2017-2018 RYSE Results and Recommended Pathways for …...The SA-RYSE participants are residents of eMbalenhle and Secunda (see Figure 1), Mpumalanga province. In 2017-2018, 600 adolescents,

1

2017-2018 RYSE Results and Recommended

Pathways for Social Investment Initiatives

Authors: Linda C. Theron, Kleinjan Redelinghuys, and Mosna N. Khaile

With grateful acknowledgement to Busisiwe Khumalo, Mthokozisi Mabuza, Tiisetso

Makhafola, Mamello Motinya, Witness Moya, Winnie Moya, Lwande Mthunzini, Thandiwe

Mtengwane, Thulani Ncongwane, Simphiwe Zulu, and the SA-RYSE 2017-2018 participants.

2

Contents 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................. 3

2. INTRODUCING A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO YOUTH RESILIENCE ............................................................. 5

3. WHO WERE THE 2017-2018 SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS? .............................................................................................. 5

4. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT 2017-2018 SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS’ HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES? ....................... 10

4.1. Families Matter for SA Adolescent Resilience ................................................................................................ 12

5. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS’ COMMUNITY? .................................................................. 18

5.1. Communities Matter for Adolescent Resilience ............................................................................................. 22

6. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF THE 2017-2018 SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS? ......... 25

6.1. Health .............................................................................................................................................................. 25

6.2. Depression ...................................................................................................................................................... 26

7. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................... 29

APPENDIX A: NOTES ON THE SA-RYSE METHODOLOGIES THAT INFORMED THE DATA DOCUMENTED IN THIS REPORT

........................................................................................................................................................................................ 31

THE RYSE SURVEY ............................................................................................................................................................ 31

ARTS BASED METHODS ................................................................................................................................................... 31

• Body mapping ..................................................................................................................................................... 31

• Body sculpting ..................................................................................................................................................... 32

• Draw-write-talk ................................................................................................................................................... 32

• Clay Modelling ..................................................................................................................................................... 33

• Digital storytelling ............................................................................................................................................... 33

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................................. 33

3

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) study is a five-year study (2017-2021) funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Researches (CIHR). Its focus is on youth, given that youth health and wellbeing is a pressing, global mandate. RYSE aims to examine the biopsychosocial resilience of young people (15-24 years old) over time and its relationship with the resilience of ecological systems where there are disruptions – some positive, some negative – related to oil and gas production and extreme weather events associated with climate change. Disruptions typically place young people at risk for negative mental and physical health outcomes. Understanding what supports young people to be resilient to disruptions is likely to translate into interventions, corporate social investments, and policies that will promote positive mental and health outcomes for greater numbers of young people in the face or aftermath of disruptions.

Dr Michael Ungar, Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience; Director, Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University, Canada, is the principal investigator. Professor Linda Theron, Department of Educational Psychology/Centre for the Study of Resilience, University Pretoria and Optentia Research Focus Area, North-West University, is the co-principal investigator and leads the South African RYSE team. Together with a team of researchers they have operationalised RYSE with a sample of youth from Drayton Valley, Alberta province, Canada and eMbalenhle and Secunda, Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Drayton Valley is a small town (around 7500 residents) that is surrounded by 15 000 drilled oil wells. In contrast, Secunda and eMbalenhle are home to over 120 000 residents. Both the town of Secunda and the township of eMbalenhle are adjacent to a large coal liquefaction plant that produces synthetic fuel.

This report documents descriptive results from the 2017-2018 quantitative and qualitative research studies with the South African participants (n = 600) that could, potentially, be useful for social investment (SI) programmes. For details on the methodology, see Appendix A. The results have, in part, been verified by the South African RYSE youth advisors (all of whom are eMbalenhle residents who volunteered to support the RYSE project in various ways, including for example, by recruiting participants, helping to facilitate research activities, and taking international researchers on guided walks of the eMbalenhle community). The report excludes the 2018 biological measures (ie, cortisol and DHEA measurements), as these results were not ready at the time of writing.

In short, the emerging RYSE results suggest that growing up in eMbalenhle and Secunda is challenging. Despite this, participants generally self-reported being mentally and physically healthy. This mental and physical health is supported by personal, family, and community-based resources. Going forward, government, NGOs, faith-based organisations and industry could draw on RYSE results to facilitate youth resilience by facilitating resilience-enablers. These include 9 actions to take or continue:

Upskill youth —Galvanise opportunities for employment, even temporary ones; teach local

youth entrepreneurial skills. In doing so, support eMbalenhle and Secunda youth (and their

caregivers) to upskill; moreover, to prioritise scarce skills so that lawful and strategic

opportunities to earn a living are multiplied.

Honour local role models—Celebrate local success stories (e.g., locals who use

entrepreneurship to be self-supporting) and support opportunities for the youth to interact with

youth role models and other successful local people who are willing to mentor them.

1

2

4

Counter hopelessness—Address the contextual risks that youth associate with feelings of

hopelessness (given that hopelessness is strongly associated with depression). An example

of such a risk is limited opportunity to access tertiary education. Bursaries and learnerships

(such as those from Sasol) are valuable to youth; supporting non-STEM career pathways

would extend this value.

Facilitate family wellbeing—Prioritise initiatives that have the potential to sustain family

wellbeing. These include advancing access to quality physical and mental health services.

Make families aware that they matter for adolescent resilience and celebrate what families

are doing to facilitate adolescent resilience. Draw attention to the resilience-enabling power

of caregiver warmth, caregiver supervision, and caregiver encouragement.

Safeguard youth —Protect all youth (including male youth) from heightened exposure to

family (and other) adversity. Encourage caregivers not to assume that boys need different

levels of supervision from girls.

