Charles H Van Wijk
Biographic Data
| ID | 351415 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Charles H Van Wijk |
| GIVEN NAMES | Charles H |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Wijk |
| SIGNATURE | VAN WIJK C H |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stellenbosch University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4793-417X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Mental health trajectories across Covid-19 and beyond
There are inconsistent reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social restrictions on mental health, with initial suggestions of an increased prevalence of mental disorders in South Africa. However, the longitudinal trajectories of mental health responses across the COVID-19 pandemic are not clear. The primary aim of this study was to describe the trajectories of self-reported common mental disorders, as determined by re…
Group-based emotional regulation training for adolescents in primary health care settings
Providing mental health care in high-demand but resource-limited settings requires creative approaches. Group-based emotional regulation training has shown promise in other contexts, but its usefulness among South African adolescents in primary health care settings has not been fully examined. Emotional regulation is crucial for long-term health, psychological wellbeing, and reducing common mental disorders. The study aimed to evaluate the potent…
Appraising Psychological Adaptation During Covid-19 in South Africa
The devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic on society raised the question of how best to gauge society’s psychological adaptation to continually evolving global disruptor events, such as Covid-19. This paper aims to illustrate the use of different approaches to monitor society’s psychological response to Covid-19, in order to argue for a more comprehensive, multi-model, approach. The results from different approaches are presented in two studies em…
The Endorsement of Traditional Masculine Ideology by South African Navy Men
Although the study of masculinity/ies in South Africa has been a point of academic interest, especially since the fall of apartheid; there has been little focus on masculinity/ies peculiar to the South African military establishment. Where there has been, this has focused on the army environment and adopted a smaller-scale qualitative approach. In contrast, this study focuses on the South African Navy. The study provides a brief report of finding…
Adult ADHD in the South African workplace
In the South African context, resource constraints often preclude the comprehensive assessment of large numbers of people for the likelihood of Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Primary screening through a self-report measure may be useful to stream at-risk individuals towards diagnostic assessment services, as well as being useful in population and workplace based research. The present study set out, first, to investigate th…
Effect of a Faith-Based Education Program on Self-Assessed Physical, Mental and Spiritual (Religious) Health Parameters
Grooved Pegboard for adult employed South Africans
The Grooved Pegboard is a widely used test of psychomotor speed, and a number of socio-demographic and psychological influences on performance have been reported. To accurately interpret Grooved Pegboard results, the effects of these influences need to be considered. This study investigated the effects of socio-demographic, psychological, and anthropometric variables on performance in a sample of 3272 healthy adult South Africans. Age and gender …
Grooved Pegboard for adult employed South Africans
The Grooved Pegboard is a widely used test of psychomotor speed, and currently is used in particular to assess HIV-associated neurocognitive decline. To accurately interpret any assessment, appropriate reference norms are required. Although South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV and AIDS, no local large scale reference data are available for the Grooved Pegboard. The main objective of the study was to formulate reference da…
Influence of Item Sequence on Transient Mood Assessment
The present study compared self-reported transient mood assessment using two different presentations of the sequence of mood scale items. A sample of 300 adults completed the standard Brunel Mood Scale and, after a distraction task, completed an experimental version composed of items grouped along the original subscales. A further 292 adults completed the scales in reverse order. After analysis, no significant differences in response patterns wer…
Self-Reported Generalised Anxiety and Psychomotor Test Performance in Healthy South Africans
Tests like the Grooved Pegboard may have specific value in South Africa in the context of screening for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, there are inconsistent findings on the relationship between self-reported anxiety and neuropsychological performance in healthy adults, and in particular on tests of psychomotor functions such as the Form Board and Grooved Pegboard. Given the potential value, it is important to clarify the relat…
Contemporary Sexism in the South African Navy
Sexual Harassment of Women in the South African Navy
We report on a study that investigated sexual harassment within the South African Navy. We firstly used a survey to examine the prevalence of sexual harassment in the shore-based fleet, just prior to the gender integration of naval ships, and found evidence of widespread sexual harassment. Secondly, we used interviews and focus groups to examine the experiences of sexual harassment on ships one year after gender integration, and found a relative …
The Resilience of Naval Specialists
The occupational demands placed on naval specialists require them to be individuals with high levels of resilience. In this study, I firstly measured the sense of coherence (SoC) of naval specialists, which included 97 divers and 318 submariners, and the results confirmed the high scores hypothesised. Secondly, I explored the relationship between sense of coherence and certain personality traits known to be important for naval specialists, as mea…
Symbols of organisational culture
