Abstract
M.Ed.
The influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a detrimental effect on the lives of
children and adolescents who have lost one or both of their parents due to the
pandemic. This frequently results in child-headed households being established,
which places pressure on extended families and communities to support and care for
these unique and vulnerable family constellations. As a result, external resources of
support are not always available to tend to the needs of the adolescents who head
child-headed households. This study therefore aims at increasing awareness of the
internal resources of resilience within an adolescent who heads a child-headed
household, and of identifying additional personality strengths that could enable and
strengthen the individual during life’s challenges, particularly if external support were
not always available.
It utilised a case study of one adolescent (“Thandi”), which was explorative and
descriptive in nature, within a theoretical framework of resilience theory. The data
collection methods included semi-structured interviews with Thandi and the
managing director of a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Three of Thandi’s
teachers completed self-administered questionnaires, the compilation of which was
guided by the internal resources of resilience (refer to Table 2.1 on page 27)
identified by McGrath and Noble (2003). The participant constructed a collage in
order to encourage self-exploration of her inner strengths and attributes that could
contribute to her resilience in the midst of life’s challenges. Data was subjected to
content analysis to determine the themes and sub-themes that emerged, also guided
by McGrath and Noble (2003).
The findings revealed that Thandi appeared to exhibit all the internal resources of
resilience as identified by McGrath and Noble (2003), however, the degree to which
they were evident differed. The following additional themes emerged, which are
indicative of internal as well as external resources of resilience: religious beliefs;
moral values and beliefs; treating other people with respect and kindness through
word or deed; grief and loss; feelings of loneliness and isolation (stigmatisation); the
importance of family and home; a need for nurture; and feelings of anxiety and
stress.