Develop infrastructure—Continue to invest in the infrastructure of communities and, where

possible, expand the recreation facilities and upgrading of local schools. Maintain and expand

facilities that will support youth to exercise. Invite local youth (like the RYSE advisors) to

advise on the focus of future investments in community infrastructure (for example, upgrading

the eMbalenhle library).

Advance local partnerships—Partner with faith-based organisations (given their value to

eMbalenhle and Secunda youth), or other constructive community-based organisations that

value youth and are valued by youth, to offer the youth opportunities to network and develop

a solution-focused approach to life.

Foster health via peers—Provide opportunities for youth to learn from healthy peers how to

nurture physical health and avoid substance use.

Bring out the resilience champions—Champion local youth (like the RYSE advisors) who

continue to beat the odds; support them to mentor peers whose resilience needs to be

developed.

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

5

2. INTRODUCING A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO YOUTH RESILIENCE

Resilience is a process that supports people who are challenged by significant stressors to avoid

the negative outcomes (e.g., poor health or mental illness) that are predicted by significant stress.

From a social-ecological perspective, this process draws on strengths in the individual (for example,

intelligence, a sense of humour, or determination) and on support in the person’s environment (for

example, caring families, effective schools, or meaningful corporate social investment). Importantly,

a social-ecological approach to resilience cautions that social-ecological supports (such as, caring

families or social investment) are as important as individual strengths, if not more so. The emphasis

on social-ecological supports is a response to decades of research and practice that have over-

emphasised individual strengths and under-emphasised what social ecologies can, and should, do

to facilitate youth resilience. In doing so, young people were held personally responsible for their

resilience. This allowed social ecologies to neglect their duty to co-facilitate youth resilience by

making meaningful supports and resources available to youth and by sustaining resilience-enabling

supports and resources. Accordingly, although SA-RYSE has produced strong evidence of

multiple individual strengths that contribute to how and why youth from eMbalenhle and

Secunda adjust well to difficult life circumstances, this report will only document the social-

ecological pathways of their resilience.

3. WHO WERE THE 2017-2018 SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS?

The SA-RYSE participants are residents of eMbalenhle and Secunda (see Figure 1), Mpumalanga

province. In 2017-2018, 600 adolescents, aged 14-24 (see Figure 2), completed the RYSE survey.

Furthermore, 68 adolescents (average age: 20) participated in a qualitative RYSE study. Most

survey participants self-identified as Black and female (see Figures 3 and 4). The same is true of

those who completed the qualitative research activities.

Figure 1, The SA-RYSE sites

19%

81%

Site

Secunda

eMbalenhle

6

Figure 2, The self-reported age profile of RYSE participants, SA

Figure 3, The self-identified racial profile of RYSE participants, SA

Figure 4, The self-identified gender profile of RYSE participants, SA

48%

30%

22%0%

Age

14-17 (287)

18-20 (178)

21-24 (134)

Missing (1)

9%

89%

Racial group

White (56)

Black (534)

Coloured (4)

Indian (4)

Other (1)

Missing (1)

56%43%

0%1%

Gender

Female (336)

Male (259)

Other (2)

Missing (3)

7

At the time of their 2017-2018 participation, most RYSE participants attended school (see Figure 5).

Many of them were repeating matric in the hope of improving their marks in order to pursue tertiary

studies, but this pursuit was hindered by multiple obstacles. A minority of the older participants

reported a post-school qualification (see Figure 6). Among those not attending school, the majority

(ie, 73% or 82 of the 112) were unemployed and looking for work.

Figure 5, The self-reported schooling profile of RYSE participants, SA

Figure 6, Post-school qualifications are rare among RYSE participants, SA

Unemployment was prominent among the risks identified by youths during their participation in the

qualitative research activities. For example, Danny said: “A challenge that we face a lot is

unemployment; even though we have many industries here at eMba, unemployment here is too

much.” In addition, participants expressed concern over how corruption lessened limited

opportunities to find employment. Danny explained it like this: “Here in eMba, they sell jobs... If you

want to be employed, you have to pay somebody. The agents -- the persons that employ for Sasol

76%

19%5%

Attending school

Yes (457)

No (112)

Missing (31)

32%

52%

16%

Post-school qualification

Trade qualification (23)

FET (37)

University qualification(11)

8

and other power stations – sometimes they charge you R600; some they charge R1500, you

understand? So, corruption, corruption is number 1”. The lack of employment and concerns about

corruption left many participants feeling disillusioned and hopeless. This was evident in the body

map of another young man, Sparky. He explained that his body map (see Figure 7) showed that:

“Many people here [eMbalenhle] are educated but then they are unemployed. That also scares me

because I’m just learning and learning and learning until I get to pass my matric and [I am scared]

then after that I come back and sit here and just do nothing [because of unemployment].”

In contrast, when the youth had exposure to entrepreneurs and positive role-models, they reported

being less anxious and more able to dream of a positive future. For example, Mamello referred to

the value of witnessing the success of youth in her community. She showed researchers a

photograph of a house and said: “The reason I took a picture of this specific house is because the

owner of this house is very young. He’s young, he’s married and he has his own family. He works

at Sasol. So, he has everything that a young person could want. So, seeing this makes people think

that it is possible for me to get the same. I want to work at Sasol and end up like him … If we have

Figure 7, A body map created by Sparky, a RYSE participant, to explain risk and resilience

9

seen that there are others that have failed, failed, failed, but at the end of the day they succeed … I

think that’s what pushes them or what makes us strong knowing that … at the end of the day there

will be that door that will open eventually for you.” She also explained that her neighbour, and other

local women entrepreneurs, were alternate sources of inspiration: “Again many people will be sitting

at home thinking that it’s over if they don’t make it into Sasol and if they don’t go to school

[university/college]. Some don’t go to school because of funds; they would not be thinking business-

wise, that they have to be their own bosses. I think, if this woman was not around, that mindset to

have a business to be an owner that this person is going to teach other people would have never

been passed on to them.”

