of South African families used to deal with family challenges during the pandemic. Through purposive and snowball sampling, 31 participants were recruited; the majority were living in a nuclear family, but some had other arrangements. The participants were from six municipal districts in the Western Cape Province. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study demonstrate that the coping mechanisms families used during the COVID-19 pandemic were largely drawn from internal resources.

THE CINDERELLA COMPLEX, ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES, AND THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF LIFE IN WOMEN: A WEB-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Habibe Bay Özçalık, Ayşe Nur Ataş, Sema Dereli Yilmaz — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800

This study aimed to investigate the correlations between the Cinderella complex — the desire in a woman sto be cared for and protected by another person, particularly a man — and each of two factors: adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the meaning and purpose of life. Designed as web-based cross-sectional research, the study was conducted from March 2022 to June 2022. The data were collected via social media platforms, with 356 women participating. The instruments used were a personal information form, the Cinderella Complex Scale, the Turkish ACE-TR questionnaire, and the Meaning and Purpose of Life Scale. Means of scores obtained by participant women from the Cinderella Complex Scale, the ACE-TR questionnaire, and the Meaning and Purpose of Life Scale were successively 66.37±22.77, 1.28±1.71, and 65.13±10.35 points. Women's average scores on the Cinderella Complex Scale and ACE-TR Scale were low, and their average scores on the Meaning and Purpose of Life Scale were high. Participants’ descriptive characteristics — education level, employment status, spouse’s education level, and family type — affected their Cinderella Complex Scale scores, while their ACE-TR scores had no statistically significant effect. There is a significant relationship between scores on the Cinderella Complex Scale and scores on the Meaning and Purpose of Life Scale. To avoid developing a Cinderella complex, it is recommended that women adopt a wider perspective on life, continually upgrade their skills, become more independent in their thoughts and actions, and create a personal space where they can spend quality time in order to find more meaning in life.

CARE-LEAVERS’ EXPERIENCES OF HOW MANAGED OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENCE CONTRIBUTED TO BUILDING RESILIENCE

Joyce Hlungwani, Adrian D. van Breda — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800

Care-leaving literature widely utilizes resilience theory. This is due to an acknowledgment that while young people who grew up in care frequently achieve poorer outcomes during their transition from care to independent adulthood, some do well despite their challenges. Resilience research is also increasingly interested in the factors that promote resilient functioning during the transition out of care. However, research on how to build young people’s resilience while in care is limited. This paper introduces the notion of “managed opportunities for independence” (MOI), which are guided activities for young people that involve them acting independently. We explore the contribution of MOI in building the resilience of young people in care. Nine care-leavers who had disengaged from various residential care centers in South Africa were purposively sampled. The study employed a qualitative approach and a grounded theory design, with semi-structured individual interviews. Findings depict the range of MOI that care-leavers experienced, the ways in which these benefited them since leaving care, the kinds of independence they currently display as a result, and their suggestions for improving MOI. Implications for practice include proceduralizing MOI and making greater use of such opportunities to prepare young people for leaving care.

MEETING THE EMPLOYMENT NEEDS OF MARGINALIZED YOUTH: A REVIEW OF PROMISING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800

The Youth Job Connection program in Ontario, Canada is designed to help multi-barriered youth transition into the workforce. As part of an evaluation of the program, a review of comparable employment programs in Canada and similar English-speaking countries was conducted, which involved 57 national and 36 international programs. The purpose of the review was to identify promising programs and explore how they support the successful transition of NEET (not in education, employment, or training) youth into the labour market. A major finding was that promising youth employment programs not only address the work needs of marginalized youth, but also life skills and life stabilization. Such programs incorporate pre-employment training, mentoring and job coaching, paid work placements, life skills training, and life stabilization supports. Life stabilization supports varied across programs, with different amounts and types offered; further research is needed to determine what life stabilization supports best help NEET youth to secure and maintain employment. Considerations for improving the quality of employment programs for NEET youth are discussed. Lastly, given that NEET youth are not a homogeneous group, youth employment programs should target subpopulations of NEET youth, like those that are marginalized.