Cerebral palsy (CP) is a developmental disorder, characterized by movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Children with CP experience poor motor coordination and have problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing and speaking. A qualitative study was conducted at Mutale Municipality to ascertain the challenges faced by mothers with children who have CP. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 12 participants and data were analysed using interpretative data analysis. The results showed that the challenges faced by mothers, with cerebral palsy children were social and psychological, hence, the study concluded that these specific types of support should be given to these mothers. The findings also indicated that cerebral palsy is condition that requires a lot of care from parents and that there is lack of support and understanding of the condition from family and friends. Parents raising children with cerebral palsy require the support of friends and family members, therefore, the lack of that support leads to psychological problems, such as feelings of isolation, worries and stress. The researchers recommend that campaigns must be undertaken to help the society to understand cerebral palsy, as this might enhance the societal acceptance and motivate support for those with the condition.

Student pregnancy is not only a growing concern in South Africa but also an international challenge which could result in disruptive tendencies such as substance abuse, prostitution and suicide. The aim of the current study was to explore the psychological stressors experienced by unmarried pregnant students at the University of Venda in South Africa. The study used a qualitative research design. The sample comprised 10 participants and data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews using an interview guide and analyzed by using thematic content analysis. Results indicated that students’ pregnancies were mainly influenced by students’ poor socio-economic status, peer pressure, lack of parent-student communication, ignorance as well as the negative attitude of the campus health-care professionals. Loneliness, emotional distress, difficulty in disclosing the pregnancy were the psychological stressors associated with students’ pregnancies. The current study confirmed that unplanned pregnancies are stressful for pregnant students in a situation where there is a lack of support.

On entering higher education, students from disadvantaged schools struggle to cope with new academic demands and all too often the need for adjustment is attributed to under-preparedness. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the factors contributing to and mitigating the alienation of students in institutions of higher learning. The narrative inquiry with a qualitative method was employed to obtain the perceptions of 51 selected first-level science university students on their experiences. This is a case of the South African rural-based university first-year level students registered in the 2023 academic year. The findings of this chapter build on and contribute to the literature on understanding alienation in higher education. In particular, the key findings of this chapter reveal the following factors perpetuating first-year students’ alienation in higher education. These encompass failure to quickly adapt to a different culture of teaching and learning; the academic workload being overwhelming, and the lecturers being quite unapproachable. Students especially struggled to assimilate into the online learning platforms and were challenged with computer illiteracy, unclear expectations in their assessments, and lack of funding for their studies. This chapter concludes by recommending that universities and their teaching staff should recognise the prior knowledge and educational backgrounds of the student body and thereby restructure teaching and assessment to foster social justice to promote student success.

Many university female students are concerned about their bodies. Body image perception has become a public health issue globally. This study aimed to explore factors contributing to body image dissatisfaction among female students at the University of Venda. The study was qualitative in nature and employed exploratory research design. A sample of 10 female students enrolled at the University of Venda were identified using convenience sampling method. A pre-tested, semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data and thematic content analysis technique was used to analyse the collected data. The findings of the study showed that body comparison, societal beauty standards, social media, and body shaming by family and friends were the main factors contributing to student’s body image dissatisfaction. The findings further revealed that lack of self-confidence, stress, avoidance, anxiety and depressive symptoms were the challenges faced by students with body image dissatisfaction. Acceptance. Self-care, and healthy diet were identified as coping strategies to help deal with the challenges of student’s body image dissatisfaction. Conclusively, students should be encouraged to seek professional help timeously, to help navigate their body image concerns to avoid decline in their daily functioning.