Youth also reported that temporary employment (such as during Sasol’s shutdowns; see Figure 8)

also helped to relieve the stress of unemployment. Like many others, Blessed referred to the benefits

of shutdowns: “The poverty … it’s less… when it’s the shutdown time”.

Figure 8, Youth-built model showing the benefits of working at SASOL

10

4. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT 2017-2018 SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS’ HOUSEHOLDS

AND FAMILIES?

At the time of their 2017-2018 participation, most SA-RYSE participants lived in households

consisting of 5-8 people (see Figure 9). While the majority (72%) reported that their biological mother

lived in the same household as them, only 46% reported that their biological father did so. Parental

education and employment are typically associated with adolescent health and wellbeing: 57% of

mothers and 49% of fathers were known to have completed secondary or tertiary education (see

Figures 10 and 11); 46% of mothers and 52% of fathers were employed. Participants experienced

caregiver unemployment as stressful and explained that it often left households – and the youth

living in these households – with limited options. For example, a young woman (Blessed) said: “I

mean, if parents aren’t able to support the youth, it means that they have to resort to other methods

which can’t be that good because you don’t have anything; you’re still young. You don’t have any

qualifications. You don’t have any money, so, one thing you can do is resort to crime. Yeah. Stealing,

robberies, you know, all that sort of stuff. and drugs as well.”

Figure 9: Youth’s responses about Number of people per household

39%

51%

7%3%

Number of people in household

1 to 4 (237)

5 to 8 (305)

9 to 12 (41)

12+ (17)

11

3% 4%4%

18%

35%

22%

13%1%

Mother - Highest level of education

No schooling (17)

Less than primary school completed(24)

Primary school completed (26)

Some secondary school completed(111)

Secondary school completed (208)

Tertiary school completed (133)

Do not know (76)

Missing (5)

Figure 10, Highest level of education reported for mothers

2%4%3%

9%

22%

27%

31%

2%

Father - Highest level of education

No schooling (15)

Less than primary schoolcompleted (22)

Primary school completed (15)

Some secondary school completed(53)

Secondary school completed (134)

Tertiary school completed (162)

Do not know (187)

Missing (12)

Figure 11, Highest level of education reported fir fathers

12

To further measure family adversity, we asked ten questions about risks in the family. For example, “Have you lived in a home with fights or severe relationship problems between your caregivers/guardians?” and, “Have you lived with a caregiver/guardian who had a serious physical illness?” and, “Have you lived with a caregiver/guardian who had a serious alcohol or drug problem?” Yes, to any answer was equal to 1 and no was equal to 2 (ie, the higher the total score for family adversity, the less the family adversity experienced). A minimum score of 10 indicated the highest degree of family adversity, while a maximum score of 20 indicated the lowest degree of family adversity.

Family adversity scores could be computed for 583 participants. On average, participants scored a total of 17.67 out of 20. This suggests experiences of low family adversity. Three participants (0.5%) obtained a minimum score of 10 and 74 participants (12.7%) a maximum score of 20. Most participants scored 18 (139 – 23.8%), closely followed by 17 (137 – 23.5%). This pattern was similar when the scores of male (see Figure 12) and female (see Figure 13) participants were separately computed, but male participants were less likely than female participants to score above the average (ie, they were more likely to report experiences of family adversity).

4.1. Families Matter for SA Adolescent Resilience Family members – mostly parents, siblings, and grandparents – were prominent in how SA-RYSE

participants accounted for youth resilience. This does not mean that there was no mention of families

discouraging or ill-treating adolescents, but rather that adolescents were more likely to report that

their families facilitated their resilience. They mostly did this by supporting adolescents to access

basic resources (food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment, schooling) and by being emotionally

supportive. Most often, emotional support included families encouraging adolescents to do well in

life. As Gugu noted when she explained her drawing of who/what supports resilience (see Figure

14):

57%43%

Family adversity - Male

Above Mean (144)

Below Mean (109)62%

38%

Family adversity -Female

Above Mean (206)

Below Mean (124)

Figure 12, Family Adversity reported by males Figure 13, Family adversity reported by females

13

At home, I have the most supportive parents ever!

…They are always there for me in everything and I

think it’s because they want the best for us. Maybe

they’ve been through the worst and they don’t want us

ending up like them. So, they want the best. My father

always says, “I want you in big places, I don’t want you

doing what we do. I want you to do better in

everything.” So, I feel like it’s them wanting the best for

us.

In addition to family members inspiring adolescents to do well in life, they nurtured adolescents’ self-

esteem. For example, Simphiwe linked his sense of self-worth to his grandfather esteeming his

(Simphiwe’s) insights:

He respects me as if I am his age. And, if there is something going on in the family or there

is something that is puzzling his mind, he will run it through me and ask a few questions and

the next day we will find a resolution … sometimes you will see that is a bit of my input … it

feels great, it makes you have a form of worth like, so at least I am worth something and I am

not just a, a statistic. I am not just staying alive but I am actually living, yes; so it gives that

fulfilment in a way that form of

pleasure in, inside, that yes at least I

am trying something.

