Constructions of adoptive and foster mothering : a discourse analysis

Due to the ever-growing crisis of orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa, research into strategies of care remains a crucial pursuit. Models of care in the country currently range from informal to formal, including informal fostering / non-statutory foster care; community-based support structures; home-based care and support; unregistered residential care; statutory adoption and foster care; and statutory residential care. This research study focuses on the area of adoption and fostering. Existing adoption and fostering research, locally and internationally, concentrates on the adopted and fostered child with little consideration given to parents. Mothering adopted and foster children in South Africa is a specifically under-researched area. This research contributes within this field, specifically, by exploring how women who have adopted and/or who foster children construct mothering and how these constructions intersect with dominant discourses of mothering. This qualitative study utilises a postmodern and poststructuralist ontology, and both social constructionist and feminist epistemologies. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 adoptive and foster mothers and data were analysed through discourse analysis. Ten key discourses and eight main constructs emerged. Participants engaged with discourses of natural mothering, and good mothering in which the constructs of the good mother, the good adoptive mother and the good foster mother operate. These two broad discourses are informed by the construct of the family. Constructions of adoption and fostering are formed in relation to notions of the family; and this family construct also largely informs and is informed by the discourse of legitimate belonging, the construct of the child; and the discourse of collaborative parenting. These discourses and constructs have conversations with and are formed in relation to broader discourses of gender, race, culture and HIV/AIDS. Adoption and fostering occur in relation to discourses that operate within the institution and in relation to dealing with the institution as a construct. Finally, engagement with these discourses and constructs inform how the discourse of support is constructed in relation to adoptive and foster mothering. Through exploring these constructs and discourses in relation to one another, three key arguments emerged. The first relates to a mechanism of how the ideology of intensive mothering operates through the manner in which it constructs natural mothering and good mothering. The second conclusion reached is that ambivalence is a key component of the constructions of adoptive and foster mothers. Thirdly, the study indicates that the construct of the good mother, as it operates within the ideology of intensive mothering, is resistant to deconstruction. After proceeding through the analysis, and exploring how the findings intersect particularly with discourses within the ideologies of patriarchy, technology, capitalism and race, the study offers specific recommendations for the support of adoptive and foster mothers.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Psychologyunrestricte

Playing marbles, playing music [Editorial]

Giorgos Tsiris - ORCID: 0000-0001-9421-412X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9421-412Xhttps://approaches.gr/dos-santos-e20210824/13pubpub

Exploring the lived experiences of teenagers in a children’s home participating in a choir : a community music therapy perspective

This study explored the lived experiences of teenagers in a children’s home who participated in a choir that was facilitated from a community music therapy perspective in Pretoria, South Africa. Sixteen weekly choir sessions were held. These included a variety of interactive vocal techniques. A performance marked the end of the process, where songs selected by the teenagers were performed. Qualitative data were collected through fourteen semi-structured individual interviews at the end of the process. All interview transcripts were analysed through utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study concluded that participation in this community music therapy choir offered the teenagers perceived meaningful intra- and interpersonal experiences. At an intrapersonal level, the participants experienced discovering their musical voices; accessing inner strength to take action both in the here-and-now and in the future; increased self-awareness, self-esteem and self-confidence; as well as expressing and regulating emotions. In terms of interpersonal experiences, the teenagers experienced growth in relationships; improved social skills; and greater connection with the broader community.https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=149hj2021Musi

The adolescent HIV executive function and drumming (AHEAD) study, a feasibility trial of a group drumming intervention amongst adolescents with HIV

AHEAD feasibility trial assessed the feasibility and acceptability of an 8-session group drummingprogramme aiming to improve executive function, depression and anxiety symptoms, andperceived social support in adolescents living with HIV in a rural low-income South Africansetting. Sixty-eight 12- to 19-year-old adolescents participated. They were individuallyrandomised. The intervention arm (n= 34) received weekly hour-long group drumming sessions.Controls (n= 34) received no intervention. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed usingrates of: enrolment; retention; attendance; logistical problems; adolescent-reportedacceptability. Secondary measures included:five Oxford Cognitive Screen-Executive Function(OCS-EF) tasks; two Rapid Assessment of Cognitive and Emotional Regulation (RACER) tasks; theSelf-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) measuring depression and anxiety symptoms; theMultidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). All feasibility criteria were withingreen progression limits. Enrolment, retention, and acceptability were high. There was a positive effect on adolescent depressed mood with a signal for a working memory effect. There were no significant effects on executive function or socio-emotional scales. Qualitative findings suggested socio-emotional benefits including group belonging; decreased internalised stigma; improved mood; and decreased anxiety. Group drumming is a feasible and acceptable intervention among adolescents living with HIV in rural South Africa. A full-scale trial is recommendedAfrica-Oxford Initiative (AfiOx-32), the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE) Gerry Farrell scholarship, the Murray Speight grant, the Rhodes Trust, and the Medical Research Council United Kingdom.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/caic20Musi

