Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Tyrone B"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Global warming and psychotraumatology of natural disasters: the case of the deadly rains and floods of April 2022 in South Africa
    (Annales Médico-psychologiques, revue psychiatrique, 2023) Bouchard, Jean-Pierre; Pretorius, Tyrone B; Kramers-Olen, Anne L
    Climate change and global warming have led to an increased incidence of flooding across the world. Against the backdrop of the recent devastating floods in the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa, this paper explores psychotraumatology of natural disasters. In particular, we explore the impact of internal migration in South Africa, as well as apartheid spatial planning and inequality on the consequences of the flooding. We also focus on the psychotraumatology resulting from flooding, in general, and in particular on the victims of the flooding in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. We conclude that the psychopathological consequences of such natural disasters are ignored even though they seriously affect the people concerned. The development of specific trainings for psychologists in psychotraumatology and the care of victims should be a priority in the future.
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    Pathways to health: conceptual clarification and appropriate statistical treatment of mediator, moderator, and indirect effects using examples from burnout research
    (South African journal of psychology, 2020) Pretorius, Tyrone B
    In my role as consulting statistical editor for the South African Journal of Psychology, I have witnessed a steady increase in articles that focused on the presumed role of mediator and moderator variables. While straightforward cause–effect studies have an important explanatory role, our task in the helping profession is to identify those factors that ‘intervene’ and make individuals differentially vulnerable in the cause–effect relationship. However, in a significant number of papers I have reviewed, there appeared to be considerable conceptual confusion about these variables with moderator and mediator often used interchangeably. In addition, no single paper I have reviewed considered indirect effects. This article attempts to differentiate between the various roles that a third variable can play in the adverse condition–wellbeing relationship (e.g., the stress–depression relationship). In addition, the appropriate statistical procedures for testing these roles are demonstrated using burnout research data. In this particular research project, 207 secondary school teachers completed a range of research questionnaires designed to assess among others burnout, work environment, social support, personal competence, coping, and problem-solving appraisal. Using this data, the various roles that third variables can play are demonstrated using hierarchical regression analyses.
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    Promoting well-being in the face of a pandemic: The role of sense of coherence and ego-resilience in the relationship between psychological distress and life satisfaction
    (SAGE Publications, 2023) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone B
    COVID-19 has impacted negatively on the lives and academic activities of university students. This has contributed to increasing levels of psychological distress among this population group. Intrinsic and contextual factors can mediate the psychological impact of the pandemic. The study focuses on sense of coherence and ego-resilience as potential protective factors on indices of psychological distress and life satisfaction. Participants were undergraduate students (N = 337) at a South African university who completed six self-report questionnaires, namely, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale, the Ego-Resilience Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. To examine the direct and mediating effects of sense of coherence and ego-resilience on psychological distress, structural equation modeling was used.
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    Psychotraumatology of the war in Ukraine: The question of the psychological care of victims who are refugees or who remain in Ukraine
    (Elsevier Masson, 2023) Stiegler, Nancy; Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone B; Bouchard, Jean-Pierre
    The war in Ukraine is a major poly-traumatic event, which leads to massive population displacements. The question of the evaluation and psychological care of psychotraumatized people is an urgent matter. As many countries hosting refugees are well endowed with a good number of psychologists, some of these interested professionals should mobilize themselves and make themselves known to carry out these clinical acts. Priority should be given to trained and experienced psychologists to support victims.
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    The role of resilience in the relationship between role stress and psychological wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a crosssectional study
    (BMC Psychology, 2023) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone B; Khamisa, Natasha
    Background Stress resistance resources, such as social support and resilience, have been found to be important in promoting psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most prior research studies have conceptualized stress resistance resource variables as having a mediating or moderating role. Cooper (2018) proposed a model of the relationship between stress and health which posits that coping resources are always present and not only invoked in the face of adversity. Thus, we hypothesize that coping resources are causally antecedent to stressors and influence well-being indirectly via the stressor. We focused specifically on school teachers due to them being at the frontlines of service provision during the pandemic. Teaching was already identified as a highly stressful profession prior to COVID-19 and disease containment measures placed additional strain on teachers who had to adapt to emergency remote teaching. Aim The current study tests this hypothesis by examining the indirect effects of resilience on indices of psychological health via role stress. Methods Participants (N=355) were teachers who completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, the Role Stress Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. An electronic version of the questionnaires was distributed to teachers via Facebook and to officials from the Department of Education, who assisted with distribution of the electronic link to the survey. Participants were mostly women (76.6%) and mean number of years in the teaching profession was 15.7. Results Structural equation modelling results demonstrated significant direct effects of resilience on life satisfaction, anxiety, and depression, which indicates that resilience is beneficial for psychological health even in the absence of stress. Resilience also had a significant indirect effect on indices of psychological well-being via role ambiguity but not role conflict.
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    A serial model of the interrelationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of COVID-19, and psychological distress among teachers in South Africa
    (Elsevier, 2021) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone B; Stiegler, Nancy; Bouchard, Jean-Pierre
    The current study examined the serial relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, fear of COVID-19, anxiety, and psychological distress among schoolteachers. Participants were South African school teachers (N = 355) who completed the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Centre for Epidemiological Depression Scale. A path analysis confirmed that teachers who appraised themselves as more susceptible to disease experienced heightened levels of fear of COVID-19, which led to heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Specifically, germ aversion and perceived infectability were separately associated with heightened fear of COVID-19, which in turn was associated with heightened anxiety. This serial relationship was associated with heightened levels of hopelessness and depression. The current study extends research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among a distinct subgroup of the population.
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    We Are Not Islands: The Role of Social Support in the Relationship between Perceived Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Psychological Distress
    (MDPI, 2023) Padmanabhanunni, Anita; Pretorius, Tyrone B; Isaacs, Serena Ann
    COVID-19 containment measures, including social distancing, quarantine, and confinement, significantly impacted social connectedness and contributed to heightened levels of perceived stress. Prior research has established that protective factors can mitigate emotional distress. This study investigated the protective role of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and psychological distress among a sample of university students. Participants (n = 322) completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Perceived Stress Scale, short forms of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. The results indicated that high levels of perceived stress were associated with high levels of hopelessness, depression, and anxiety. In terms of direct and mediating effects, social support was significant for depression and hopelessness but not for anxiety. Furthermore, the relationship between perceived stress and depression was higher for those with high levels of social support than for those with lower levels of social support. The findings suggest that in addition to enhancing social support resources, interventions must assist students in managing the uncertainty and anxiety associated with the pandemic. Furthermore, students’ appraisals of support and the extent to which support is experienced as beneficial must also be examined prior to the implementation of interventions.