Non-directive play therapy with aggressive children in a Black township : a case study

M. Ed.In South Africa many people have been directly or indirectly involved in criminal and/or violent acts either as victims or as perpetrators. Research has shown that violence in its various forms, be it political, criminal or domestic, is endemic in South Africa (Stravou, 1993; Turton, Straker & Moosa, 1992). According to Gibson, Mogale and Friedler (1991:1), political violence, especially in South African townships, has been enacted between the ANC and Inkatha and this violence is regarded as an extension of the years of a violent state of repression. As violence escalates it has become impossible to make a distinction between political and criminal violence. Rauch (1993:11), who points out that "it should also be borne in mind that ordinary criminal violence is not always distinguishable from political violence", supports this statement. Stravou (1993:3) echoes this in his observation that ordinary criminal violence can be caused by political factors, alcohol abuse, poverty, unemployment and dangerous living conditions. As both criminal and political violence increase in the townships, domestic and criminal acts against women and children in South Africa are rated the highest in the world (TV News, 13 May 1999). This is an indication that violence has not only destroyed individual lives, but also affected communities, children and family institutions. This notion is emphasized by Klaaste (no date, cited by Phetla 1998:31), when he stated that "The violence in this country, particularly in the townships, has destroyed more than just property and structures, it has destroyed the emotional institutions, the very substance of family life and society. In the past, there was always a very strong understanding of hierarchy, of who was who in the family". However, today the anchors have been destroyed, and there is nothing to hold many families together. This is a cause for concern, because families are the fabric of communities and societies. As families are affected, children who are the future generation of society, are also continually exposed to this violence. Children become victims because of their vulnerability and exposure to insecure and unstable environments in which they live. Many schools, which these children attend, were historically regarded as stabilizing influences on the social environment, providing necessary support and guidance for them have now turned into war zones. Young learners have to contend with guns and knives on a daily basis, an indication of how endemic the violence is in the learning environment. The Star (Thursday, May 12 1999) reported that a school principal was shot dead and her car taken in front of her learners. TV news (13 June 1999) reported that "another teacher has been brutally murdered in front of her grade one class by unknown gunmen". This situation occurs within the environment where children live, and appears to have serious repercussions later in their lives. Exposure to and involvement in escalating violence, both in their homes and neighbourhood, can lead to post traumatic stress syndrome in children (Kerr & Nelson, 1998:268). This includes nightmares, irritability and other forms of behavior problems like aggression. Stravou (1993:3) is of the opinion that witnessing a violent act, affect children in general more severely than adults. It can also be argued that violence and political instability will affect children's development adversely. In South Africa where 70% of the population is under the age of 18 years, the implications are devastating (Byne, 1993:3), especially in the townships. Katlehong, a township in the Eastern part of Gauteng, experienced tremendous violence during the years 1985-1995, because of the faction fights between two political parties, the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom party. Many people were killed, tortured, abducted and subjected to various forms of severe ill treatment. Reports like these are all too common in South African Black Townships, mixed in with miscellaneous reports of general community and domestic violence. Although among the people of Katlehong violence seems to be largely a thing of the past, its trauma remains and the children still bear the marks. Young people have become socialized to violence as a way of solving conflict. This attitude was indicated in a personal interview, which I conducted with teachers at the Kabelo Primary School prior to my study. In the interview one teacher had indicated that, "Most of our children are experiencing behaviour problems like aggression, and others experience difficulties in paying attention and concentrating in the classroom". This type of behaviour is regarded as the after effect of violence. As a result of the increase in violence, it has become clear that there is a vast need for psychological counseling for South African children who live in places like Katlehong, which have been constantly involved in acts of violence. Dawes (1994:6) supported the need for this service when he pointed out that "the need for psychological healing is overwhelming but, most unfortunately, for these children there are not enough psychological services to help alleviate these problems". It is not only the non-availability of these services that prevents children from accessing psychological interventions, but also a lack of knowledge about psychological difficulties and counseling among parents. Owing to this lack of knowledge, also with regard to possible interventions, society in the past tended to take a punitive rather than a rehabilitative, attitude towards an antisocial, aggressive youth (Carson & Butcher, 1992:545). In the townships, a punitive attitude was often to apply physical punishment in the form of corporal punishment; this, however, is seen as humiliating and antagonizing for children (Davis, 1996:291). In addition, corporal punishment has also shown to intensify rather than to correct aggressive behaviour, as reported by Omani (1982 cited by Mwamwenda, 1992:318) who argues that beating young children should be seen as an act of aggression that does not teach children conflict resolution. A study that supports this statement was carried out by Potegal and Knutson (1994:183), who reported in their finding that children who were struck after a simple tantrum had significantly higher frequencies of tantruming. Therefore, corporal punishment is regarded as an authoritarian and conservative way of disciplining children, that does not improve their abilities to deal with conflict nor deepen their understanding to their own emotional and social functioning. These results indicate that some variables that had been used in the past to deal with aggressive children can cause children to manifest antisocial behaviour like aggression (Farrington, 1992:260). From the researcher's experience, township parents often discipline their children by scolding them and they do not often encourage them, especially boys, to express their feelings freely. Scolding is regarded by Davis (1996:289) as verbal aggression, and is defined by Vissing, Straus, Eilees and Harrop (1991:224) as a communication intended to cause psychological pain. Its effects are low self-esteem, anger, anxiety, depression, academic underachievement and lying (Davis, 1996:289). Suppression of feelings among African children is indicated by Mandela's statement in his book "Long Walk to Freedom". When he recalled various aspects of his circumcision, he said that "flinching or crying out was a sign of weakness and stigmatized one's manhood; man must suffer in silence" (Mandela, 1995:12). According to Oaklander (1992:207) if a child is unable to express his feelings, he bottles them up, and becomes angry. In order for him to express his anger and his thwarted self, Oaklander (1990:208) adds that the child pushes on to "become something beyond his awareness, he can retroflect the anger by having headaches and stomach aches, or deflect the true feelings by hitting, kicking and striking out". Such a child is mostly regarded as aggressive, and according to Bierman (1989:36) children like this, who acquired non-compliant and violent behaviour patterns at home are at high risk for reacting aggressively towards their teachers and peers as an outward expression of emotional turmoil. Stravou (1993:11) is of the opinion that children learn to believe that aggressive attitudes and violent behaviour are normal and acceptable, in an environment where violence is viewed as an acceptable way to get and to maintain power and solve problems