Begeleiding van die adolessente leukemielyer binne gesins– en skoolverband

Abstract

The thesis, motivation and aims of this study are discussed in chapter one. From this it is apparent that the child suffering from leukemia is not fully understood and that teaching staff find the handling of such a child difficult due to a lot of ignorance as far as the disease is concerned. The leukemia sufferer is subjected to vigorous treatment schedules with short and longterm effects. The child in its totality is affected by the illness, the treatment procedures and their effects. This emphasises the risk and responsibility of the school with the successful reintegration and support of the leukemia sufferer to become a worthy, well-adjusted and respected member of society. As this subject has not been scientifically exhausted, especially in the South African context, the aims have been formulated to examine whether there is a difference in the selfconcept, affect and adjustment of the leukemia sufferer when compared with a healthy adolescent and whether the leukemia sufferer is dependent on accompaniment within the school and family context. Chapter two deals mainly with the development tasks of the adolescent in comparison with those of the leukemia sufferer. An attempt has been made to offer descriptions of development, maturity, growth and adolescence followed by a discussion of the various development tasks. In chapter three the etiology, the causes of leukemia, the treatment procedures and the short and longterm effects are discussed. In chapter four the research method is discussed. Attention is given to the aims of the study, the hypothesis and the measuring instruments. Chapter five mainly consists of the tabulation and discussion of results, proceded by a discussion of the chosen statistical techniques. The following results were obtained: * The adolescent leukemia sufferer experiences adjustment problems within the family and school context if compared with the healthy adolescent. * There are marked differences as regards most of the dimensions of the Adolescent Self-concept Scale (between the adolescent leukemia sufferer and the healthy adolescent). * Most of the factors of the Personality Questionnaire and the Personality Questionnaire for High School Pupils prove to be affected if the leukemia sufferer is compared with the healthy adolescent. It can thus be concluded that with the affected self-concept, affect and adjustment of the leukemia sufferer this individual is dependent on accompaniment within the family and school context.