Exploring how relationships between older and younger black South Africans promote resilience in families

Abstract

Black families in South Africa have previously been subjected to socio-political and racial segregation by the former apartheid government. This distorted family structures and functioning especially in black communities, and further leaving a legacy of inequality in terms of distribution of resources among different racial groups. In addition to the above disadvantage, black families in South Africa also experience challenges due to other contextual factors such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, poverty, and unemployment. Yet, despite these challenges, these families manage to adjust well. They are considered to be resilient. This study explored available qualitative evidence on how relationships between younger and older black South Africans promote resilience in black families. A systematic qualitative synthesis was conducted to combine qualitative studies that focus on how relationships between older and younger black South Africans promote resilience. This entailed a comprehensive database search for articles published from 2000 to 2020, using a combination of keywords across electronic databases. Eleven articles were identified for inclusion in the synthesis. The findings highlight the importance of social connectedness between older and younger black South Africans, which has the potential to promote and facilitate resilience. This connectedness inspired both generations to engage in resilience-promoting processes that include agency, spirituality, and meaning-making. The findings corroborate family resilience framework processes. These findings also shed light on resilience processes that are underpinned by cultural processes such as Ubuntu and connections to ancestors, which are often underreported. The findings of the review demonstrate a growing interest in resilience research, although the search yielded limited published articles on the resilience process of black families in South Africa. This further indicates a gap in resilience research on black families in South Africa. The findings of the study contribute to a basis for future research and interventions to strengthen black families residing in resource constrained settings.