Young adult ex-offenders’ experiences of the transition from incarceration to their families in a rural community Lontinah Nchabeleng, Masefako Andronica Gumani South African Journal of Psychology, 2026 The Department of Correctional Services in South Africa views the social reintegration of offenders as vital to their return to society as law-abiding citizens. However, research into the experiences of young adult ex-offenders during family reintegration in rural areas in South Africa is limited. Evidence shows that re-entry in rural contexts is difficult, and societal expectations at this life stage heighten the risk of maladjustment and reoffending. Seven young adult male ex-offender volunteers from the Sekhukhune district, Limpopo, who returned to their families after incarceration were self- and purposively selected for the study, during which their experiential meanings attributed to their reintegration into their families, benefits and challenges were described and interpreted. A qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis research design was adopted for the study, and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. Data were analysed following the IPA data analysis guidelines, and the emerged themes were grounded in the concept of person–family fit. The findings show that the process of family re-entry was an emotional rollercoaster for the participants post their incarceration. While they experienced a second chance in the form of returning home, family support, and interdependency in the family, they also encountered obstacles such as not being trusted, name-calling, intolerance, contrasting roles post incarceration, and unemployment. The findings have implications for a systems approach to forming formal partnerships and continuous deliberations among the family, correctional centres, other government departments and employers both during and following incarceration.
Police interventions in victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in a rural setting Masefako A Gumani South African Journal of Psychology, 2022 One of the most frequently experienced types of violent crime in South African rural communities is interpersonal violence, which includes intimate partner violence. Rural policing is among the vital forms of intervention required to manage such incidents. This article employs a qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, to describe and interpret police members’ experiences of policing victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in the rural Vhembe district in Limpopo. Fifteen police members, from the two South African Police Service’s subprogrammes: Visible Policing and Detective Service were sampled through purposive sampling. Unstructured open-ended interviews, field notes, diaries, and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data-collection methods. Data were analysed in accordance with the interpretative phenomenological analysis guidelines. The findings show that intimate partner violence in matrimonial and intimate relationships is common in this district; that it manifests as physical, emotional, sexual violence, and controlling behaviour and affects women, men, children, and the victims’ next-of-kin, with men mostly being the perpetrators. Paradoxes on the home front and cultural customs shape how the incidents are handled in the district communities and also determine the implementation of policing of the incidents leading to incident-focussed and evasive intervention strategies. The findings have implications for police training, further research, collaborative community stakeholder workshops, and setting up intimate partner violence community capacity-building centres.
Work stressors and vicarious trauma among South African Police Service members Masefako Andronica Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2022 This study explored vicarious stress experiences of South African Police Service members from a rural district serving victims of trauma. Informants were 19 police members (female = 26.3%; constables = 21%; age range = 27 to 55). The police members completed open-ended interviews about their experiences when engaging with victims of trauma. Following interpretative phenomenological analysis, findings indicated that the police members experienced vicarious types of stress due to their operational work, personal situations, and cultural prescriptions. Operational work vicarious stressors included perceptual stressors and police-victim interpersonal closeness. Personal situations vicarious stressors were due to cognitive overload resulting from vocation-life association and personal trauma history. Cultural-prescriptive stressors of societal cultural beliefs were also associated with vicarious trauma. These findings suggest a need for culturally appropriate mental health services and identifying personal and organisational strategies to manage vicarious traumatisation in the police services.
The influence of organisational stressors on the well-being and performance of operational police members Masefako A. Gumani SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 2019 Orientation: Studies on the influence of organisational stressors on the well-being and performance of operational members of the South African Police Service in the visible policing and detective service programmes in rural areas, like the Vhembe district, Limpopo province, South Africa, have not been conducted yet.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to explore and interpret operational members’ experiences of organisational stressors, which influence their well-being and performance when attending to critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents, in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province.Motivation for the study: The study proposes ways of dealing with organisational stressors that influence the well-being and performance of operational members when performing their tasks.Research approach/design and method: An interpretative phenomenological research design was used and 17 South African Police Service participants were selected through purposive sampling. Unstructured face-to-face interviews, diary entries and telephonic interviews were conducted and field notes were used to collect the data, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis guidelines.Main findings: The results highlight internal, external, task-related and individual organisational stressors among operational members of the South African Police Service that led to psychological distress, including negative perceptions of self and work, job dissatisfaction, considerations of resignation, increased training needs and strained working relationships.Practical/managerial implications: A need for a systems perspective on problem-solving, with top-bottom and bottom-up approaches, is proposed to manage organisational stressors among operational members of the South African Police Service in the Vhembe district.Contribution/value-add: The study contributes towards the contextual understanding and management of organisational stressors in rural operational policing.
