Abstract
D.Ed. (Nursing)
This research aims at the description of a therapeutic approach relevant to the youth
suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and includes his family, school and peer
group. According to relevant literature it appears that chronic fatigue impacts negatively
upon the total functioning of the youth. The physical demands of the condition leads
to continual school-absenteeism, dysfunctional socialising and variable familial
relationships. The condition is not easily diagnosed in youth as symptoms are often
ascribed to school-phobia, deviant behaviour and/or psychological problems. In view
of the fact that the researcher is of the opinion that the condition of the youth is not
readily understood by his peers, family and school, the researcher aims at examining
the experience of the youth who manifests chronic fatigue syndrome. The youth
forms part of a specific system which is also affected by the chronic-fatigue-syndrome.
Thus the research is aligned to a systemic approach.
The researcher has decided to follow a qualitative research approach, with the
deliberate choice of two youths subjected to the utilisation of multiple data-gathering
sources. Multiple data-gathering includes interviews, document analysis and observation.
The data has been analysed with the assistance of two independent coders
and central themes have been established. Case study reports have been complied
according to processed data. Hereafter a literature-control was applied to compare
the results of this research with other available research and to point out new insights
into chronic-fatigue syndrome gained from this research.