'n Kwalitatiewe ondersoek na die emosionele belewenis van enkele Suid-Afrikaanse blanke geskeide mans

Abstract

Afrikaans: Hierdie ondersoek lewer 'n beskeie bydrae tot die verkryging van wetenskaplike kennis oor mans se ervaring en hantering van egskeiding waaroor weinig, veral in Suid-Afrika, bekend is, asook tot die verskaffing van maatskaplikewerk-hulp aan mans wat in Suid-Afrika hierdie lewenskrisis beleef. Ten einde die ondersoek te kon doen, is die doelstellings van die ondersoek soos volggestel: Om deur middel van 'n verkenning van die bestaande literatuur oor egskeiding die sentrale teoretiese modelle te bepaal en te beskryf wat deur sosiaal-wetenskaplikes gekonstrueer is om egskeiding te begryp, en terapie te verskaf aan diegene wat daardeur geraak word. Om deur middel van 'n plooibare navorsingsbenadering, te wete die kwali tatiewe model, eerstehandse inligting te bekom rakende enkele geskeide blanke Suid-Afrikaanse mans se sosiale werklikheid, dit wil se hoe hulle sin en betekenis aan hul egskeidings gee. Om te let op die behoefte van die geskeide man aan terapeutiese hulpverlening en op grond hiervan aanbevelings te maak aan die Suid-Afrikaanse maatskaplikewerk-praktyk. Om 'n bydrae tot die metodologie van maatskaplikewerknavorsing in Suid-Afrika te lewer deur prakties te illustreer hoe die kwalitatiewe navorsingstyl wat tot nog toe selde in plaaslike maatskaplikewerk-studies onderneem is, aangewend kan word om geskeide mans se definisies van hul situasies, of meer spesifiek, hul subjektiewe ervarings en interpretasies van hul lotgevalle, te peil en te beskryf. Hoewel vandag algemeen aanvaar word dat een uit elke drie huwelike in Suid-Afrika in die egskeidingshof eindig, is wetenskaplike literatuur oor die probleem in die land beperk. Verder blyk dit dat weinig teoretiese en empiriese inligting spesifiek oor die geskeide man hier te lande beskikbaar is. Hoewel aansienlik meer aandag in die buiteland aan egskeiding gegee word, blyk dit dat sosiaal-wetenskaplikes veral in die geskeide vrou geYnteresseerd is en dat haar eweknie, te wete die geskeide man, verwaarloos word. Nogtans is waardevolle inligting uit die beskikbare literatuur onttrek oor die egskeidingsproses en oor sowel die geskeide vrou as die geskeide man. Die insigte wat van die onderskeie teoretici en navorsers verkry is, was nie alleen nuttig om die data te interpreteer wat tydens die empiriese studie ingesamel is nie, maar hou belofte in vir sowel verdere plaaslike studies van geskeide mans as vir hulpverlening aan hulle. Vyftien geskeide blanke mans is met behulp van die sneeubaltegniek opgespoor en tot deelname aan die empiriese studie oorgehaal. Hierbenewens is twee geskeide mans op dieselfde wyse gewerf om die navorsingsresultate te verifieer. Bestaande riglyne vir kwalitatiewe navorsing is sover moontlik in die studie toegepas en daar is daarin geslaag om, hoewel nie uitvoerig nie, 'n getroue prentjie van die lewensituasie van die geskeide blanke man te beskryf. Die data is verkry deur onderhoude (semi-gestruktureerd maar ook ongestruktureerd) met die respondente te voer en deur dokumente te benut wat hulle vir hul eie gebruik of op versoek van navorser opgestel het. Afgesien van die dokumente is van oudiobande gebruik gemaak en die byhou van notas om die verkree data vas te le. Die data is voortdurend bestudeer en is veral aan die einde van die ondersoek in temas en patrone gekategoriseer en geYnterpreteer met behulp van sekere bestaande teoriee wat tydens die literatuurverkenning afgebaken is. Regdeur die ondersoek is sover moontlik gepoog om faktore te neutraliseer wat die resultate nadelig kon beYnvloed. Die slotsom waartoe uiteindelik geraak is, is dat die lewensituasie van die aantal geskeide mans wat as proefpersone benut is, geldig en akkuraat verken en beskryf is. Die belangrikste bevindinge van die empiriese studie is die volgende: Egskeiding is 'n proses met fases wat onderskei maar nie geskei kan word nie; die geskeide man ervaar verskeie emosionele belewenisse voor, tydens en na afloop van die egskeiding; die aanpassing aan die egskeiding word deur verskillende faktore geaffekteer; egskeiding het 'n effek op die verhoudingslewe van die geskeide man; die godsdiensbeskouing van die geskeide man speel 'n kardinale rol in sy verwerking van die egskeiding en ten slotte het die geskeide man behoefte aan terapeutiese intervensie. Dit blyk dat geskeide mans by maatskaplikewerk-hulpverlening kan baat mits sodanige programme in samewerking met hulle opgestel word.

