Cynthia Patel | University of KwaZulu-Natal (original) (raw)

Papers by Cynthia Patel

Sa Journal of Human Resource Management, 2012

The focus of this study was the relationship between perceptions of inequity and specific withdra... more The focus of this study was the relationship between perceptions of inequity and specific withdrawal behaviours. Research purpose: The purpose of the investigation was to explore possible relationships between workers' perceptions of inequity in the workplace, intentions toward withdrawal behaviour and unauthorised absenteeism. Motivation for the study: There is very little South African research on the correlates of perceived inequity in the workplace. This study attempted to address the gap by exploring specific withdrawal behaviours as possible correlates of perceived inequity. Research design, approach and method: Using a small-scale survey design, the researchers measured intentions towards withdrawal behaviour and recorded rates of absenteeism in a sample of 110 employees from a variety of automotive manufacturing companies in the KwaZulu-Natal area. Main findings: The researchers did not find a relationship between perceptions of inequity and unauthorised absenteeism but did find one between perceptions of inequity and future withdrawal behaviours. Practical/managerial implications: The high levels of perceptions of inequity amongst the workers and the finding that workers were more likely to engage in withdrawal behaviours in the future if they perceived unequal treatment in the workplace are worrying issues for the companies involved. Contribution/value-add: The scale that the researchers developed to measure perceptions of inequity shows preliminary evidence of construct validity. The results suggest that employers need to monitor levels of perceived inequity especially in relation to future withdrawal behaviour.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Mar 1, 2008

This study examines the structure of abortion attitudes in a sample of 124 full-time female unive... more This study examines the structure of abortion attitudes in a sample of 124 full-time female university residence students, the relationship between self-rated religiosity and abortion attitudes, as well as their knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act passed in South Africa in 1996. The data provide evidence for the existence of an underlying structure of abortion attitudes, which is complex and multifaceted. Almost 76% of the students described themselves as religious to very religious, and a pronounced trend toward pro-life is evident.

Health Care for Women International, May 26, 2009

Despite the availability of contraception, the rates of abortion among young women in South Afric... more Despite the availability of contraception, the rates of abortion among young women in South Africa continue to increase. We designed a study to examine young people's attitudes about abortion and contraception. One hundred and eighty-eight South African university students (97 females and 91 males) completed the survey. While we found moral objections to abortion for the sample as a whole, females showed stronger support for availability of abortion and women's autonomy compared with males. The respondents acknowledged the importance of contraception at a personal and general level, but more than 40% of them believed that women who use contraception are promiscuous. Females expressed difficulty with usage more frequently than males and indicated that they would not consider sexual intercourse if contraception were not available. For health care workers involved in counseling young people about their sexual and reproductive choices, the challenge lies in promoting a culture of equal rights and respect for women's reproductive freedom.

Gender and Education, Oct 20, 2015

This study compares three cohorts (1998–1999, 2005–2006 and 2010) of undergraduate psychology stu... more This study compares three cohorts (1998–1999, 2005–2006 and 2010) of undergraduate psychology students at a South African university on the level of support for working women (women in paid employment) on various issues considered to be feminist. Cohort 1 (n = 244), cohort 2 (n = 311) and cohort 3 (n = 266) completed an adapted version of a questionnaire used by the Research Group on Women and Work (Kitch, S. L. 1994. “‘We're All in this Alone’: Career Women's Attitudes Toward Feminism.” In Women and Careers: Issues and Challenges, edited by C. W. Konek and S. L. Kitch. London: Sage). The expected liberalisation of attitudes over the cohorts was evident for the females but not for the males: the second male cohort had more conservative attitudes than the first and third male cohorts. While there appeared to be strong overall support for gender equality in work and educational fields, there were equally solid endorsements of the importance of marriage and motherhood for working women. Across the cohorts there were somewhat moderate attitudes on the need for structural change in the family and at work. The implications of the findings are considered.

