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A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

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dc.contributor.advisor Fourie, Eduard
dc.contributor.advisor Terre Blanche, M. J. (Martin J.)
dc.contributor.author Gumani, Andronica Masefako
dc.date.accessioned 2013-04-29T12:17:50Z
dc.date.available 2013-04-29T12:17:50Z
dc.date.issued 2012-06
dc.identifier.citation Gumani, Andronica Masefako (2012) A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9292> en
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9292
dc.description.abstract A study was conducted to describe and interpret the personal strategies that South African Police Service officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, use in their line of work. These are strategies to deal with the impact of the primary victims’ critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents. The focus was on describing the impact of the critical incidents that the officers are exposed to, which manifest in a form of traumatic stress, namely, vicarious traumatisation, and management of this impact. Twenty participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences, domestic violence, field training, detective and social crime prevention units. Unstructured open-ended interviews, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data collection methods and data were collected in the participants’ home languages, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Data gathered necessitated looking into both the aspects of the officers’ organisational and operational work. Data were thus analysed through the content thematic and constant comparative data analysis methods. The results first presented a profile of police vicarious traumatisation in the Vhembe District, which include the types of critical incidents exposed to, the organisational and operational stressors that lead to vicarious traumatisation, and the description of vicarious traumatisation symptoms. Second, a theoretical framework of the process of police critical incidents impact management (PCIIM) was developed. The framework shows that the management of the impact of the encountered incidents is inspired by various coping needs and subcultures of the officers, and the management takes place through the use of two styles of trauma management, namely, the linear and multilateral styles, which refer to application of coping strategies successively and the combination of horizontal and vertical application of coping strategies, respectively. The coping strategies used by the officers help them to have an objective understanding of the critical incidents encountered, have less severe symptoms of vicarious traumatisation, some symptoms last for shorter periods than before, and other symptoms are no longer experienced. Resilience to the encountered incidents is shown through the development of coping strategies to handle the incidents, facing them, and showing cognitive hardiness. The officers also manage to reflect on the experiences encountered, engage in narratives about them and mutual help thus still working towards attaining posttraumatic growth. en
dc.format.extent 1 online resource (vii, 557 leaves) : illustrations
dc.language.iso en en
dc.rights University of South Africa
dc.subject Coping strategies en
dc.subject Critical incidents en
dc.subject Grounded theory en
dc.subject Linear and multilateral styles of trauma management en
dc.subject Police critical incidents impact management en
dc.subject Police operational vicarious stressors en
dc.subject Police subcultures en
dc.subject Resilience en
dc.subject SAPS en
dc.subject Vicarious traumatisation en
dc.subject.ddc 616.8521096825
dc.subject.lcsh Police -- Mental health -- South Africa -- Limpopo en
dc.subject.lcsh Police -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Limpopo en
dc.subject.lcsh Post-traumatic stress disorder -- South Africa -- Limpopo en
dc.subject.lcsh Police psychology -- South Africa -- Limpopo en
dc.subject.lcsh Post-traumatic stress disorder -- Treatment -- South Africa -- Limpopo en
dc.subject.lcsh South African Police Service en
dc.title A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province en
dc.type Thesis en
dc.description.department Psychology en
dc.description.degree D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)


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