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| With the group "Personality, mental health and culture" you can choose a topic and further develop the study together with the team. If you are interested, please contact the indicated (co-)supervisor. In addition to a brief CV, please include a brief explanation about your motivation to work on this topic. The master thesis may only be booked after consultation with the (co-)supervisor. It is recommended to book the master thesis parallel to the research colloquium 2. Bei Interesse wenden Sie sich bitte an eine der genannten Kontaktpersonen. Bitte fügen Sie Ihrer Bewerbung für eine Masterarbeit neben einem kurzen Lebenslauf auch ein kurzes Motivationsschreiben bei, in welchem Sie erklären, warum Sie sich für das Forschungsprojekt bewerben. |
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Beschreibung: The impact of cultural context on psychology and health is increasingly recognized, and psychological studies ideally include adequate description of participant socio-demographic characteristics to understand the potential role of background and context on the variables of interest. The great diversity of Sub-Saharan Africa, however, has not yet been well quantified for explanation in psychological studies. In addition to 2,000 language groups, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to communities living traditionally as hunter-gatherers, subsistence farmers, or pastoralists, as well as to giant urban centers that in turn range from luxury to slums. The region has seen many economic and political changes in the last decades, including increased market integration, rural-urban migration and access to education, as well as the highest income inequality in the world. Individual lives may be dynamic and include mixtures of rural and urban, traditional and globalized elements. This thesis project will seek ways to better quantify, describe, and understand lifestyle differences relevant to psychology among the Africa Long Life Study participants, young adults from throughout Namibia, Kenya and/or South Africa. Specifically, the thesis will explore the concepts of ?market integration? (food sources while growing upo f how) and urbanicity as well as other complementary ways to explore and describe the diversity of the sample, including exploration in data and literature as to how these may relate to psychological factors, e.g. mental health and life satisfaction.
Novak NL, Allender S, Scarborough P, West D. The development and validation of an urbanicity scale in a multi-country study. BMC Public Health. 2012 Jul 20;12:530. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-530. PMID: 22818019; PMCID: PMC3554435
Kontakt: Daniel Hofmann, E-Mail
Beschreibung: What common psychological disorder symptoms are experienced the same the world over, and which vary depending on the cultural context? Where do men and women, and people of different ages, differ the most when reporting symptoms? Differences in how symptoms are interpreted and responded to are of interest both to improve assessment and to better understand variation in mental health. This is especially important in African nations, where mental health services are slowly expanding, but tools have not yet been adapted to local needs. This project will use data from several African groups and from the United States. It will employ a novel statistical and graphic technique, Rasch trees, to explore differences in item responses in terms of age, gender, cultural background, and potentially other variables. The project requires a good statistical background: a good grade in Statistik 2 and comfort using R.
Kontakt: Daniel Hofmann, E-Mail
Beschreibung: In our team's preliminary work on disorder symptoms in Namibia, we identified different views and patterns of alcohol use compared to European and other Western contexts. This includes different attitudes, motivations, and community reactions. Here qualitative analysis of interviews with 48 interviews Ovambo young adults in Namibia will explore experiences with and motivations for drinking, in order to understand the ways that choices and habits are formed. The study is expected to make a useful contribution to (a) the international literature on drinking motivations (e.g. Cooper, 1994; Cooper et al, 2003; Cooper et al., 2015) by providing the contrast of a sample from an African country, and (b) aid clinicians and public health officials in Namibia seeking to reduce harmful alcohol use in the country.
Method: Likely using content analysis, but possibly reflexive thematic analysis if preferred
Mentored by Selma Uugwanga, but contact Daniel Hofmann until November 15, 2024
Kontakt: Selma Uugwanga, E-Mail
Beschreibung: A group of in-depth qualitative interviews with young adults of several ethno-linguistic groups and life experiences were interviewed in Namibia. These emerging adults described their childhood experiences, current lives, and their hopes and aspirations for the future. Portions of the interviews can be used for qualitative studies with different focal questions. Reflexive thematic analysis will be taught and mentored.
One topic of particular interest are their views of family and their hopes for children and marriage. In this more matrilineal context, where pre-marital parenthood is common, virtually all interviewees reported wanting to have children, but they were much more ambivalent about marriage. How does this fit in to cultural norms in Namibia, and what does it mean for these young people?
Another topic of interest, to be co-supervised by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, is religion, faith, and spirituality. This topic was of great importance to the group of interviewees, who described views and experiences related to Christianity as well as to traditional African beliefs and practices.
Kontakt: Selma Uugwanga, E-Mail
Beschreibung: Emerging adulthood, the time of transitioning into adulthood around ages 18-29, has been characterized in the West as a time of identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and optimism (Arnett, 2000). What does this phase look like in non-western contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the highest population of young people are found? Which aspects of emerging adulthood are prominent and how do these compare to the West and Asia? This thesis will explore these questions in order to distinguish which emerging adulthood features seem more universal, and which may be more culture-and-context specific to sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in South Africa and Kenya. This will be investigated utilizing data from the Africa Long Life Study on the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) scale (Reifman, Arnett, & Colwell, 2007), an instrument that measures the features of emerging adulthood. The IDEA scale adapted for this study has about 18 items on identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and optimism and also includes items assessing ?others-focus?, which has not been a focus of emerging adulthood in the West, but may be relevant in the African context as a result of communal values. The psychometric properties of the IDEA will be analyzed, possibly including an explorative factor analysis to observe the factor structure produced within these contexts.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469?480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Faas, C., McFall, J., Peer, J. W., Schmolesky, M. T., Chalk, H. M., Hermann, A., Chopik, W. J., Leighton, D. C., Lazzara, J., Kemp, A., DiLillio, V., & Grahe, J. (2020). Emerging Adulthood MoA/IDEA-8 Scale Characteristics From Multiple Institutions. Emerging Adulthood, 8(4), 259?269. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696818811192
Nelson, L. J., & Barry, C. M. (2005). Distinguishing Features of Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Self-Classification as an Adult. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(2), 242?262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558404273074
Kontakt: Selma Uugwanga, E-Mail
Beschreibung: Africa, the second most populous continent, remains underrepresented in psychological research, with limited evidence from African samples. This gap is particularly significant given the continent?s youthful population, with a median age of 19.7 years and 70% of its population under 30. Young adulthood is a critical period for mental health intervention, as nearly half of all mental disorders emerge during this stage. Early identification and intervention can enhance resilience, prevent the progression of mental health challenges, and improve long-term outcomes.
The objective of this master?s thesis is to systematically review the prevalence of mental health challenges and to identify risk and protective factors affecting young adults in SSA. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review explores two key research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of psychopathology among young adults in SSA? and (2) What are the risk and protective factors influencing their mental health? The findings aim to guide context-sensitive interventions, enhance mental health literacy, and support resilience-building within this demographic. Furthermore, the review seeks to bridge gaps between Western and African psychological research, contributing to the Africa Long Life Study, the first large-scale, multinational longitudinal psychological study conducted in Africa.
Kontakt: Daniel Hofmann, E-Mail
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