| dc.description.abstract | Historically, families living in disenfranchised communities were viewed as being
dysfunctional. This view led to the perpetuation of the challenges and adverse situations
faced by these families. It is important to view the family holistically rather than just to focus
on the risk factors and/or the dysfunctional nature of the family. This study endeavoured to
explore how the family functions and copes with the challenges they face. The aim of the
study was to qualitatively explore the dimensions of family resilience as perceived by
families in a rural community on the West Coast, South Africa. Family resilience theory was
used as the theoretical framework for the research study. Three family resilience dimensions
were explored. These dimensions are family belief systems, family organisation and
resources, and family communication patterns. Participants were selected by means of nonprobability
sampling. The local NGO in collaboration with the researcher identified the
participants. The participants were homogenous in terms of being parents who participated in
a parent support programme and were from the same community. Six semi-structured, oneon-
one interviews were conducted as the data collection method. The interviews were
transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged, in
congruence with the theoretical framework. These themes were the family's belief system,
their organisational patterns when faced with adversity, as well as the communication
patterns of the family. The participants all reported that their strong sense of faith was used
as coping mechanisms through their adversities. They had varying reports on how their
family organised themselves and how they communicated. Some participants reported that
living in a small community could at times be challenging, especially when sharing
adversities as they feared community gossip, which then acted as a barrier to seeking help.
The researcher adhered to the ethics requirements of the study in terms of confidentiality,
provided the participants with informed consent forms and informed them of their rights as
participants. Participants were free to discontinue the research process at any point without
prejudice. | |
