Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence

Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--University of Pretoria, 2020.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Hall, Herna
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2020
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613456781279232
access_status_str Open Access
author2 Hall, Herna
author_browse Hall, Herna
author_facet Hall, Herna
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--University of Pretoria, 2020.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/77290
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:26.674Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2020
publishDateRange 2020
publishDateSort 2020
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/77290 Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence Hall, Herna u13314174@tuks.co.za Boshoff, Jenilee N. Adolescence Community violence Contact boundary disturbance Gestalt theory Mediating factors Normalisation Perceptions Young adults Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--University of Pretoria, 2020. Community violence (CV) is a social phenomenon that touches societies around the globe and exhibits alarming prevalence, especially among South African youth. Considering that CV exposure often causes severe internalising and externalising effects, it is not surprising that it can be one of the most destructive experiences for children. Since childhood informs further development, it is significant that factors influencing the general well-being of children be understood and discussed. This includes the exploration and study of a child’s perception, as perceptions have substantial influence over behaviour and well-being. However, few studies have been employed to understand how the youth perceive CV, despite the extensive literature available on this phenomenon. The current study was thus imperative in understanding how adolescents make sense of and perceive CV, which may contribute invaluable knowledge to the intervention efforts and strategies of social workers working with communities. The goal of this study was to explore and describe young adults’ perceptions of CV experienced in a South African context during adolescence. The major objectives of this study were to explore and describe how the participants were exposed to and perceived CV during adolescence, as well as how they believe they were affected by this exposure. The study followed a qualitative research approach and the participants, who comprise of the study population of young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 residing in the City of Tshwane, were attained through means of non-probability sampling, specifically the purposive and snowball sampling methods. An instrumental case study design was applied to the cases of ten (10) participants, who voluntarily participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews that were analysed according to the process phases of Thematic Analysis and were interpreted from the theoretical underpinning of Gestalt theory. The results show that adolescents’ exposure to CV took many different forms and infiltrated their everyday lives. In addition, adolescents’ perceptions of CV were greatly informed and influenced by various factors, both within themselves and within their environments. Furthermore, perceptions of CV were found to largely determine and affect their appraisal thereof, their relative interest therein, as well as their behavioural responses thereto. It can thus be concluded that the study on perceptions of CV is significant towards understanding adolescents’ internal and external functioning and for determining some of the threats encapsulated in CV exposure on adolescent development. Another conclusion drawn was that adolescents’ perceptions of CV may have certain limitations, which could negatively influence reasoning and decision-making and may place various restrictions on their lives. Through socialisation, beliefs and behaviour regarding CV can become normalised, which may lead to the desensitisation thereof. Moreover, perceptions of CV are highly complex and can shape adolescents’ worldviews and self-perception, which might go on to threaten their moral ground and cause disempowerment. The results provide some support for social workers working in violent communities by highlighting various protective factors that may curb the normalisation of CV, as well as its negative effects. Further research should be conducted to determine the degree to which CV has been normalised in South African communities, and the researcher recommends the use of a longitudinal and mixed-method research approach. 2022/12/31 Social Work and Criminology MSW (Play-based Intervention) Unrestricted 2020-12-07T10:30:25Z 2020-12-07T10:30:25Z 2021-04 2020-12 Mini Dissertation Boshoff, JN 2020, Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence, MSW (Play-based Intervention) Mini Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77290> A2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77290 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Adolescence
Community violence
Contact boundary disturbance
Gestalt theory
Mediating factors
Normalisation
Perceptions
Young adults
Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title_full Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title_fullStr Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title_full_unstemmed Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title_short Young adults' perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence
title_sort young adults perceptions of community violence experienced in a south african context during adolescence
topic Adolescence
Community violence
Contact boundary disturbance
Gestalt theory
Mediating factors
Normalisation
Perceptions
Young adults
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77290