Abstract
D.Ed. (Education)
When senior male officers and their families feel that they are under threat of any
kind, they tend to be suspicious, agitated and often aggressive in their reactions. The
immediate psycho-social environment elicits these reactions, and they always have
personal and collective implications. There is an important familiar component to
aggression, antisocial behaviour, crime and violence. Essentially all officers are in
some way affected by aggression, whether they are targets of it, engage in it
themselves, or are charged with observing and controlling it in others.
Facing circumstances like: new or changing environments, lack of discipline, lack of
support, excessive work demands and management challenges lead senior male
officers to become anxious and feel resentful towards others. But they do not have
the necessary channels to diffuse or release their levels of frustration in an
appropriate and constructive manner.
It is in this context that one needs to explore and understand the experiences of
aggression of senior male officers and their families in their life world. It is therefore
important to become mentally and emotionally sound in order to express one’s needs
and feelings in a constructive way.
The overall purpose of this study was the description of a psycho-educational model
to be used as a framework of reference for the facilitation of mental health of senior
male officers and their families. To achieve this purpose the following objectives were
pursued, namely:
a) To gain an understanding of the experience of aggression of senior male officers
and their families within their life world.
b) To develop a psycho-educational model based on this understanding.
c) To describe guidelines for the implementation of the model...