Likewise, Siya said that his grandfather “is

the most understanding of all people. He

understands that you’re a young person,

eventually you will make mistakes; then he

gives you advice … he’ll tell you about

something that happened in the past and

say, don’t let this break you down; keep

moving forward.” Sammy’s drawing (see

Figure 15) drew attention to the resilience-

enabling value of families providing caring,

supportive attention to adolescents.

Figure 14, Gugu’s drawing of her family

Figure 15, Sammy’s drawing

14

For the most part, the qualitative data showed

that woman relatives (particularly mothers,

sisters, and grandmothers) facilitate adolescent

resilience. For Thulani, it was his grandmother

(see his reference to ‘granny’s words’ in Figure

16). Similarly, Tshiamo explained: “Basically

my mother is everything to me; she can be my

father, my grandmother, my brother at the same

time … she is my strength”. In Ayanda’s case it

was his sister: “In my family, they do not like to

see me just sitting … so, they cause me to have

that energy to go and look for a job … my sister

– she’s always telling me to go and look for a

job, she says there is going to be an opening

wherever.” Sometimes, participants’ desire to

improve the lives of their female relatives

galvanised their resilience. Thandiwe explained

that her responsibility for her younger sisters

kept her future-oriented and resourceful: “When

I need their help, I know they will be there. ...

When they need me, they know that I'm there

and whenever they need something, they know

that I’ll do anything to get it for them.” Similarly,

Thulani said: “Hey, what keeps me going you

know, it’s just to see my grandmother happy.

You know? After that I might try to see my

community members also happy. But at this

very point, you know, I want to see my

grandmother happy. I think that’s the thing that

makes me want to take part in positive things.”

The survey data reinforced the qualitative findings. For example, we measured parental warmth

(given the strong association between warm parenting and adolescent resilience). To measure

parental warmth, we asked three questions about the warmth participants receive from

parents/caregivers/guardians (ie, given what we had learnt about multiple relatives mattering for

adolescent resilience, we did not limit parenting to biological parents). For example, we asked: “Is

there a parent/caregiver/guardian who shows their love for me?”. Items were scored on a four-point

scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (most of the time) (ie, a higher total score equals a higher degree

of parental supervision). The lowest score one could obtain was 3 (low parental supervision) and

the highest 12.

Figure 16, Thulani’s body map

15

Parental warmth scores could be computed for 593 participants. On average, participants scored a

total of 11.26 out of 12, with similar scores for males and females (see Figure 17). This suggests

experiences of high parental warmth. Only two participants (0.3%) obtained a minimum score of 3

and 388 participants (65.4%) a maximum score of 12. In total, 388 (65%) participants scored higher

than the average and 205 (35%) participants scored lower (see Figure 18).

We also measured parental supervision, given the protective effects thereof, more particularly in

disadvantaged or violent communities. We asked four questions (in the survey) about the extent to

which participants are supervised by their parents/caregivers/guardians. For example, “If living with

a parent/caregiver/guardian, when you are not home (e.g., after school/work), do they usually know:

Where you are?”. It was scored on a four-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (most of the time)

(ie, a higher total score equals a higher degree of parental supervision). The lowest score one could

obtain was 4 (low parental supervision) and the highest 16. Parental supervision scores could be

computed for 592 participants. On average, participants scored a total of 12.56 out of 16, suggesting

11,27

11,24

11,26

0,00 3,00 6,00 9,00 12,00

Female population (335)

Male population (258)

Total population (593)

Parental warmth - Mean scores

65%

35%

Parental warmth - Total sample

Above Mean (388)

Below Mean (205)

Figure 17, Mean scores of reported parental warmth

Figure 18, Parental warmth comparison for total sample

16

high experience of parental supervision. When we computed the experience of male and female

participants separately, it seemed that girls were more likely to report parental supervision scores

that were above the group mean score (see figures 19 and 20).

Similarly, we administered the Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Seven questions measured

family/relational resilience. The lowest score one could obtain was 7 and the highest 35.

Family/relational resilience scores could be computed for 568 participants. On average, participants

scored a total of 30.03 out of 35, with similar scores for males and females (see Figure 21). This

suggests that participants experienced that families matter significantly for adolescent resilience.

The lowest obtained score was 7 (1 participant – 0.2%) and 35 the highest (81 participants – 14.3%)

46%54%

Parental supervision - Male

Above Mean (118)

Below Mean (139)

Figure 19, Parent supervision reported by males

Figure 20, Parent supervision reported by females

61%

39%

Parental supervision -Female

Above Mean (203)

Below Mean (132)

17

In total, 248 participants (44%) scored below the average and 320 participants (56%) above the

average (see Figure 22).

30,11

29,92

30,03

0,00 5,00 10,00 15,00 20,00 25,00 30,00 35,00




Family/relational resilience - Mean scores

56%

44%

Family/relational resilience - Total sample

Above Mean (320)

Below Mean (248)

Figure 21, Family/ relational resilience mean scores

Figure 22, Family/ relation resilience comparison for total sample

18

5. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SA-RYSE PARTICIPANTS’ COMMUNITY?

At the time of their 2017-2018 participation, most RYSE participants lived in brick houses (54.7%),

followed by RDP houses (26.2%), shacks (10.7%), outside or other rented rooms (5%), or other

accommodation, including flats (3.4%). Only 63% of the participants reported accessing water from

a tap inside their house. The qualitative work suggested that participants were not always confident

about the quality of water that they have access to. For example, Thandiwe told the team: “Where

you walk and there are sewages, like it’s really bad. And sometimes when you open the water, they

tell you that the water will make you sick. Not so long ago, people went to schools telling our little

brothers and sisters to boil water first before drinking it.” In addition to concerns about the quality of

the drinking water, most participants referred to the health-related risks they linked to an everyday

reality of polluted air (see Tiisetso’s body map, Figure 23). Like others, Busi attributed the pollution

to Sasol. She said: “There is air pollution that affects our place. I’m staying here in Secunda and I’m

next to Sasol. What affects me, in my body, is when the pollution is out there … it smells very bad

and it affects our noses… In the morning when I wake up, I find my nose blocked, my eyes are

crying, and it also affects the coughing.” Some participants voiced fears that the pollution was lethal

to locals. For example, a 16-year old [Tshepo] told the research team: “You are dying, but slowly,

but you can’t even see it. [This is] because of the pollution… when you breathe, you don’t know

what you are breathing, because of Sasol.”

