Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Tyrone"

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    Behaviour is the key in a pandemic: The direct and indirect effects of Covid-19-related variables on psychological wellbeing
    (SAGE Publications, 2021) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of three COVID-19-related variables (i.e., risk perception, knowledge, and behaviour) on four indices of pandemicrelated mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hopelessness). In total, 337 participants completed four self-report questionnaires: selected subscales of the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Behavioural Insights Tool, UCLA Loneliness Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory–Trait Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Beck Hopelessness Scale. In addition to descriptive statistics and intercorrelations, structural equation modelling was used to compare three models of the potential role (predictor or moderator/mediator) that the three abovementioned COVID-19-related variables could play in psychological wellbeing.
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    Behaviour is the key in a pandemic: The direct and indirect effects of Covid-19-related variables on psychological wellbeing
    (SAGE Publications, 2021) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of three COVID-19-related variables (i.e., risk perception, knowledge, and behaviour) on four indices of pandemicrelated mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, loneliness, and hopelessness). In total, 337 participants completed four self-report questionnaires: selected subscales of the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Behavioural Insights Tool, UCLA Loneliness Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory–Trait Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Beck Hopelessness Scale. In addition to descriptive statistics and intercorrelations, structural equation modelling was used to compare three models of the potential role (predictor or moderator/mediator) that the three abovementioned COVID-19-related variables could play in psychological wellbeing. The results showed high levels of psychological distress among the current sample.
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    Cynicism and Mental health
    (University of Western Cape, 2024) Pretorius, Tyrone
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    “I teach, therefore i am”: The serial relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of Covid-19, teacher identification and teacher satisfaction
    (MPDI, 2021) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    In early 2020, school closures were implemented globally to curb the spread of the COVID19 pandemic. In South Africa, emergency remote teaching was not sustainable, and conventional teaching resumed in the context of the second and third waves of the pandemic, heightening fear and anxiety about infection among teachers. The pandemic necessitated shifts in the scope of a teacher’s job, potentially impacting their professional identity and job satisfaction. This study investigated the interrelationship between teaching identification, teaching satisfaction, fear of COVID-19 and perceived vulnerability to disease among a sample of South African school teachers (n = 355). A serial mediation analysis supported the hypotheses that teaching identification mediated both the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and teacher satisfaction and the association between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of COVID-19 and teacher satisfaction. The findings suggest that teacher identification is a potential protective factor, and strengthening professional identification can potentially assist teachers as they negotiate the uncertainty and stress associated with the current pandemic.
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    Leading with heart: Academic leadership during the COVID-19 crisis
    (SAGE Publications, 2021) Lawton-Misra, Nita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sphere of life. It has brought into sharp focus not only the critical role that leaders have to play in taking charge of their organisations and employees, but the complexity of that leadership role, too. The authors of this paper are both psychologists who occupy leadership positions in a university. The paper briefly explores the evolution of leadership theory, leadership in times of crises, generally, and leadership during the time of COVID-19. In addition, one of the authors offers a personal note on the leadership experience during COVID-19. What became clear during the reflections was that empathy, vulnerability, self-awareness and agility were some of the qualities needed during this crisis. In addition, the psychodynamic concept of containment appears very relevant in managing the affective intensity experienced by staff and students. Leaders were expected to not only fully understand the meaning of empathy and compassion, but to know how to sincerely demonstrate these qualities to staff and students alike.
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    The loneliness–life satisfaction relationship: The parallel and serial mediating role of hopelessness, depression and ego-resilience among young adults in south Africa during Covid-19
    (MDPI, 2021) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    Recently, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several lockdown and stay-at-home regulations have been implemented worldwide. In this regard, loneliness has been identified as the signature mental health consequence of this pandemic. The aim of this study is to explore the associations among loneliness, hopelessness, depression, ego-resilience and life satisfaction in a random sample of young adults (N = 337) at a university in the Western Cape of South Africa. Parallel and serial mediation analysis supported the hypothesis that loneliness is associated with hopelessness, which in turn is associated with depression, and that ego-resilience mediates the association between all the negative indices of psychological well-being and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that mental health interventions that boost ego-resilience and target loneliness may help in dealing with the mental health consequences of COVID-19.
