The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with family resilience in families caring for a parent with dementia. A mixed-methods approach was followed to collect data from a convenience sample drawn from the Cape Metropolitan area in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study sample comprised 47 families in which adult children were caring for a parent with dementia. The quantitative data analysis was conducted using analyses of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients and a best-subsets multiple regression analysis. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. It was found that acceptance, optimism, positive communication patterns, family connectedness, spirituality, social support, economic resources and the effective management of symptoms helped these families adapt to the burdens of dementia care. In addition to expanding the literature regarding family resilience, the findings could be used to develop interventions tailored to the needs of these families caring for a parent with dementia to create a family environment that enhances adjustment and adaptation.

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The 20th century saw the dismantling of several oppressive regimes and an international turn toward greater social justice. Yet structural inequality and intergroup animosity persist in many postcolonial and postslavery contexts, not least because the dehumanization inherent to those regimes remain entrenched socially. Here we examined whether the racialized hierarchy established under the inhumane South African apartheid system is still manifest in patterns of dehumanization today, and how this impacts intergroup relations and behaviors related to structural reform. Specifically, we investigated blatant dehumanization as the explicit attribution of reduced human uniqueness, factors contributing to its tenacity, and its intergroup outcomes in a national sample of the three largest racialized groups: Black African, Coloured, and White. We found that, despite significant changes in power dynamics postapartheid, dehumanization ratings mirrored the apartheid-inspired hierarchy, with White people rated “more human” than Coloured people, and Coloured people rated “more human” than Black African people across participants. Levels of dehumanization were ameliorated by positive intergroup contact and reinforced by feeling dehumanized (meta-dehumanization) and hierarchy-legitimizing beliefs in White and Coloured participants. Finally, White participants’ dehumanization of Black African people predicted, beyond prejudice, several outcomes (social distance, collective action, and petition support) that would sustain the unequal status quo. Our results suggest that intergroup dynamics are influenced by the positions people occupied on the apartheid racial hierarchy, and that curbing dehumanization should be prioritized to advance structural reform in South Africa.

Reliable and valid neurocognitive (NC) test batteries that assess multiple domains of cognitive functioning are vital tools in the early detection of HIV-associated NC impairment. The HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center’s International Neurobehavioral Battery (HNRC Battery) is one such diagnostic tool and has shown cultural validity in several international neuroHIV studies. However, no published norms are currently available for the full HNRC Battery in South Africa. To accurately interpret NC test results, appropriate reference norms are required. In light of this challenge, data were collected from 500 healthy, HIV-uninfected participants to develop demographically corrected South African norms. When demographically corrected United States of America (U.S.) norms were applied to the performance scores of our neurologically intact, HIV-negative sample, an impairment rate of 62.2% was observed compared to a 15.0% impairment rate when the newly generated South African norms were applied. These results reiterate the findings of other low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the need for localized, country-specific norms when interpreting NC performance.

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