To further measure perceptions of the neighbourhood, the RYSE survey included ten questions

about how participants perceive their neighbourhood. For example, “I feel safe in my

neighbourhood/community” and “My neighbourhood/community looks nice”. Items were scored on

Figure 23, Body map by Tiisetso

19

a four-point scale ranging from 1 (always false) to 4 (always true) (ie, a higher total score equals a

favourable perception of the neighbourhood). The lowest score one could obtain was 10

(unfavourable perception of neighbourhood) and the highest 40.

Perception of neighbourhood scores could be computed for 579 participants. On average,

participants scored a total of 24.64 out of 40, with similar patterns when scores were separately

computed for males and females (see Figure 24). One participant (0.2%) obtained a minimum score

of 11 and 8 participants (1.4%) a maximum score of 36. No participants obtained the lowest (10) or

highest (40) possible score. In total, 299 participants (52%) scored higher than the average and 280

participants (48%) scored lower (see Figure 25). Thus, at least half of all participants perceived their

neighbourhood in a fairly favourable manner.

24,01

25,45

24,64

10,00 14,00 18,00 22,00 26,00 30,00 34,00 38,00




Perception of neighbourhood - Mean scores

52%48%

Perception of neighbourhood - Total sample

Above Mean (299)

Below Mean (280)

Figure 24, Perception of neighbourhood mean by sample

Figure 25, Perception of neighbourhood comparison for total sample.

20

Participants were concerned that eMba no longer has its own radio station and that the library is

under-resourced. Because many youth participants considered access to motivational and other

books an important source of resilience, an under-resourced library was problematic for them. At

the same time, they were grateful for recreational facilities. Even though Sasol was associated with

air and water pollution and associated health risks, Sasol was also linked to community

upliftment/development. For example, M (a young woman) said: “Sasol helped my school by

building the laboratories that we have and also these computer labs and sound systems that we

have at our schools were bought by Sasol. There it [Sasol] helped us”. Like others, Nkosinathi

appreciated the recreational facilities sponsored by Sasol: “Sasol gave us the parks with gyming

things, you see”. Gugu elaborated: “Sasol sponsors a lot in terms of sports and recreation parks.

There’s Sasol clubs, one in Secunda and one here. The gyms provide for everyone.” Danny

reported: “They [Sasol] build people houses; they build roads; they hire people. Even here at the

Sasol club, it’s because of them that we have this. If it wasn’t for them, there would be no Sasol

club, no people gyming; there’d be no people singing because we wouldn’t have the facilities similar

to this. [Sasol’s effect is] positive because they help, if there is a pothole they fix it, you see”. The

Sasol club was also prominent in the community-based spaces that survey participants identified as

places they went to when they wanted to “feel better”.

Given the number of local riots and other violent events that were reported by the media, we

measured exposure to violence. To measure exposure to violence, the survey included 7 questions

about exposure to violence during the past year. For example, “I have been beaten up or mugged”

and “I have been shot or shot at with a gun”. Items were scored on a five-point scale ranging from

1 (none) to 5 (10+ times) (ie, a higher total score equals more exposure to violence). The lowest

score one could obtain was 7 (low exposure to violence) and the highest 35.

Exposure to violence scores could be computed for 592 participants. On average, participants

scored a total of 8.65 out of 35. This suggests experiences of low exposure to violence. Of the

participants, 229 (38.7%) obtained a minimum score of 7 and 1 participant (0.2%) a maximum score

of 20. In total, 238 (40%) participants scored higher than the average and 354 (60%) participants

scored lower (see Figure 26). We wondered whether the low exposure to violence could be related

to the fact that most participants reported a high experience of parental supervision; parental

supervision (ie, parentings being aware of a young person’s whereabouts and actions) is often

associated with protection from harm in disadvantaged or violent communities.

21

Male participants (see Figure 27). were more likely than female participants (see Figure 28) to score

below the mean (ie, more likely to experience community-based violence). The qualitative research

also suggested that male participants were more exposed to peer pressure and that this exposure

jeopardised health and wellbeing. Sometimes this pressure was subtle. For example, Ashley said:

“Things that make life hard at eMba – it simply starts with not knowing yourself. The friends I used

to have made my life fun and miserable at the same time. No one pointed me with a gun and said,

do this and don’t do that. I felt so stupid by not doing what my friends were doing. So, I did it.”

40%

60%

Exposure to violence - Total sample

Above Mean (238)

Below Mean (354)

26%

74%

Exposure to violence -Female

Above Mean (87)

Below Mean (248)

40%

60%

Exposure to violence - Male

Above Mean (103)

Below Mean (154)

Figure 26, Exposure to violence, comparison of total sample

Figure 28, Exposure to violence reported by females Figure 27, Exposure to violence reported by males

22

5.1. Communities Matter for Adolescent Resilience

As mentioned, we administered the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM). Fourteen CYRM

questions measured contextual resilience, including community-based resources – such as schools

and faith-based organisations – that support adolescent resilience. The lowest score one could

obtain was 14 and the highest 70. Contextual resilience could be computed for 568 participants. On

average, participants scored a total of 55.04 out of 70, and these scores were similar for both sexes

(see Figure 29). This suggests experiences of fairly good community-based support of resilience.