Journal of Religion & Health, Jan 17, 2018

This study focused on the relationship between religion, religiosity/spirituality (R/S), and atti... more This study focused on the relationship between religion, religiosity/spirituality (R/S), and attitudes of a sample of South African male secondary school youth toward women's rights to legal abortion in different situations. We distributed 400 self-administered questionnaires assessing the main variables (attitudes toward reasons for abortion and R/S) to the target sample in six different secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The responses of a final sample of 327 learners were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that religion and R/S play a role in the youths' attitudes toward abortion. While the Hindu subsample indicated higher overall support across the different scenarios, the Muslim subsample reported greater disapproval than the other groups on 'Elective reasons' and in instances of 'Objection by significant others.' The Christian youth had the most negative attitudes to abortion for 'Traumatic reasons' and 'When women's health/life' was threatened. Across the sample, higher R/S levels were linked with more negative attitudes toward reasons for abortion.

Social Science Journal, Sep 1, 2009

This study examines gender differences in gender role attitudes and attitudes to abortion in a sa... more This study examines gender differences in gender role attitudes and attitudes to abortion in a sample of 141 undergraduate students. Religion and religiosity were treated as covariates. Using the short version of Spence and Helmreich's (1978) Attitudes to Women Scale (AWS) taken from Spence and Hahn [Spence, J. T., & Hahn, E. D. (1997). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale and attitude to change in college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 17-34] and the abortion attitudes scale developed by Stets and Leik [Stets, J. E., & Leik, R. K. (1993). Attitudes about abortion and varying attitude structures. Social Science Research, 22, 265-282], we found that females have more liberal attitudes to women and show stronger approval for women's autonomy in abortion decision-making. Given the low internal consistency of this three-item subscale, responses to the individual items were analyzed. More males than females feel that the father should have the right to prevent the mother from having an abortion. Most of the students indicate that the woman should have to tell the father before having an abortion and most disagree that the abortion is entirely a woman's decision. There were no gender differences on the moral acceptability and availability subscales. The overall results reflect somewhat conservative attitudes to women, and seemingly contradictory findings on the abortion issue in this sample of university students. Although they endorse the availability of abortion, at the same time they find it morally unacceptable and show weak support for women's autonomy in this decision. The implications of these findings for the advancement of women's rights in this country are discussed.

South African Journal of Child Health, Jun 29, 2016

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Jul 1, 1993

Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between str... more Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left‐sided psychogenic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 patients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in the SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severity of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depression failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, but the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and control groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profiles were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study indicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profile to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to the hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Oct 1, 2006

The study investigated the interrelationship between adolescent ego identity, suicidal tendencies... more The study investigated the interrelationship between adolescent ego identity, suicidal tendencies, gender and race in a sample of South African Indian and Black secondary school students. The Ego Identity Scale (EIS) and the Multi-attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) were administered to 63 learners between the ages of 15 and 20 years. Pearson correlations and t-tests were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that higher scores on the EIS correlate with lower suicidal tendencies for this sample. In addition, higher scores were recorded by females on the Attraction to Death subscale and by Black males on the Attraction to Death, Repulsion by Life and Repulsion by Death subscales of the MAST. The authors conclude that ego identity achievement is likely to serve as a protective factor against suicidal tendencies.

SAHARA-J, Nov 1, 2006

Given the dearth of literature on the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward people with HI... more Given the dearth of literature on the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, the present study surveyed these variables in a sample of South African Muslim university students using the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) and an attitude to people with HIV scale. Gender differences in attitudes towards people with HIV were also examined.The sample comprised 90 male and female undergraduate and postgraduate Muslim students.While both males and females displayed high religiosity scores, male students were found to be significantly more religious than female students. No gender differences were found on the attitude to people with HIV scale, with students indicating positive attitudes to people with HIV. Higher religiosity was significantly correlated with a more positive attitude to people with HIV. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Jun 1, 2009

The factor structure of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency (MAST) scale was examined using a sam... more The factor structure of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency (MAST) scale was examined using a sample of non-white South African adolescents. The MAST scale was administered to 205 secondary school students between 13 and 20 years of age. The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency with alpha values being in line with previous studies using the instrument. Factor analysis confirmed the original four-factor structure of the scale. Strong support was found for the Repulsion by Death (RD) and Attraction to Life (AL) subscales of the instrument, with moderate support for the Atttraction to Death (AD) and Repulsion by Life (RL) subscales. The authors conclude that the generalisability of the MAST can be improved by the inclusion of more culturally relevant items.

Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2013

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Test (ROT) (Ideh... more This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Test (ROT) (Idehen, 2001) with 1284 South African respondents. Participants were 323 learners (mean age = 15.81, SD = 1.24) and 961 university students (mean age = 20.08, SD = 2.44). They varied by religious affiliation (65.3% Christian, 17.1% Hindu, 11.1% Muslim). Females made up 73% of the sample. Data were analyzed for reliability of scores and construct validity. Findings suggest that scores from the ROT are reliable and the instrument has construct validity in a sample of South African students.

South African Journal of Psychology, Sep 1, 2009

We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfacti... more We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfaction among university students across religion, race, and gender, by using an adapted version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Religious Orientation Test (ROT), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A convenience sample of 235 students participated in the study. The females ( n = 188) reported significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious well-being than the males ( n = 47). The white students (n = 43) were found to have lower religiosity levels than their black ( n = 59) and Indian ( n = 133) counterparts and higher life satisfaction scores than the black students. In the Indian sub-sample, the Muslim ( n = 24) as well as the Christian ( n = 29) students had higher levels of religiosity than the Hindu ( n = 80) students. The Christian (Indian) students had significantly higher religious well-being scores than the Hindu (Indian) students. In line with past research, the correlations between life satisfaction, religiosity, and religious well-being were significant. As scores on the SWLS increased, levels of religiosity and religious well-being also increased. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.

Sa Journal of Industrial Psychology, Feb 26, 2006

The increasing number of women in the workforce is a global phenomenon and South Africa is no exc... more The increasing number of women in the workforce is a global phenomenon and South Africa is no exception in this regard. Casale (2004) refers to this growth trend as the 'feminization' of the labour market. She notes that, whereas in 1995 about 38 percent of all women of working age were active in the work force, in 2001 nearly 51 percent of them were economically active. However, this increase has been in the lower paying categories, resulting in a larger percentage of women being concentrated in these categories in more recent years compared to the mid-nineties.

The international journal of children's spirituality, Feb 1, 2010

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1993

Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between str... more Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left-sided psychogenic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 patients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in the SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severity of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depression failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, but the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and control groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profiles were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study indicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profile to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to the hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.

development of an instrument to measure women’s experience of an aerobic dance class

South African Journal of Child Health, 2016

This study explored adolescents’ knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No 92 o... more This study explored adolescents’ knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No 92 of 1996) and attitudes toward abortion. A sample of 150 secondary school learners (aged 15 - 19 years), from a low socioeconomic area in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa was surveyed. Twenty percent of the sample indicated that they found abortion acceptable. The sexually active (have had sex) respondents had more positive attitudes toward abortion for elective reasons than the sexually inactive (have not had sex) sample. On traumatic reasons the gender difference was found to be a function of sexual status. Sexually active females showed greater support than males. While the majority of those sampled were aware of the legal status of abortion in this country, they demonstrated a lack of knowledge on specific aspects of the Act. Recognition of adolescents’ right to information is central to responsible decision-making among the youth about sexual and reproductive health issues.

Curationis, 2008

In recognising the highly stressful nature of the nursing profession, the added burden of hospita... more In recognising the highly stressful nature of the nursing profession, the added burden of hospital staff shortages, and patient overload, the present study explored the impact of work on family functioning, its relationship to job satisfaction and the role of spousal support in a group of 80 female nurses working in a government hospital. Using a descriptive, correlational design, the relationships among job satisfaction, work-family conflict (WFC) and spousal/partner support were explored. The hypotheses that job satisfaction and WFC would be negatively correlated, that job satisfaction and spousal support would be positively correlated, and that WFC and spousal support would be negatively correlated, were tested using correlation techniques. All hypotheses were confirmed. The role of spousal support in the relationship between job satisfaction and work -family conflict was highlighted.