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    A looming mental health pandemic in the time of covid-19? Role of fortitude in the interrelationship between loneliness, anxiety, and life satisfaction among young adults
    (SAGE Publications, 2021) Pretorius, Tyrone; Padmanabhanunni, Anita
    This study investigates loneliness, anxiety, and life satisfaction among a sample of young adults in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role of fortitude in the interrelationship between these variables. Fortitude refers to the psychological strength to manage stress and stay well, and it is derived from positive appraisals of self, family, and support from others. Participants included 337 young adults who completed four self-report questionnaires: the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Scale, the Satisfaction with Life scale, and the Fortitude Questionnaire. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to determine the direct, indirect, mediating, and moderating role of fortitude on psychological outcomes. The results demonstrated unprecedented levels of anxiety, loneliness, and reduced life satisfaction among the sample. These levels were significantly higher than those encountered in previous studies in other contexts, as well as in studies of similar populations conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women reported higher levels of psychological distress than men.
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    A looming mental health pandemic in the time of COVID-19? Role of fortitude in the interrelationship between loneliness, anxiety, and life satisfaction among young adults
    (SAGE, 2021) Pretorius, Tyrone; Padmanabhanunni, Anita
    This study investigates loneliness, anxiety, and life satisfaction among a sample of young adults in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role of fortitude in the interrelationship between these variables. Fortitude refers to the psychological strength to manage stress and stay well, and it is derived from positive appraisals of self, family, and support from others. Participants included 337 young adults who completed four self-report questionnaires: the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Scale, the Satisfaction with Life scale, and the Fortitude Questionnaire. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to determine the direct, indirect, mediating, and moderating role of fortitude on psychological outcomes. The results demonstrated unprecedented levels of anxiety, loneliness, and reduced life satisfaction among the sample. These levels were significantly higher than those encountered in previous studies in other contexts, as well as in studies of similar populations conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women reported higher levels of psychological distress than men.
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    Psychosocial variables in the transmission of AIDS
    (University of the Western Cape, 1991) Perkel, Andrian, Keith; Broekmann, Neil; Pretorius, Tyrone
    In the decade since first identified, the Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a serious global disease. The nature of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, whereby a carrier may be asymptomatic yet remain infectious, has enabled its dramatic spread. The number of AIDS cases is increasing exponentially, averaging a doubling time of between 8-15 months indifferent countries. Of the millions of HIV carriers, it is now estimated that all will eventually go on to develop full-blown AIDS and probably die within 15 years. Unlike other infectious diseases, there is currently no known vaccine or cure. Further, HIV is now virtually completely dependent on volitional sexual behaviours for transmission to occur. It is therefore an entirely preventable disease. However, since the behaviours that contribute to HIV-transmission are influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors, their alteration in line with safer sexual practices has been shown to be considerably complex and difficult. Intervention strategies that have relied on imparting knowledge about the disease have achieved limited success in influencing behaviour change. Unsafe sexual practices, and the risk of HIV-infection, often continue even when knowledge regarding prevention is adequate. It has therefore become apparent that other variables intrude which may mediate between knowledge acquisition, attitude formation, and consequent sexual behaviours. There appear to be no models which adequately explain the complexities in this area, and which enable adequate intervention strategies to be developed. The present study was undertaken to redress this problem, and to explore those variables that mediate in the area. Various psychological and social factors appear to be implicated in influencing sexual attitudes and behaviours. In order to adequately test the impact of psychosocial variables that were found to have significant associations in an exploratory study, a measuring instrument was developed. The AIDS Psychosocial Scale was statistically validated using content, frequency, factor, and reliability analyses and included psychological factors of self concept, defenses of denial, repression, and rationalisation, perceived empowerment in the form of locus of control and self efficacy, and the social factor of peer pressure susceptibility. The impact of these psychosocial variables on indices of knowledge, condom attitude, and sexual practices, and on other epidemiological variables was tested using a sample of students at the University of the Western Cape (n=308). Results indicated a number of correlational and causal links between variables, confirming the mediational role psychosocial factors have in influencing knowledge acquisition, attitude formation, and behaviour outcome. A profile of lower self concept, higher defenses, lower self-efficacy, more external locus of control, and higher peer pressure susceptibility emerged which was associated with poorer knowledge, more negative attitudes, and higher unsafe sex. Based on this study, a model of psychosocial mediation is developed and its implications for intervention strategies discussed.