The lowest obtained score was 23 (1 participant – 0.2%) and 70 the highest (8 participants – 1.4%)

In total, 270 participants (48%) scored below the average and 298 participants (52%) above the

average (see Figure 30).

54,67

55,52

55,04

20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00 70,00




Contextual resilience-enablers - Mean scores

52%48%

Contextual resilience-enablers -Total sample

Above Mean (298)

Below Mean (270)

Figure 29, Mean scores for contextual resilience enablers

Figure 30, Contextual resilience enablers comparison of total sample

23

Community-based resources measured in the CYRM include faith-based organisations and

schools. The qualitative research activities provided evidence that both had the potential to enable

adolescent resilience. For example, Minkie said: “Church is the only place, except from school, that

has a positive feedback towards [our] life…Church plays a bigger role in helping us be stronger

people and facing our situations. In my church we have what we call youth conferences and youth

seminars maybe every week. We have that where we as the youth talk about our problems. Any

problem that you have, whether it is your personal problem or it is a problem that you have at home

with somebody or school problems, we talk about that.”

Some participants reported less traditional ways of learning how to be resilient. Sasol was often

mentioned in the context of schools and resilience. This included bursaries and other learning

supports. For example, Lwande explained: “We get bursaries. As for me, I was in matric … Sasol

came to our school and they gave us study guides for physics and maths; that’s something amazing

because you get to buy these things and we got them for free! And then, if you are not interested to

further your studies, there are learnerships where you learn and earn at the same time … So, I

personally I am positive living here because we have many opportunities, given to us by Sasol and

there’s hope”. Despite the gratitude for these bursaries, several participants wished that Sasol would

extend their bursaries beyond STEM subjects. Talent in STEM subjects was valued by students with

the relevant aptitude (for example, “When I finish my matric it will be easy for me to get a job since

I did Maths and Physics. Well, with Sasol to have a proper job, you must have Maths and Physics.

They don’t take any other subjects besides that”) but bemoaned by those who were not similarly

talented (for example, “It has affected my schooling in a negative way. Sasol and my school have a

sort of partnership, so they cut out all our subjects and all the students from my school had to do

maths, pure maths, and had to do physics. I can say that Sasol has spoilt my school; the pass rate

has decreased because not every child can do pure maths and physical sciences”).

For adolescents, peer support is usually a key contextual resilience-enabler. To measure peer group

quality, we asked four questions about the support participants receive from their peers. For

example, “My friends care about me” and “My friends are there when I need them”. Items were

scored on a four-point scale ranging from 1 (never true) to 4 (always true) (ie, a higher total score

equals better peer support). The lowest score one could obtain was 4 (low peer support) and the

highest 16.

Peer group quality scores could be computed for 592 participants. On average, participants scored

a total of 11.75 out of 16, with similar scores for males and females (see Figure 31). This suggests

experiences of fairly good peer support. Fourteen participants (2.4%) obtained a minimum score of

4 and 71 participants (12%) the maximum score of 16. In total, 359 participants (61%) scored higher

than the average and 233 participants (39%) scored lower (see Figure 32).

24

The qualitative research activities found that peers offered quality support when they were

trustworthy. Trustworthy friends were likely to encourage good life choices. As Simphiwe explained:

“I discovered that my friends would play a huge role in the person I have become. So, if I allow just

anybody [to be my friend], I won’t have direction of where I am going in life.” Likewise, Siya said that

true friends were those who “focus on their studies” and “would keep me out of trouble … You just

adopt that habit and focus on your studies… We all encourage each other. As in you come with your

own problem and you say, this is what you facing right now. And they tell you, this won’t beat you,

so I’ve also faced a challenge like that and I’ve beat it, so it’s not impossible for you to beat it”.

Simultaneously, there was a sense that finding quality peer support was not easy. Mamello

explained: “You must be careful who you choose as a friend; it takes time.” Likewise, Mtho warned

61%

39%

Peer group quality - Total sample

Above Mean (359)

Below Mean (233)

11,79

11,70

11,75

0,00 3,00 6,00 9,00 12,00




Peer group quality - Mean scores

Figure 31, Mean scores for peer group quality

Figure 32, Peer group quality comparison of total sample

25

that “there is a lot of corruption in eMba” and so finding trustworthy friends required a patient search

for “friends [who] have experienced what you experienced, so they share your pain”.

6. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF THE 2017-2018 SA-

RYSE PARTICIPANTS?

Given participants’ life and spatial circumstances, it was reasonable to expect poor health and

wellbeing. Although there were instances of poor health and wellbeing, at least half of our

participants reported good health and minimal symptoms of mental illness (see detail below). We

attribute this to the family and contextual supports detailed in the preceding sections and strongly

recommend that CSI programmes leverage and sustain these supports.

6.1. Health In general, participants self-reported good physical health when they completed the RYSE survey

(see Figure 33). This was somewhat different from the responses elicited by the qualitative research

activities. In the latter, most participants commented on experiences of poor respiratory health and

eye and skin allergies, all of which they associated with air pollution (for details, see Section 5 on

community). Even so, there were frequent references to how hard participants worked to achieve or

maintain physical health. This included trying to eat health food and exercising regularly. For

example, Tiitsetso said: “I exercise frequently, I jog from time to time, I lift weights when I can”.

