DIE ROL VAN SOSIALE ONDERSTEUNING IN DIE LEWENSTEVREDENHEID VAN MIV-GEAFFEKTEERDE ADOLESSENTE

• Main Author: Malgas, Albertus J
• Other Authors: Mrs A Botha
• Format: Others
• Language: en-uk
• Published: University of the Free State 2013
• Subjects: Psychology
• Online Access: http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-05172013-101446/restricted/

South Africa is characterised as a country with high levels of socioeconomic inequalities, poverty, violence and a high incidence of HIV/AIDS, which imply numerous challenges for living conditions of South Africans. These contextual factors cause South African adolescents to be exposed to multiple life stressors. One of the greatest life threats confronting young South Africans is the loss of control over their lives caused by HIV/AIDS. The impact of HIV/AIDS threatens the survival and normal development of children and adolescents. The most destructive effect of the pandemic on children and adolescents is the disintegration of traditional social support structures and social networks. Social support is regarded as one of the most important predictors of physical health and life satisfaction and plays an important role in the relationship between life stressors and life satisfaction. It functions as a buffer to decrease the impact of stress and to increase coping abilities when people find themselves in stressful situations. Social support is provided by parents, family, extended family, friends, teachers and the broader community and plays an important role, because these sources of support can soften the impact of stressful life events. With reference to the details stated above, the purpose of the research was to determine the role of social support in the life satisfaction of a group of adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS. This study was undertaken with a group of 218 HIV/AIDS-affected adolescents from the Northern Cape Province. A qualitative approach was used. A biographical questionnaire including aspects such as sex, race, home language and the parents' marital status and socioeconomic status was developed to measure the biographical variables. The Satisfaction with Life Questionnaire was used to obtain a measure of their life satisfaction. The Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends Questionnaire and the Life Stressors and Social Resources Inventory â Youth Form (LISRES-Y) were used to obtain a measure of their social support. An analysis of the research results indicates that some biographical variables do play a role in the life satisfaction and social support of this group of adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS. Differences in sex and age, socioeconomic status, race and the family structure seem to play a role in the social support and life satisfaction of these adolescents. In addition, it is apparent from the research that social support by the family and friends plays a significant role in the differences in respect of adolescents with high and low levels of life stressors and life satisfaction. However, throughout the study it was clear that adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS experienced lower levels of life satisfaction, regardless of the level of social support.