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    The Resilience of South African School Teachers in the Time of COVID-19: Coping with Risk of Infection, Loneliness, and Anxiety
    (NLM (Medline), 2023) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an overall increase in the global prevalence of mental health disorders and psychological distress. However, against this backdrop, there was also evidence of adaptation and coping, which suggested the influence of protective factors. The current study aims to extend previous research on the role of protective factors by investigating the health-sustaining and mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, loneliness, and anxiety. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of schoolteachers (N = 355) who completed the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, the short form of the Connor– Davidson Resilience Scale, the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and the trait scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale, through an online link created with Google Forms. The results of path analysis indicated significant negative associations between resilience and both loneliness and anxiety. These results indicate the health-sustaining role of resilience. In addition, resilience mediated the relationships between germ aversion and perceived infectability, on the one hand, and loneliness and anxiety, on the other hand. The findings confirm that resilience can play a substantial role in counteracting the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health.
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    The role of fortitude, loneliness, and depression in the association between risk perception of contracting COVID-19 and life satisfaction: Serial mediation analysis
    (SAGE Publications, 2021) Padmanabhanunn, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone
    Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has been found to have a negative impact on both physical wellbeing and mental health. Increased risk perception of contracting the virus has been associated with adverse psychological outcomes and reduced life satisfaction. However, susceptibility to psychological distress is influenced by personality-related characteristics. This study focuses on fortitude as a potential protective factor. The aim of this study is to investigate the parallel and serial mediating roles of fortitude, loneliness, and depression in the relationship between risk perception and life satisfaction. The participants were young adults (N=337) who have completed five self-report questionnaires: University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Fortitude Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and COVID-19 Risk Perception Scale. Descriptive statistics were generated, and structural equation modelling was used to examine the parallel and serial mediating roles of loneliness, depression, and fortitude. Positive associations were found between risk perception and loneliness and depression, and fortitude was found to mediate the relationship between risk perception and life satisfaction, between loneliness and life satisfaction, and between depression and life satisfaction.
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    The social construction of racialised identities in the post-apartheid South African sport context: A case study of black sport-persons in the western cape
    (University of Western Cape, 2001) Miller, Ingrid M.; Shefer, Tamara; Pretorius, Tyrone
    The main purpose of the study was to analyse how current discourses about black South African sport-persons contribUJte to the racial Othering of this group and how they serve to perpetuate neoracist notions of blacks' inferiority relative to whites. The study also aimed to examine if and how such discourses function to legitimise the exclusion or nonselection of blacks and how this in turn impacts on perceptions about equity and national unity in the South African sport context. A social constructionist framework was used to explore these questions.
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    Stress-resistant resources: A comparison of hardiness, sense of coherence, potency, fortitude, ego-resilience, and problem-solving appraisal
    (University of the Western Cape, 1999) Gibson, Mokgobi Maboe; Pretorius, Tyrone
    This study compared the fortigenic constructs of the Sense of Coherence, Fortitude, Potency, Hardiness, Problem-Solving, and Ego-Resilience in terms of three aspects: (i) Psychometric properties of instruments that are used to measure them (ii) Their effects on the relationship between stress and psychological health (iii) To determine the extent to which these constructs have some common underlying dimensions. The sample comprised one-hundred and twenty five male and female undergraduate Psychology students enrolled at the University of the Western Cape. Data were collected by using the following self-report questionnaires: the CBS-Depression Scale , the Short happiness Affect Research Protocol, the Problem-Solving Inventory, the Potency Scale, the Fortitude Questionnaire, the ER89 Questionnaire, the Personal Views Survey, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, the VOEG, and the Life Experiences Survey.
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