25%

26%

37%

11%0%1%

Health

Excellent (152)

Very good (158)

Good (219)

Not so good (66)

Not good at all (2)

Missing (3)

Figure 33, Youths self-reported health

26

Importantly, youth were concerned that they receive more opportunities to learn how to maintain good health, with particular emphasis on how to avoid substance abuse. For example, a young woman (Minkie) suggested that youth receive lessons in this regard:

First of all, it is about educating ourselves among ourselves about substance abuse because it is one of the main causes of our youth being inactive in the community and stuff. I feel like the youth in this area -- the only thing that they (a majority of them) know is getting drunk and smoking and all of those things. So, I think if we can start a programme as the youth that will educate each other about substance abuse and the dangers associated with it. Even though they teach us at school, I think that, if we gather as the youth in the community, we will be able to understand each other better. We will also be able to teach each other about rape and robbery, things that happen a lot here in eMbalenhle. I think the crime rate here in eMbalenhle is very high, so if we must educate each other about how to deal with situations we are exposed to as the youth of eMbalenhle.

6.2. Depression

We were particularly interested in participants’ mental health (specifically depression levels), given

the strong association between challenging life circumstances and mental illness. To measure

depression, we used the Beck Depression Inventory and asked 21 questions. These items were

summed to give an overall depression score (indicative, not diagnostic/clinically derived). The

scores can be classified as follows: 0–13: minimal depression; 14–19: mild depression; 20–28:

moderate depression; 29–63: severe depression. Thus, the lowest score one could obtain was 0

(minimal depression) and the highest 63.

Depression scores could be computed for 556 participants. On average, participants scored a total

of 15.38 out of 63. This suggests experiences of mild depression (indicative, not diagnostic/clinically

derived). Seven participants (1.3%) obtained the minimum score of 0 out of 63. The highest score

was 53 (1 participant – 0.2%) out of 63. Most participants scored 11 (32 – 5.8%). In total, 228

participants (41%) scored higher than the average and 328 participants (59%) scored lower (see

Figure, 34).

27

With regards to levels of depression, 276 participants (49.6%) reported ‘minimal depression’, 120

(21.6%) ‘mild depression’, 103 (18.5%) ‘moderate depression’, and 57 (10.3%) ‘severe depression’

(see Figure 35).

50%

22%

18%

10%

Depression - Total sample classification

1 Minimal depression (276)

2 Mild depression (120)

3 Moderate depression (103)

4 Severe depression (57)

41%

59%

Depression - Total sample

Above Mean (228)

Below Mean (328)

Figure 34, Reported depression scores comparison of total sample

Figure 35, depression classification for total sample

28

Depression scores could be computed for 247 male participants. On average, participants scored a

total of 12.55 out of 63 (ie, less than the group mean). Among the male participants, 149 (60.3%)

reported ‘minimal depression’, 54 (21.9%) ‘mild depression’, 32 (13%) ‘moderate depression’, and

12 (4.9%) ‘severe depression’ (see Figure 36).

Depression scores could be computed for 309 female participants. On average, participants scored

a total of 17.65 out of 63 (ie, higher than the group mean). Among the female participants, 127

(41.1%) reported ‘minimal depression’, 66 (21.4%) ‘mild depression’, 71 (23%) ‘moderate

depression’, and 45 (14.6%) ‘severe depression’ (see Figure 37).

Figure 37, Depression categories self- reported by females

60%22%

13%5%

Depression - Male classification





41%

21%

23%

15%

Depression - Female classification





Figure 36, Depression categories self- reported by males

29

7. CONCLUSION

This report does not document the sophisticated analyses that are in process to better understand

which of the resilience-enablers reported by SA-RYSE 2017-2018 participants matter most for the

resilience of these youth1. Even so, there is vast potential in learning from the descriptive analyses

documented in this report. They suggest that despite the challenges associated with life in

eMbalenhle and Secunda, mental and physical health is possible, particularly when young people

are bolstered by personal, family, and community-based resources. In many instances these

supports have been facilitated by local industry (for example, Sasol), NGOs, faith-based

organisations, and/or (local) government. Taken together, the descriptive results suggest 9 doable

action steps for those planning social investment initiatives for eMbalnehle and Secunda. For those

already engaged in in social investment initiatives, the action items can be used to confirm or tweak

current social investment initiatives. Either way, the steps signal that social investment initiatives

matter for youth resilience.

Upskill youth —Galvanise opportunities for employment, even temporary ones; teach local

youth entrepreneurial skills. In doing so, support eMbalenhle and Secunda youth (and their

caregivers) to upskill; moreover, to prioritise scarce skills so that lawful and strategic

opportunities to earn a living are multiplied.

Honour local role models—Celebrate local success stories (e.g., locals who use

entrepreneurship to be self-supporting) and support opportunities for the youth to interact with

youth role models and other successful local people who are willing to mentor them.

Counter hopelessness—Address the contextual risks that youth associate with feelings of

hopelessness (given that hopelessness is strongly associated with depression). An example

of such a risk is limited opportunity to access tertiary education. Bursaries and learnerships

(such as those from Sasol) are valuable to youth; supporting non-STEM career pathways

would extend this value.

Facilitate family wellbeing—Prioritise initiatives that have the potential to sustain family

wellbeing. These include advancing access to quality physical and mental health services.

Make families aware that they matter for adolescent resilience and celebrate what families

are doing to facilitate adolescent resilience. Draw attention to the resilience-enabling power

of caregiver warmth, caregiver supervision, and caregiver encouragement.

Safeguard youth —Protect all youth (including male youth) from heightened exposure to

family (and other) adversity. Encourage caregivers not to assume that boys need different

levels of supervision from girls.

