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Characteristics associated with rural communities
People living in rural areas is often considered to live in high risk areas as they have to face ecological, social, economic, and demographic risk factors that can lead to poorer health status (Ryan-Nicholls, 2004). Mapesela, Hlalele and Alexander (2012) state that adversity faced by rural South African communities includes geographical isolation, poverty, sparsely populated areas, inadequate funding and resources, gender stereotypes, and HIV/AIDS. These risk factors generally lead to lower health literacy, less access to health care, geographic isolation, depopulation, population aging, environmental decay, and depletion of natural resources (Mapesela et al., 2012). If one considers these risk factors in rural environments and adds to them a country (South Africa) characterised by an unequal, transitioning society with an emerging economy, it becomes clear why rural poverty in rural communities requires continuous resilience processes (Ebersöhn, 2014). The present study did not equate indigenous communities with rural communities with, yet IKS is often found in rural communities (Roos et al., 2010). One could argue that if IKS represents information on the environment as well as on management of the environment, then accessing IKS in a rural community could reveal information about that specific rural environment, including its variables and the management of the environment. Environmental management in rural areas often focuses on managing adversity.
Western conceptualisations of coping with the emphasis on stress
During the 1960s and 1970s, research on coping grew because of the heightened interest in stress (Lazarus, 1993). Most of the research during this time focused on ego-psychology and approached coping from Freud’s psychoanalytical point of view with the spotlight on pathology, unconscious processes, and defence mechanisms (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004; Lazarus, 1993; Wong et al., 2006). Coping strategies were seen as rooted in defence mechanisms and emphasis was placed on internal conflict (Aldwin, 2007). Coping behaviours are no longer seen as defence mechanisms, yet coping research is still motivated by the same phenomenon as decades ago, namely adversity. Continuous adversity in South Africa (Tchombe et al., 2010) was a partial reason for the present study. I had to consider the types of adversity in indigenous contexts as the nature of adversity naturally influences coping behaviour. Ego-psychology gave rise to the hierarchical view that some defences as more effective than others, with coping seen as the healthiest reaction to stress and ego failure as the most regressive reaction to stress (Lazarus, 1993). Although the hierarchical view conceptualised coping as a defence mechanism, the idea that certain reactions are more effective than others is still evident today. For instance, the literature on adaptive coping versus maladaptive coping reflects a hierarchical view where adaptive coping is seen as promoting positive development and maladaptive coping as hindering positive development. The hierarchical view of coping was followed by the view of coping as a stable aspect of personality in the form of traits and styles (Folkman, 2011; Wong et al., 2006). Coping conceptualised as a style suggests that it is influenced by personality or perceptual styles (Adwin, 2011). The role of personality in coping does not form part of my research focus, yet it nevertheless still plays a role in coping research. A significant development in the 1970s, namely viewing coping as a process, had a major influence on future coping research (Lazarus, 1993). Lazarus’s contextual model shifted the focus from defence mechanisms and pathology to the cognitive and behavioural responses people use to cope with daily problems (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004). This was followed by the transactional model of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), which continues to play a key role in coping research by highlighting the coping process as it unfolds between person and environment. This process entails appraising a situation as a threat (when the threat adds strain or exceeds a person’s coping resources) thereby causing negative emotions that then evoke cognitive and behaviour coping responses that impact both the individual and the environment (Goh, Sawang, Oei & Ranaweke, 2012; Folkman, 2011; Lazarus, 2006; Levine, Schmidt, Kang & Tinti, 2012). Coping is quite rightly still conceptualised as a process and should be studied as a process (discussed in Section 2.4.2) that involves the study of individuals, their environment, and the interaction that takes place between individuals and the environment. In the present study, the participants shared indigenous knowledge about the coping resources in their environment and how they used these resources to cope with adversity. Another noteworthy aspect of the transactional model is the notion that coping has consequences. If the adversity is resolved, coping leads to positive emotions; if it is not, the unresolved adversity can lead to negative emotions (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004). I do believe, however, that the consequences of coping go beyond positive and negative emotions as I explain later in my discussion on the adaptive function of coping.
CHAPTER 1 INDIGENOUS VOICES AS A PATHWAY TO A SOUTH AFRICAN INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE INDIGENOUS PATHWAYS TO RESILIENCE PROJECT
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.4 RATIONALE
1.5 CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
1.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND WORKING ASSUMPTIONS
1.7 PARADIMATIC LENSES
1.8 METHODOLOGICAL OVERVIEW AND CONSIDERATIONS
1.9 OVERVIEW OF SAMPLED RESEARCH SITES AND PARTICIPANTS
1.10 SUMMARISING THE RESEARCH PROCESS AND INVOLVEMENT OF THE 53 IPR RESEARCH GROUP
1.11 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 2 A REVIEW OF WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN COPING LITERATURE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 SITUATING THE STUDY IN THE HISTORY OF COPING RESEARCH
2.3 CONTEXTUALISING ADAPTIVE COPING: COPING WITH ADVERSITIES OF RURAL SOUTH AFRICA
2.4 CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF ADAPTIVE COPING
2.5 ADAPTIVE COPING IN RESILIENCE
2.6 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN: COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY DESIGN
3.3 CONVENIENTLY SELECTED CASES OF HIGH RISK, HIGH NEED SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITIES
3.4 PURPOSIVELY SAMPLED PARTICIPANTS
3.5 RESEARCH PROCESS AND CONTEXT OF DATA GENERATION
3.6 DATA GENERATION AND DOCUMENTATION
3.7 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
3.8 ROLE OF RESEARCHER: OUTSIDER AS FACILITATOR
3.9 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
3.10 ENSURING RIGOUR
3.11 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS
CHAPTER 4 IKS VALUES AS A PATHWAY TO ADAPTIVE COPING
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 THEME 1: IKS VALUES UNDERPINNING ADAPTIVE COPING
4.3 IKS VALUES “TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY » AND “COLLECTIVE CONNECTEDNESS” AS INDIGENOUS PATHWAYS TO ADAPTIVE COPING
4.4 LITERATURE CONTROL: THEME 1
4.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 THEME 2 – INDIGENOUS PATHWAYS TO ADAPTIVE COPING TRANSACTIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 SUBTHEME 2.1: HIERARCHICAL CONSULTATION
5.3 SUBTHEME 2.2: COLLECTIVE PARTICIPATORY COPING
5.4 LITERATURE CONTROL: THEME 2
5.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 SECONDARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
6.3 PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTION
6.4 EVIDENCE-BASED AMENDED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR INDIGENOUS PATHWAYS TO ADAPTIVE COPING
6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.6 FINAL REFLECTION: CONTRIBUTIONS