The symbols of organisation culture can both describe and prescribe human behaviour within that organisation. This paper examines experiences of gender integration of South African Navy ships through the use of symbols of military culture. Accounts from female and male sailors were collected through interviews and focus groups, 18 months after the gender integration of their ships, and revealed the symbolic use of rituals, metaphors, artefacts an…
An Historical Perspective on Submariner Selection in the South African Navy
It is 40 years since the South African Navy (SAN) first started with the psychological selection of their submariners. This article traces the development of the selection process over the past four decades. Initially, it involved an intensive selection process, which included pen-and-paper tests, questionnaires, interviews, and skills assessments. Later validation of the process, as well as practical constraints, produced a number of consolidate…
Never, Never Sick At Sea
International research indicates that women use health care more than men do. Previous figures for South African Navy ships showed that women sailors tend to visit their ships' sickbays more than twice as often as their male counterparts. While the physical environment can (partly) explain the medical findings, biological processes are deemed insufficient to explain all the gender-differences in health care utilisation. This paper argues that hea…
The New Sandf Rank Insignia
The SANDF has missed a critical opportunity to enhancing a unified corporate identity with the introduction of their new rank insignia. Cultural and organisational symbols reflect and create corporate identity. Military uniforms are important symbols in expressing affiliation and loyalty. Rank insignia are important indicators of further sub-group identity. The SANDF was formed out of the integration of various armed forces in 1994. The newly for…
Symbols of organisational culture
The symbols of organisation culture can both describe and prescribe human behaviour within that organisation. This paper examines experiences of gender integration of South African Navy ships through the use of symbols of military culture. Accounts from female and male sailors were collected through interviews and focus groups, 18 months after the gender integration of their ships, and revealed the symbolic use of rituals, metaphors, artefacts an…
The Endorsement of Traditional Masculine Ideology by South African Navy Men
Although the study of masculinity/ies in South Africa has been a point of academic interest, especially since the fall of apartheid; there has been little focus on masculinity/ies peculiar to the South African military establishment. Where there has been, this has focused on the army environment and adopted a smaller-scale qualitative approach. In contrast, this study focuses on the South African Navy. The study provides a brief report of finding…
Contemporary Sexism in the South African Navy
Never, Never Sick At Sea
International research indicates that women use health care more than men do. Previous figures for South African Navy ships showed that women sailors tend to visit their ships' sickbays more than twice as often as their male counterparts. While the physical environment can (partly) explain the medical findings, biological processes are deemed insufficient to explain all the gender-differences in health care utilisation. This paper argues that hea…
Grooved Pegboard for adult employed South Africans
The Grooved Pegboard is a widely used test of psychomotor speed, and currently is used in particular to assess HIV-associated neurocognitive decline. To accurately interpret any assessment, appropriate reference norms are required. Although South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV and AIDS, no local large scale reference data are available for the Grooved Pegboard. The main objective of the study was to formulate reference da…
Self-Reported Generalised Anxiety and Psychomotor Test Performance in Healthy South Africans
Tests like the Grooved Pegboard may have specific value in South Africa in the context of screening for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, there are inconsistent findings on the relationship between self-reported anxiety and neuropsychological performance in healthy adults, and in particular on tests of psychomotor functions such as the Form Board and Grooved Pegboard. Given the potential value, it is important to clarify the relat…
The Resilience of Naval Specialists
The occupational demands placed on naval specialists require them to be individuals with high levels of resilience. In this study, I firstly measured the sense of coherence (SoC) of naval specialists, which included 97 divers and 318 submariners, and the results confirmed the high scores hypothesised. Secondly, I explored the relationship between sense of coherence and certain personality traits known to be important for naval specialists, as mea…
The New Sandf Rank Insignia
The SANDF has missed a critical opportunity to enhancing a unified corporate identity with the introduction of their new rank insignia. Cultural and organisational symbols reflect and create corporate identity. Military uniforms are important symbols in expressing affiliation and loyalty. Rank insignia are important indicators of further sub-group identity. The SANDF was formed out of the integration of various armed forces in 1994. The newly for…
Never, Never Sick At Sea
International research indicates that women use health care more than men do. Previous figures for South African Navy ships showed that women sailors tend to visit their ships' sickbays more than twice as often as their male counterparts. While the physical environment can (partly) explain the medical findings, biological processes are deemed insufficient to explain all the gender-differences in health care utilisation. This paper argues that hea…
An Historical Perspective on Submariner Selection in the South African Navy
It is 40 years since the South African Navy (SAN) first started with the psychological selection of their submariners. This article traces the development of the selection process over the past four decades. Initially, it involved an intensive selection process, which included pen-and-paper tests, questionnaires, interviews, and skills assessments. Later validation of the process, as well as practical constraints, produced a number of consolidate…
The Resilience of Naval Specialists