Music Therapy in Africa: Seeds and Songs

The seed of Music Therapy has been planted in African soil. Some water the seed, some are not convinced that it is necessary to have such a seed in this particular garden and others are unaware that the seed has been planted at all. My vision is that music therapy grows, flourishes and produces much fruit in Africa. My vision for Voices is that it plays a key role in that growth

Empathy and aggression in group music therapy with adolescents : Comparing the affordances of two paradigms

This multiparadigm inquiry sought to investigate music therapy group processes aimed at facilitating empathic interactions between adolescents referred for aggression in a relatively under-resourced school in Eersterust, South Africa. Two qualitative studies were conducted under the umbrella of this multiparadigm research. The first employed Husserlian phenomenology and the second was informed by the theories of Deleuze and Gergen. In the two studies music therapy practice differed in relation to how the adolescent participants were produced and the therapeutic techniques that were used. Theoretically, notions of aggression and empathy differed between the two paradigms and this held varying implications for practice. The research process within the two studies differed in that, while in the descriptive phenomenological study an experiential essence could be pursued, the study informed by the thinking of Deleuze and Gergen afforded relational rhizomic expansion of meaning. Music was also foregrounded and receded in varying ways within the two studies. The implications for music therapy practice that were highlighted by the phenomenological study were the value of bracketing; the usefulness of a client-centred approach that balances structure and freedom; and the importance of considering empathy in multifaceted ways. In the study informed by the theories of Deleuze and Gergen, the usefulness of aggression within a non-judgemental approach to music therapy that concurrently seeks to enhance collective well-being was highlighted. Other implications for music therapy practice that were emphasised through this second study were the value of a more inclusive concept of empathy in music therapy; the value of “small bends”; and the importance of considering assemblages that can inform the planning of therapeutic processes and possibilities for participants’ growth. Through deep immersion in each paradigm, diverse representations could be offered and a richer understanding of the topic under consideration could be generated. The research aimed to explore the role of paradigmatic orientation, particularly regarding the relationships between practice, theory and research. By “plugging” group music therapy processes into two different paradigms, varying approaches to thinking could become possible. The creative potential for interplay between the two paradigms was explored.Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2018.MusicDMusUnrestricte

Creativity and partnership [Editorial]

Giorgos Tsiris - ORCID: 0000-0001-9421-412X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9421-412Xhttps://approaches.gr/dos-santos-e20221103/14pubpub

The adolescent HIV executive function and drumming (AHEAD) study, a feasibility trial of a group drumming intervention amongst adolescents with HIV

AHEAD feasibility trial assessed the feasibility and acceptability of an 8-session group drumming programme aiming to improve executive function, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived social support in adolescents living with HIV in a rural low-income South African setting. Sixty-eight 12- to 19-year-old adolescents participated. They were individually randomised. The intervention arm (n = 34) received weekly hour-long group drumming sessions. Controls (n = 34) received no intervention. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed using rates of: enrolment; retention; attendance; logistical problems; adolescent-reported acceptability. Secondary measures included: five Oxford Cognitive Screen-Executive Function (OCS-EF) tasks; two Rapid Assessment of Cognitive and Emotional Regulation (RACER) tasks; the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) measuring depression and anxiety symptoms; the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). All feasibility criteria were within green progression limits. Enrolment, retention, and acceptability were high. There was a positive effect on adolescent depressed mood with signal for a working memory effect. There were no significant effects on executive function or socio-emotional scales. Qualitative findings suggested socio-emotional benefits including: group belonging; decreased internalised stigma; improved mood; decreased anxiety. Group drumming is a feasible and acceptable intervention amongst adolescents living with HIV in rural South Africa. A full-scale trial is recommended