Journal of Religion and Health

Sa Journal of Human Resource Management, 2012

The focus of this study was the relationship between perceptions of inequity and specific withdra... more The focus of this study was the relationship between perceptions of inequity and specific withdrawal behaviours. Research purpose: The purpose of the investigation was to explore possible relationships between workers' perceptions of inequity in the workplace, intentions toward withdrawal behaviour and unauthorised absenteeism. Motivation for the study: There is very little South African research on the correlates of perceived inequity in the workplace. This study attempted to address the gap by exploring specific withdrawal behaviours as possible correlates of perceived inequity. Research design, approach and method: Using a small-scale survey design, the researchers measured intentions towards withdrawal behaviour and recorded rates of absenteeism in a sample of 110 employees from a variety of automotive manufacturing companies in the KwaZulu-Natal area. Main findings: The researchers did not find a relationship between perceptions of inequity and unauthorised absenteeism but did find one between perceptions of inequity and future withdrawal behaviours. Practical/managerial implications: The high levels of perceptions of inequity amongst the workers and the finding that workers were more likely to engage in withdrawal behaviours in the future if they perceived unequal treatment in the workplace are worrying issues for the companies involved. Contribution/value-add: The scale that the researchers developed to measure perceptions of inequity shows preliminary evidence of construct validity. The results suggest that employers need to monitor levels of perceived inequity especially in relation to future withdrawal behaviour.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Mar 1, 2008

This study examines the structure of abortion attitudes in a sample of 124 full-time female unive... more This study examines the structure of abortion attitudes in a sample of 124 full-time female university residence students, the relationship between self-rated religiosity and abortion attitudes, as well as their knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act passed in South Africa in 1996. The data provide evidence for the existence of an underlying structure of abortion attitudes, which is complex and multifaceted. Almost 76% of the students described themselves as religious to very religious, and a pronounced trend toward pro-life is evident.

Health Care for Women International, May 26, 2009

Despite the availability of contraception, the rates of abortion among young women in South Afric... more Despite the availability of contraception, the rates of abortion among young women in South Africa continue to increase. We designed a study to examine young people's attitudes about abortion and contraception. One hundred and eighty-eight South African university students (97 females and 91 males) completed the survey. While we found moral objections to abortion for the sample as a whole, females showed stronger support for availability of abortion and women's autonomy compared with males. The respondents acknowledged the importance of contraception at a personal and general level, but more than 40% of them believed that women who use contraception are promiscuous. Females expressed difficulty with usage more frequently than males and indicated that they would not consider sexual intercourse if contraception were not available. For health care workers involved in counseling young people about their sexual and reproductive choices, the challenge lies in promoting a culture of equal rights and respect for women's reproductive freedom.

Gender and Education, Oct 20, 2015

This study compares three cohorts (1998–1999, 2005–2006 and 2010) of undergraduate psychology stu... more This study compares three cohorts (1998–1999, 2005–2006 and 2010) of undergraduate psychology students at a South African university on the level of support for working women (women in paid employment) on various issues considered to be feminist. Cohort 1 (n = 244), cohort 2 (n = 311) and cohort 3 (n = 266) completed an adapted version of a questionnaire used by the Research Group on Women and Work (Kitch, S. L. 1994. “‘We're All in this Alone’: Career Women's Attitudes Toward Feminism.” In Women and Careers: Issues and Challenges, edited by C. W. Konek and S. L. Kitch. London: Sage). The expected liberalisation of attitudes over the cohorts was evident for the females but not for the males: the second male cohort had more conservative attitudes than the first and third male cohorts. While there appeared to be strong overall support for gender equality in work and educational fields, there were equally solid endorsements of the importance of marriage and motherhood for working women. Across the cohorts there were somewhat moderate attitudes on the need for structural change in the family and at work. The implications of the findings are considered.