Develop infrastructure—Continue to invest in the infrastructure of communities and, where

possible, expand the recreation facilities and upgrading of local schools. Maintain and expand

facilities that will support youth to exercise. Invite local youth (like the RYSE advisors) to

1 Feel free to contact Linda Theron ([email protected] or 012 4206211) in this regard. Once these analyses have been published in academic journals, she will be in a position to share them.

1

2 3

4

5 6

mailto:[email protected]

30

advise on the focus of future investments in community infrastructure (for example, upgrading

the eMbalenhle library).

Advance local partnerships—Partner with faith-based organisations (given their value to

eMbalenhle and Secunda youth), or other constructive community-based organisations that

value youth and are valued by youth, to offer the youth opportunities to network and develop

a solution-focused approach to life.

Foster health via peers—Provide opportunities for youth to learn from healthy peers how to

nurture physical health and avoid substance use.

Bring out the resilience champions—Champion local youth (like the RYSE advisors) who

continue to beat the odds; support them to mentor peers whose resilience needs to be

developed.

University of Pretoria Staff, Student, and Youth Advisory Members of the 2017-2018 SA-RYSE team

Back row (from left): Katherine Malakou (student), Mariaan Prins (student), Thandiwe Mtengwane (RYSE youth advisor), Mosna Khaile (RYSE project manager), Mamello Motinya (RYSE youth advisor), Witness Moya(RYSE youth advisor), Marianne Blunden

(student), Linda Theron (RYSE co-principal investigator). Front row (from left): Mthandeki Zhange (student), Simphiwe Zulu (RYSE

youth advisor), Mthokozisi Mabuza (RYSE youth advisor), Thulani Ncongwane (RYSE youth advisor)

7

8 9

31

APPENDIX A: NOTES ON THE SA-RYSE METHODOLOGIES THAT INFORMED THE

DATA DOCUMENTED IN THIS REPORT

THE RYSE SURVEY

The full survey comprises 240 items. These are divided into four broad domains (demographics,

risk, resilience, and outcomes). The demographic questions include 23 items and enquire about the

race, gender, age, languages spoken, type of dwelling, and school and work status. The risk domain

includes 88 items that measure trauma, health risks, family adversity, community adversity, and

school risk. The resilience domain includes 52 items that measure protective resources and

processes, including those at the level of the personal, relational and community. The outcomes

domain includes 77 items that measure mental health, school/work engagement, peer support and

positive youth development. All the items are drawn from pre-existing scales.

ARTS BASED METHODS

Arts-based methods are helpful in facilitating a

starting point for group discussions, particularly

about abstract phenomena such as youth resilience.

The participants co-analyse whatever they have

created by talking about the meanings of their

artefacts. The data collection process is audio-

recorded and transcribed.

• Body mapping Body mapping is a method in which an individual

makes a life-size drawing of themselves. They work

with a ‘buddy’ who traces the outline of their body.

In response to a specific prompt, the individual then

‘fills in’ or details the body map using visual symbols,

images and words. In SA-RYSE, participants

created body maps to explain how living close to the

petrochemical industry affects them in their bodies

(biologically/ physically), minds (psychologically)

and hearts (socially and emotionally).

32

• Body sculpting Body sculpting, also called image

theatre, is a technique that

encourages participants to express

ideas or experiences via their

bodies. Youth use bodily poses and

stances to communicate their

response to a research prompt. In

SA-RYSE, participants were

prompted to adopt a bodily pose that

communicated what enables youth

resilience in the face of

environmental disruptions, including

those associated with the

petrochemical industry.

• Draw-write-talk Draw-write-talk invites participants to

make a drawing in response to a specific

research prompt and to write a couple of

sentences explaining what their drawing

means. After that, researchers and

participants engage in a conversation

about the meaning of the drawing. The

conversation can be one-on-one or group-

based. In SA-RYSE, participants were

invited to make a drawing of who or what

enables adolescent resilience. Once

participants had written explanations of

their drawings, group discussions were

held about the drawings and adolescent resilience.

33

• Clay Modelling

Clay modelling invites participants to create something

(for example, a figure, an object, a scene) using materials

such as clay, beads and sticks. As in the preceding

activities, the clay model is built (individually or

collectively) in response to a specific research prompt and

then explained by the participants. In SA-RYSE, groups of

participants were invited to build something that explicated

their collective understanding of what or who facilitates

adolescent resilience in communities challenged by

disruptions associated with the petrochemical industry.

• Digital storytelling A digital story is an audio-visual story that

participants create – in response to a research

prompt – that combines digital photographs

(which the participants take or select) with a

voice-over narration (developed by the

participants). It requires technology (for

example, tablets and relevant software) and is

two to five minutes in length. In SA-RYSE, 18

participants were workshopped on how to

create digital stories. They then created stories

that explained the resilience of young people

living in challenged communities. Their stories

are available on the RYSE website

(www.ryseproject.org).

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS

In the one-on-one interviews, a researcher met with a young person from eMbalenhle at an agreed-

upon time and engaged the young person in a deep conversation about her or his experience of life

in eMbalenhle or Secunda and personal understanding of what enables or constrains youth

resilience. The conversation was guided by an interview protocol, audio-recorded, and transcribed.

Most conversations lasted an hour. In instances in which participants preferred to converse in isiZulu

or Sesotho, the audio-recording was translated by a transcriber fluent in English and

isiZulu/Sesotho.
http://www.ryseproject.org/

Documents

2017-2018 RYSE Results and Recommended Pathways for …...The SA-RYSE participants are residents of eMbalenhle and Secunda (see Figure 1), Mpumalanga province. In 2017-2018, 600 adolescents,