English: This investigation is a modest contribution to the acquisition of scientific knowledge of men's experience and handling of divorce, about which little, especially in South Africa, is known, as also to the rendering of social aid to men who experience such a crisis. To achieve this the aims of the investigation were stated as follows: to determine by means of a study of the existing literature on divorce the central theories and to describe what has been construed by social scientists to understand divorce and to render therapy to those involved; to acquire by means of a flexible research approach, namely the qualitative model, first-hand information regarding the social actuality of a number of divorced white South African men, in other words what sense and meaning they give to their divorce; to note the need of the divorced man for therapeutic aidrendering and to make recommendations on the strength of this to the South African social work practice; and to make a contribution to the methodology of social work research in South Africa by practical illustration of how the qualitative research style, which has so far been seldom undertaken in local social work studies, can be utilised to fathom and describe the definitions of the situations of divorced men, or more specifically, their subjective experiences and their interpretation of these. Although it is generally accepted today that one out of every three marriages in South Africa ends in the divorce court, scientific literature on this problem is limited in this country. It is also evident that no theoretical and empirical information on the divorced man is available. Although considerably more attention is paid to divorce overseas, it is evident that social scientists are specially interested in the divorced woman and neglect her equal, the divorced man. Nevertheless, valuable information on the divorce process was gleaned from the available literature on the process as well as on the divorcees. The views of the various theorists and researchers were not only useful in interpreting the data collected during the empirical study, but they also promise well for both the local studies on divorced men and aid-rendering to them. Fifteen divorced white men were traced by means of the snowball technique and persuaded to participate in the empirical study. Also two divorced men were enlisted in the same way to verify the results of the research. As far as possible existing guide-lines for qualitative research were applied in this study and thereby it was possible to obtain a true, if not full, picture of the living world of the divorced white man. The data were obtained from interviews (semi-structured and unstructured) with the respondents and from documents which they had drawn up for personal use or at the researcher's request. Besides the documents a tape machine was also used and notes were kept to store the data obtained. The data were continuously studied and on the termination of the research they were broken up into themes and patterns and, interpreted with the aid of certain existing theories that were defined during the literature study. Throughout the investigation it was attempted to neutralise factors which could influence the results negatively. The conclusion eventually reached was that the living world of the number of divorced men has been validly and accurately probed and described. The most important findings of the empirical study are the following: Divorce is a process with phases that can be distinguished but not separated; the divorced man has various emotional experiences before, during and after the divorce; the adjustment to the divorce is affected by different factors; divorce has an effect on the relationships of the divorced man with people; the religious outlook of the divorced man plays a cardinal role in the adaptation to the divorce; and ultimately the divorced man needs therapeutic intervention. It is evident that he can benefit by social work aid rendering if such programmes are drawn up in collaboration with him.