PROGRAMA DE CLASES TEÓRICAS

Coping forms a fundamental part of the theory and research on child- and youth- headed households. Even though coping cannot be equated with resilience, studies on resilience do refer to the ability to cope with the demands that are appraised as taxing and challenging by tapping on personal and environmental resources as important in enhancing resilience. For instance, Masten, Best and Garmezy (1990) have identified three kinds of resilience. Firstly, the 'overcoming odds' type of resilience, which is commonly used to refer to the belief that individuals have a particular quality or personal strength, as well as environmental resources, that enables them to withstand adversity. Secondly, resilience could refer to the existence of positive coping strategies that facilitate adaptation in the face of sustained and acute negative circumstances. Thirdly, it could refer to recovery from trauma (e.g. the death of parents). The literature on child- and youth-headed households also refers to the existence of coping strategies that facilitate effective coping and adaptations in the face of challenging and traumatic situations (Germann, 2005; Nkomo, 2006; Van Dijk, 2008).

2.6.1 CONCEPT OF COPING

Lazarus and Folkman (1984:134) indicate that coping styles can affect how a stressful event is perceived and managed. They describe coping as „„all efforts to

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The abovementioned authors further explain that when a person is faced with a new or dynamic situation or experience, a process called primary appraisal occurs, in terms of which the situation is perceived as positive, neutral or negative. Secondary appraisal follows through which the person assesses his or her resources and abilities to manage the situation. Situations or events are usually perceived as potentially stressful if the person needs to make changes or draw on his or her resources in order to overcome the problem. Negative or unpleasant situations or events are more often interpreted as stressful, as are uncontrollable or unpredictable factors. Ambiguous events are also interpreted as more stressful. When a stressful event is ambiguous, the individual must utilise resources to gain understanding of it (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984:26). This makes the choice of a particular course of action more difficult. Sense of control refers to the perception by an individual that his or her actions will result in particular outcomes, particularly if those outcomes are important for that person. When people believe that they have control, they continue to work hard, even in the face of difficult and adverse circumstances.

Davies (1999) defines coping as an array of short-term strategies adopted in response to crises. Adams, Cekan and Sauerborn (1998:264) have identified the short-term and long-term objectives of coping in households.

2.6.2 COPING PROCESS

Four steps have been identified in the coping process. The first step refers to appraisal. This involves determining the meaning of an event or situation and its implications for one's well-being; that is, determining if the event is stressful, and if so, whether it is controllable. The second step involves selecting a coping strategy, after taking stock of one's coping resources, the stressor, and the likelihood that the coping strategy will be effective. Coping strategies have been defined as “learned,

deliberate and purposeful emotional and behavioural responses to stressors that are used to adapt to the environment or to change it”. The literature on stress and coping

alludes to the importance of distinguishing between problem-focused, emotion- focused and avoidant coping strategies (Smith & Carlson, 1997; Compas, Conner- Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen &Wadsworth, 2001). Problem-focused strategies are

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primary or active problem-solving methods that are used to resolve the stressful relationship between the self and the environment. These strategies, such as information-seeking or attempts to alter the actual source of stress, are appropriate when the stressor is perceived accurately as malleable and controlled. Access to adequate material resources is associated with problem-oriented coping and a heightened sense of control (Meursing, 1997:53). Through a problem-solving style of coping, individuals may seek social support, and in this way, may be able to resolve the crisis at hand, which was the case with my research participants. Emotion- focused coping strategies, which are also called secondary or passive strategies, are ways in which people achieve an optimal level of emotional regulation and the capacity to deal with intense situations and feelings, for example, during bereavement (Compas et al., 2001:120). These strategies focus on adapting to the stressor without altering it and are employed more often when stressors are perceived as uncontrollable. They include changing one's outlook and regulating emotions, which tend to require a higher level of maturity. According to Smith and Carlson (1997:237), these strategies are likely to be used more frequently by adolescents and older children than by very young children.

Avoidant coping strategies are more appropriate in situations where time out from active coping is required for one to marshal personal resources before returning to active coping. In this sense, resilience differs from coping, in that a person can cope with situations by avoiding them (Gruen, Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). The key component to these successful coping strategies is the ability to be flexible in the selection of strategies, depending on the control an individual has over the situation. Success is measured by the individual involved.

2.6.3 TASK MODEL OF COPING

The task model of coping specifies the multiple aspects of a problem. In this model, coping is seen as a set of efforts to achieve certain goals or tasks. In line with this view, Leontopoulou (2005:96) postulates that the more resources young people have to draw on in an effort to achieve certain tasks and/or to cope in times of stress, the better their chances of dealing with difficulties more effectively. Here, reference is

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made to individual resources, the availability of social support, and the availability of community resources. When a person is confronted with a challenging and stressful situation, he or she will generally appraise the resources available to deal with the situation. In this case, coping is influenced by the resources one can mobilise. First, control beliefs and values can serve as a resource, especially beliefs about one's personal control. Secondly, self-efficacy is important in developing a sense of self- worth, which in turn influences a person‟s ability to persevere in the face of adversity (e.g. the death of a loved one, having to face life without parents). Here, Meursing‟s (1997) adapted coping model is significant.

DIAGRAM 2.3: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE COPING (Adapted from Van Dijk, 2008)

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This model presents factors that influence coping. In this model, the availability of social support and community factors, such as community values and attitude, as well as factors related to the individual, are crucial in promoting coping. These factors in turn influence the self-efficacy of the individual, which in turn influences the coping of the individual.

The following section will briefly indicate how these theoretical perspectives have informed the choice of the methodology used in this study to explore participants‟ experiences, their coping and adaptation, as well as the protective factors within their environments that promote their resilience. The first goal of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and needs of youth-headed families, as well as the protective factors within youth-headed families and their environment that enable them to cope with their circumstances. This information was used to formulate practice guidelines for supporting members of youth-headed families that can be used by social workers and other social development professionals to address the needs of these families and therefore enhance their resilience.

In line with the goal and objectives of this study, the primary focus was the exploration and assessment of protective factors at community and household/family levels. Participants‟ stories pointed to the fact that prior or current experience of significant risk or adversity is a key determining factor in assessing resilience and one cannot therefore assess resilient outcomes without assessing the causes. This then led to the revision of the data collection process and making new observations, which further informed the theoretical perspective chosen for this study.

In this study, the family interviews assisted in exploring the participants‟ exposure to adversity in two ways. Firstly, participants provided me with crucial information on the journey that their families had gone through and the events that are generally accepted as stressful life events, as also confirmed through the literature study, such as the death of a parent, as well as the constructions of coping with life following parental death. Secondly, the in-depth interviews enabled me to move beyond the exploration of risk and protective factors within the individual and the family to focus on the external factors that influenced the ability of the participating individuals and

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the families to cope with adversity and therefore promote resilience. This was in line with Bronfenbrenner‟s model of human development. In addition, the use of the narrative tradition of inquiry enabled me to identify the meaning the participants assigned to these experiences. In this way, the participants provided me with an indication of what they counted as stressful and what they regarded as successful negotiation by the individual for health resources, as well as how their constructions of their strengths and well-being shaped their interpretations of their health status (Ungar, 2004:352).