Journal of Religion & Health, Jan 17, 2018

This study focused on the relationship between religion, religiosity/spirituality (R/S), and atti... more This study focused on the relationship between religion, religiosity/spirituality (R/S), and attitudes of a sample of South African male secondary school youth toward women's rights to legal abortion in different situations. We distributed 400 self-administered questionnaires assessing the main variables (attitudes toward reasons for abortion and R/S) to the target sample in six different secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The responses of a final sample of 327 learners were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings revealed that religion and R/S play a role in the youths' attitudes toward abortion. While the Hindu subsample indicated higher overall support across the different scenarios, the Muslim subsample reported greater disapproval than the other groups on 'Elective reasons' and in instances of 'Objection by significant others.' The Christian youth had the most negative attitudes to abortion for 'Traumatic reasons' and 'When women's health/life' was threatened. Across the sample, higher R/S levels were linked with more negative attitudes toward reasons for abortion.

Social Science Journal, Sep 1, 2009

This study examines gender differences in gender role attitudes and attitudes to abortion in a sa... more This study examines gender differences in gender role attitudes and attitudes to abortion in a sample of 141 undergraduate students. Religion and religiosity were treated as covariates. Using the short version of Spence and Helmreich's (1978) Attitudes to Women Scale (AWS) taken from Spence and Hahn [Spence, J. T., & Hahn, E. D. (1997). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale and attitude to change in college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 17-34] and the abortion attitudes scale developed by Stets and Leik [Stets, J. E., & Leik, R. K. (1993). Attitudes about abortion and varying attitude structures. Social Science Research, 22, 265-282], we found that females have more liberal attitudes to women and show stronger approval for women's autonomy in abortion decision-making. Given the low internal consistency of this three-item subscale, responses to the individual items were analyzed. More males than females feel that the father should have the right to prevent the mother from having an abortion. Most of the students indicate that the woman should have to tell the father before having an abortion and most disagree that the abortion is entirely a woman's decision. There were no gender differences on the moral acceptability and availability subscales. The overall results reflect somewhat conservative attitudes to women, and seemingly contradictory findings on the abortion issue in this sample of university students. Although they endorse the availability of abortion, at the same time they find it morally unacceptable and show weak support for women's autonomy in this decision. The implications of these findings for the advancement of women's rights in this country are discussed.

South African Journal of Child Health, Jun 29, 2016

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Jul 1, 1993

Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between str... more Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left‐sided psychogenic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 patients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in the SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severity of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depression failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, but the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and control groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profiles were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study indicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profile to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to the hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Oct 1, 2006

The study investigated the interrelationship between adolescent ego identity, suicidal tendencies... more The study investigated the interrelationship between adolescent ego identity, suicidal tendencies, gender and race in a sample of South African Indian and Black secondary school students. The Ego Identity Scale (EIS) and the Multi-attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) were administered to 63 learners between the ages of 15 and 20 years. Pearson correlations and t-tests were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that higher scores on the EIS correlate with lower suicidal tendencies for this sample. In addition, higher scores were recorded by females on the Attraction to Death subscale and by Black males on the Attraction to Death, Repulsion by Life and Repulsion by Death subscales of the MAST. The authors conclude that ego identity achievement is likely to serve as a protective factor against suicidal tendencies.

SAHARA-J, Nov 1, 2006

Given the dearth of literature on the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward people with HI... more Given the dearth of literature on the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, the present study surveyed these variables in a sample of South African Muslim university students using the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) and an attitude to people with HIV scale. Gender differences in attitudes towards people with HIV were also examined.The sample comprised 90 male and female undergraduate and postgraduate Muslim students.While both males and females displayed high religiosity scores, male students were found to be significantly more religious than female students. No gender differences were found on the attitude to people with HIV scale, with students indicating positive attitudes to people with HIV. Higher religiosity was significantly correlated with a more positive attitude to people with HIV. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Jun 1, 2009

The factor structure of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency (MAST) scale was examined using a sam... more The factor structure of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency (MAST) scale was examined using a sample of non-white South African adolescents. The MAST scale was administered to 205 secondary school students between 13 and 20 years of age. The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency with alpha values being in line with previous studies using the instrument. Factor analysis confirmed the original four-factor structure of the scale. Strong support was found for the Repulsion by Death (RD) and Attraction to Life (AL) subscales of the instrument, with moderate support for the Atttraction to Death (AD) and Repulsion by Life (RL) subscales. The authors conclude that the generalisability of the MAST can be improved by the inclusion of more culturally relevant items.

Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2013

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Test (ROT) (Ideh... more This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Religious Orientation Test (ROT) (Idehen, 2001) with 1284 South African respondents. Participants were 323 learners (mean age = 15.81, SD = 1.24) and 961 university students (mean age = 20.08, SD = 2.44). They varied by religious affiliation (65.3% Christian, 17.1% Hindu, 11.1% Muslim). Females made up 73% of the sample. Data were analyzed for reliability of scores and construct validity. Findings suggest that scores from the ROT are reliable and the instrument has construct validity in a sample of South African students.

South African Journal of Psychology, Sep 1, 2009

We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfacti... more We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfaction among university students across religion, race, and gender, by using an adapted version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Religious Orientation Test (ROT), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A convenience sample of 235 students participated in the study. The females ( n = 188) reported significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious well-being than the males ( n = 47). The white students (n = 43) were found to have lower religiosity levels than their black ( n = 59) and Indian ( n = 133) counterparts and higher life satisfaction scores than the black students. In the Indian sub-sample, the Muslim ( n = 24) as well as the Christian ( n = 29) students had higher levels of religiosity than the Hindu ( n = 80) students. The Christian (Indian) students had significantly higher religious well-being scores than the Hindu (Indian) students. In line with past research, the correlations between life satisfaction, religiosity, and religious well-being were significant. As scores on the SWLS increased, levels of religiosity and religious well-being also increased. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.

Sa Journal of Industrial Psychology, Feb 26, 2006

The increasing number of women in the workforce is a global phenomenon and South Africa is no exc... more The increasing number of women in the workforce is a global phenomenon and South Africa is no exception in this regard. Casale (2004) refers to this growth trend as the 'feminization' of the labour market. She notes that, whereas in 1995 about 38 percent of all women of working age were active in the work force, in 2001 nearly 51 percent of them were economically active. However, this increase has been in the lower paying categories, resulting in a larger percentage of women being concentrated in these categories in more recent years compared to the mid-nineties.

The international journal of children's spirituality, Feb 1, 2010

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1993

Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between str... more Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate the relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left-sided psychogenic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 patients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in the SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severity of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depression failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, but the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and control groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profiles were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study indicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profile to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to the hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.

development of an instrument to measure women’s experience of an aerobic dance class

South African Journal of Child Health, 2016

This study explored adolescents’ knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No 92 o... more This study explored adolescents’ knowledge of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No 92 of 1996) and attitudes toward abortion. A sample of 150 secondary school learners (aged 15 - 19 years), from a low socioeconomic area in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa was surveyed. Twenty percent of the sample indicated that they found abortion acceptable. The sexually active (have had sex) respondents had more positive attitudes toward abortion for elective reasons than the sexually inactive (have not had sex) sample. On traumatic reasons the gender difference was found to be a function of sexual status. Sexually active females showed greater support than males. While the majority of those sampled were aware of the legal status of abortion in this country, they demonstrated a lack of knowledge on specific aspects of the Act. Recognition of adolescents’ right to information is central to responsible decision-making among the youth about sexual and reproductive health issues.

Curationis, 2008

In recognising the highly stressful nature of the nursing profession, the added burden of hospita... more In recognising the highly stressful nature of the nursing profession, the added burden of hospital staff shortages, and patient overload, the present study explored the impact of work on family functioning, its relationship to job satisfaction and the role of spousal support in a group of 80 female nurses working in a government hospital. Using a descriptive, correlational design, the relationships among job satisfaction, work-family conflict (WFC) and spousal/partner support were explored. The hypotheses that job satisfaction and WFC would be negatively correlated, that job satisfaction and spousal support would be positively correlated, and that WFC and spousal support would be negatively correlated, were tested using correlation techniques. All hypotheses were confirmed. The role of spousal support in the relationship between job satisfaction and work -family conflict was highlighted.

Journal of Religion and Health