The occupational demands placed on naval specialists require them to be individuals with high levels of resilience. In this study, I firstly measured the sense of coherence (SoC) of naval specialists, which included 97 divers and 318 submariners, and the results confirmed the high scores hypothesised. Secondly, I explored the relationship between sense of coherence and certain personality traits known to be important for naval specialists, as mea…
Symbols of organisational culture
The symbols of organisation culture can both describe and prescribe human behaviour within that organisation. This paper examines experiences of gender integration of South African Navy ships through the use of symbols of military culture. Accounts from female and male sailors were collected through interviews and focus groups, 18 months after the gender integration of their ships, and revealed the symbolic use of rituals, metaphors, artefacts an…
Sexual Harassment of Women in the South African Navy
We report on a study that investigated sexual harassment within the South African Navy. We firstly used a survey to examine the prevalence of sexual harassment in the shore-based fleet, just prior to the gender integration of naval ships, and found evidence of widespread sexual harassment. Secondly, we used interviews and focus groups to examine the experiences of sexual harassment on ships one year after gender integration, and found a relative …
Contemporary Sexism in the South African Navy
Self-Reported Generalised Anxiety and Psychomotor Test Performance in Healthy South Africans
Tests like the Grooved Pegboard may have specific value in South Africa in the context of screening for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, there are inconsistent findings on the relationship between self-reported anxiety and neuropsychological performance in healthy adults, and in particular on tests of psychomotor functions such as the Form Board and Grooved Pegboard. Given the potential value, it is important to clarify the relat…
Influence of Item Sequence on Transient Mood Assessment
The present study compared self-reported transient mood assessment using two different presentations of the sequence of mood scale items. A sample of 300 adults completed the standard Brunel Mood Scale and, after a distraction task, completed an experimental version composed of items grouped along the original subscales. A further 292 adults completed the scales in reverse order. After analysis, no significant differences in response patterns wer…
Grooved Pegboard for adult employed South Africans
The Grooved Pegboard is a widely used test of psychomotor speed, and a number of socio-demographic and psychological influences on performance have been reported. To accurately interpret Grooved Pegboard results, the effects of these influences need to be considered. This study investigated the effects of socio-demographic, psychological, and anthropometric variables on performance in a sample of 3272 healthy adult South Africans. Age and gender …
Grooved Pegboard for adult employed South Africans
The Grooved Pegboard is a widely used test of psychomotor speed, and currently is used in particular to assess HIV-associated neurocognitive decline. To accurately interpret any assessment, appropriate reference norms are required. Although South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV and AIDS, no local large scale reference data are available for the Grooved Pegboard. The main objective of the study was to formulate reference da…
Effect of a Faith-Based Education Program on Self-Assessed Physical, Mental and Spiritual (Religious) Health Parameters
The Endorsement of Traditional Masculine Ideology by South African Navy Men
Although the study of masculinity/ies in South Africa has been a point of academic interest, especially since the fall of apartheid; there has been little focus on masculinity/ies peculiar to the South African military establishment. Where there has been, this has focused on the army environment and adopted a smaller-scale qualitative approach. In contrast, this study focuses on the South African Navy. The study provides a brief report of finding…
Adult ADHD in the South African workplace
In the South African context, resource constraints often preclude the comprehensive assessment of large numbers of people for the likelihood of Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Primary screening through a self-report measure may be useful to stream at-risk individuals towards diagnostic assessment services, as well as being useful in population and workplace based research. The present study set out, first, to investigate th…
Appraising Psychological Adaptation During Covid-19 in South Africa
The devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic on society raised the question of how best to gauge society’s psychological adaptation to continually evolving global disruptor events, such as Covid-19. This paper aims to illustrate the use of different approaches to monitor society’s psychological response to Covid-19, in order to argue for a more comprehensive, multi-model, approach. The results from different approaches are presented in two studies em…
Mental health trajectories across Covid-19 and beyond
There are inconsistent reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social restrictions on mental health, with initial suggestions of an increased prevalence of mental disorders in South Africa. However, the longitudinal trajectories of mental health responses across the COVID-19 pandemic are not clear. The primary aim of this study was to describe the trajectories of self-reported common mental disorders, as determined by re…
Group-based emotional regulation training for adolescents in primary health care settings
Providing mental health care in high-demand but resource-limited settings requires creative approaches. Group-based emotional regulation training has shown promise in other contexts, but its usefulness among South African adolescents in primary health care settings has not been fully examined. Emotional regulation is crucial for long-term health, psychological wellbeing, and reducing common mental disorders. The study aimed to evaluate the potent…
Psychology (16 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Medicine (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Psychiatry (7 works) · Navy (6 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Sociology (5 works)