Vicarious traumatisation experiences among south african police service members in a rural setting: An exploratory study Masefako Andronica Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2017 The objective of this study was to explore the vicarious traumatisation experiences of South African Police Service members serving in a rural community. The participants consisted of 17 purposively selected police members (females = 4; age range 27 to 55; average years of police service = 10.6 years). Unstructured face-to-face interviews were conducted on the members’ experiences with trauma events where they were called upon to provide police services. Additionally, field notes, telephone follow-ups, and diaries were used to collect data from the members. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological approach guidelines. Findings show the police members to report their outlook on life to change from viewing work-life as routine and impersonal, to viewing it as involved and personal. The police members also reported psychological disorientation and being in a sense of stupor from exposure to traumatic cases. Finally, the police members self-reported empathetic experiences with the survivors as concerned citizen parents.
Inner strategies of coping with operational work amongst SAPS officers Masefako A. Gumani, Mattheus E. Fourie, Martin J. Terre Blanche SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 2013 Orientation: Identification of the inner coping strategies used by South African Police Service (SAPS) officers who do operational work is something the SAPS should consider to ensure the officers’ management of trauma and efficiency at work.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to describe inner coping strategies used by officers in the Vhembe district (South Africa) to reconstruct stressful and traumatic experiences at work.Motivation for the study: Most studies on coping amongst SAPS officers focus on organisational stress and not on the impact of the officers’ operational work.Research design, approach and method: An exploratory design was used and 20 SAPS officers were selected through purposive sampling. In-depth face-to-face and telephone interviews, as well as diaries were used to collect data, which were analysed using content thematic data analysis.Main findings: The results showed that the main categories of coping strategies that led to management of the impact of operational work amongst the selected sample were centred around problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies, with some use of reappraisal and minimal use of avoidance. Considering the context of the officers’ work, the list of dimensions of inner coping strategies amongst SAPS officers should be extended.Practical/managerial implications: Intervention programmes designed for the SAPS, including critical incident stress debriefing, should take the operational officers’ inner strategies into account to improve the management of the impact of their work.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the inner coping strategies amongst SAPS officers, with special reference to operational work in a specific setting.
Critical incidents impact management among South African police service officers Masefako Andronica Gumani, Eduard Fourie, Martin Terre Blanche Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2013 This article describes and interprets the law enforcement processes of managing critical incidents in a South African police district. Twenty participants from various police units were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques. Data were collected using unstructured open-ended interviews, field notes, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews, and analysed through the constant comparative data analysis method. Findings suggest the police to have individual and in-group preferences for particular inner strategies of coping, as well as the external resources of relying on various forms of support from others and professional consultation in the form of debriefing. The study recommends that individualistic and contextual trauma management be considered.
The Experiences of Rural VhaVenda Women Involved in Polygamous Marriages Masefako Andronica Gumani, Tholene Sodi Journal of Psychology in Africa, 2009 The study explored the experiences of five rural VhaVenda women involved in polygamous marriages aged between twenty seven and sixty four years. The five participants were selected through snowball sampling method from four villages in Vhembe District (Limpopo Province). Data were analysed qualitatively using Mostyn's (1985) four phases of content analysis. Participants considered polygamous marriage among the vhaVenda to be a cultural phenomenon that has both positive and negative effects. On the positive side, the participants found polygamy to provide social support and to minimise divorce and promiscuity. On the negative side, polygamy was found to lower the quality of life for women involved in such a marriage arrangement. Other negative consequences associated with polygamy included feelings of distress and entrapment, the lack of control that these women have over their sexuality, the humiliation that they experience due to constant conflicts with co-wives, favouritism and neglect by husbands, and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS because of the multiple relationships.
