Youths' insight on the effect of drought on family organisational patterns

Abstract

This research was conducted in collaboration with a multidisciplinary and multisectoral team, where researchers and partners actively engaged with communities from beginning to end, working together to answer questions, undertake research, and advocate for change. The overarching objective of the study was to better understand the complex relationships between drought, social-ecological systems, and the resilience of youth. The purpose of the research was to explore and understand the youths’ insights on how drought affects their family organisational patterns. This research was conducted with youth from the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, living in the town Leandra, Mpumalanga. The first step in community engagement was to gain insight on how different families perceived and understood drought within their community and what protective factors enabled resilience amongst them. This insight will help to answer the primary research question, “What are the perceptions of youth on the effects of drought on family organisational patterns?” This research was approached from an interpretivist paradigm as it attempts to understand the phenomena of drought through the meanings that individuals and communities attach to them. A qualitative methodological approach was used, and a purposive sampling technique assisted in selecting a number of young men and women who meet the research criteria for this study. The population of the overall study consisted of 43 young people, between the ages of 15 to 24, who are employed or engaged in education and training, or who are unemployed or disengaged from education. Qualitative data collection for this research included a series of strategies, which enhanced the contemporary nature of this method. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse, and interpret themes within qualitative data. The results indicated that protective parenting, challenging family habits, financial stress, and health and well-being are key factors in determining the resilience of family’s organisational patterns.