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Young adult ex-offenders’ experiences of the transition from incarceration to their families in a rural community L Nchabeleng, MA Gumani South African Journal of Psychology, 00812463261437657 , 2026 2026
A Rigorous and Ethical Methodological Framework for Navigating Cultural Differences with Police Officers in a South African Rural Community. MA Gumani Qualitative Report 31 (4), 5616 , 2026 2026
Operational police members’ empathy during engagements with survivors of trauma: A rural community perspective MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 35 (6), 807 , 2025 2025
Work stressors and vicarious trauma among South African Police Service members MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 32 (3) , 2022 2022 Citations: 7
Police interventions in victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in a rural setting MA Gumani South African Journal of Psychology , 2022 2022 Citations: 5
The influence of organisational stressors on the well-being and performance of operational police members MA Gumani SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 45 (1), 1-14 , 2019 2019 Citations: 26
Vicarious traumatisation experiences among South African Police Service members in a rural setting: An exploratory study MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 27 (5), 433-437 , 2017 2017 Citations: 13
Concepts of multifaceted social support in operational work in the lives of South African Police Service members MA Gumani SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 40 (2), 1-11 , 2014 2014 Citations: 13
Gender-based violence: opportunities and coping resources for women in abusive unions M Gumani, P Mudhovozi Gender and Behaviour 11 (2), 5569-5578 , 2013 2013 Citations: 11
Inner strategies of coping with operational work amongst SAPS officers MA Gumani, ME Fourie, MJ Terre Blanche SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 39 (2), 1-10 , 2013 2013 Citations: 23
Critical incidents impact management among South African police service officers MA Gumani, E Fourie, MT Blanche Journal of Psychology in Africa 23 (3), 481-487 , 2013 2013 Citations: 8
A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province AM Gumani 2012 Citations: 13
Causal attribution: Actor-observer bias in academic achievement among students at an institution of higher learning P Mudhovozi, M Gumani, L Maunganidze, T Sodi South African Journal of Higher Education 24 (4), 585-601 , 2010 2010 Citations: 5
The experiences of rural VhaVenda women involved in polygamous marriages MA Gumani, T Sodi Journal of Psychology in Africa 19 (2), 199-205 , 2009 2009 Citations: 11
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
The influence of organisational stressors on the well-being and performance of operational police members MA Gumani SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 45 (1), 1-14 , 2019 2019 Citations: 26
Inner strategies of coping with operational work amongst SAPS officers MA Gumani, ME Fourie, MJ Terre Blanche SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 39 (2), 1-10 , 2013 2013 Citations: 23
Vicarious traumatisation experiences among South African Police Service members in a rural setting: An exploratory study MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 27 (5), 433-437 , 2017 2017 Citations: 13
Concepts of multifaceted social support in operational work in the lives of South African Police Service members MA Gumani SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 40 (2), 1-11 , 2014 2014 Citations: 13
A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province AM Gumani 2012 Citations: 13
Gender-based violence: opportunities and coping resources for women in abusive unions M Gumani, P Mudhovozi Gender and Behaviour 11 (2), 5569-5578 , 2013 2013 Citations: 11
The experiences of rural VhaVenda women involved in polygamous marriages MA Gumani, T Sodi Journal of Psychology in Africa 19 (2), 199-205 , 2009 2009 Citations: 11
Critical incidents impact management among South African police service officers MA Gumani, E Fourie, MT Blanche Journal of Psychology in Africa 23 (3), 481-487 , 2013 2013 Citations: 8
Work stressors and vicarious trauma among South African Police Service members MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 32 (3) , 2022 2022 Citations: 7
Police interventions in victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in a rural setting MA Gumani South African Journal of Psychology , 2022 2022 Citations: 5
Causal attribution: Actor-observer bias in academic achievement among students at an institution of higher learning P Mudhovozi, M Gumani, L Maunganidze, T Sodi South African Journal of Higher Education 24 (4), 585-601 , 2010 2010 Citations: 5
Young adult ex-offenders’ experiences of the transition from incarceration to their families in a rural community L Nchabeleng, MA Gumani South African Journal of Psychology, 00812463261437657 , 2026 2026
A Rigorous and Ethical Methodological Framework for Navigating Cultural Differences with Police Officers in a South African Rural Community. MA Gumani Qualitative Report 31 (4), 5616 , 2026 2026
Operational police members’ empathy during engagements with survivors of trauma: A rural community perspective MA Gumani Journal of Psychology in Africa 35 (6), 807 , 2025 2025
