The considered articles in the study were incorporated using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2009 framework [21]. The developed PRISMA framework was set to guide and stimulate the reporting of both systematic reviews. The framework entailed four (4)-phase diagrams and 27-item checklists. This study examined eight dimensions of empirical survey studies: purpose, study population, a revelation of interest, feedback measurement, analyses of statistics, findings, and discussion. The assessed domain was considered for meeting the minimum required standards, and a score (up to 8 points) was assigned to represent the power of the empirical evidence for those specific publications [22].

Studies included for review assess the understanding of xenophobia and the role of perceived dispositional factors or psychological characteristics among black South Africans. The psychological or dispositional factors in the study considered both subjective and objective reporting from both qualitative and/or quantitative articles.

The literature search was conducted through multiple search engines to access the quantity and quality of published documents, either qualitative or quantitative, dissertation data, and peer-reviewed books. We searched through the literature, such as PubMed, PsychINFO, Educational Resources Information Centre, Africa-wide Information, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, and SAGE for articles published between 2002 and February 2022. The search codes included a combination of key concepts/words, such as “xenophobic South Africa,” “psychology and xenophobia + South Africa,” and “individual problems*xenophobic,” while the selection process summary is presented in Fig. (1). For ensuring the reliability of the sourced data, two research assistants sequentially reviewed all articles, considering their titles and attached abstracts to decide the articles that would be incorporated for a full-text review as identified in the inclusion criteria (Table 1).

Fig. (1). Summary of selection process.

A total of 8069 articles were found by searching seven databases, registries, and websites, as shown in Fig. (1). We eliminated 1872 duplicates from these articles' abstracts. This brought the total down to 6197 articles for screening. However, 404 articles were eligible for full-text screening. We further filtered to get rid of publications that were not suitable. The number of articles was thus lowered to 100. We further examined the publications in accordance with the given inclusion and exclusion criteria, leading to the inclusion of 18 articles for review. The study selection and search strategy were guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) methodology [23].

• Articles that have been reviewed and published between the years of 2002 and 2022
• Scholarly works, such as theses, articles, books, and conference proceedings
• The study population must be South African.
• Any editorial publications, opinion pieces, and commentary on xenophobia that did not specifically focus on South Africa were omitted.

The second step involved making comparisons using a coding system after finding the studies that met the inclusion criteria. The coding strategy should be comprehensive enough to include all studies while still being distinct enough to allow for comparison [24]. There were three primary sections and a total of eight questions in the coding process for this study. Study identity was the first subsection. This section contained 5 questions. Information such as the number of studies, the names, the names of the authors, the year and location of the study, and the name of the publisher were included in order to define the identity of the study. The second section, named “study content,” included 2 questions [24]. Study data” was the third and last component. This section included descriptive statistical information for the experimental and control groups, such as sample size, mean values, and standard deviation values.

About 18 papers were found to be appropriate for the review based on the final search results, the majority of which were qualitative studies. In the presence of such methodological heterogeneity, a systematic review, according to Clarke [25], is not required to pool the study results to provide an average estimate. As a result, the data in this study were synthesized using a narrative synthesis based on thematic analysis [26]. According to Percy et al. [27], thematic data analysis is a generic technique for identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns across data. To synthesize data using theme analysis, we followed six phases. First, we familiarized ourselves with the data by reading and reading it again, and then we started creating codes. Using the study questions as a guide, we created preliminary codes from the data. Coding is a method of systematic classification and meaningful data identification in relation to main and secondary research topics [28, 29].

In the third stage, themes were sought out to determine what was pertinent and what was not. Any mention of psychological elements that affected the propensity South Africans for xenophobia was taken into consideration. This laid the groundwork for us to start looking into potential codes. We defined the significance of the various themes as we developed them. We looked for information to support the responses to our research questions throughout the fourth phase. This left room for the themes to be expanded upon and reviewed as they changed. While some themes were condensed into more manageable chunks, certain themes that had earlier appeared collapsed into one another. The fifth phase involved defining and naming each theme and the information being collected. The sixth phase involved defining and naming each theme and the information being collected. As Saldana [30] and Maxwell [31] proposed, the authors collaborated throughout the process, checking and criticizing each other's work to minimize bias and improve credibility. The authors finished the theme analysis for half the articles, swapped their work to confirm the conclusions, and then got together to talk about any areas of disagreement or uncertainty.

Most of the research showed that a key dispositional element in xenophobic behaviour was “shared” externalised locus of control. Psychology views the locus of control (LoC) location as a key component of a trait that helps to explain both the individual and group behaviours of people. Lefcourt [32] created this phenomenon at its inception. Most commonly, the term “locus of control” (LoC) refers to people's attributional belief(s) that their experiences or actions were caused by either their own (internal LoC) or other people's (external LoC) actions. Most research found that the majority of South Africans displayed an overall external locus of control, which is thought to be the main driver of xenophobic behaviour in South Africa. Not only the academic community but also various social and political gladiators have expressed worry over the idea of shared external locus of control [33, 34]. For instance, Bertrand Ramcharan, the former South African acting Human Rights Commissioner, stated that:

“Political parties, the media, and the general public harass and abuse them, using them as scapegoats for a variety of social evils. There are at least two particular reasons for scapegoating foreigners that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that it is impossible to thoroughly examine these reasons and that politicians in South Africa are by no means the only ones who do so”.

A prominent source of xenophobic behaviour was identified by ten research as an apparent external locus of control. According to these studies, the majority of foreigners are to blame for the multitude of societal evils that South Africans are experiencing, including unemployment, security threats, colonization, marriages, and other connections with non-natives, etc., just like in every other normal country.

Out of the 18 studies that explored the determinants of incessant xenophobic behaviours among South Africans, the following studies: Kerr et al. [4], Dauda et al. [13], Hewitt et al. [14], Landau et al. [33], and Tirivangasi & Mugambiwa [34] identified repression and displacement as one of the major dispositional factors that influenced xenophobic behaviour in South Africa. The findings showed that other pervasive dispositional factors that influenced xenophobic behaviours in South Africa include repression and displacement. However, the current study placed them in the proper context within the discipline of psychology. Some authors of the selected articles labelled the concept differently because it suited their respective disciplines or basic everyday language use (such as the previous history of apartheid, discrimination, racism, nepotism, nationalism, etc.), but the current study put them in the appropriate context within the field of psychology.

Fig. (2). The conceptual intervention frameworks that emanated from the study.

Displacement is a psychological defence technique in which a person redirects their negative energies and emotions away from their original source and toward less dangerous targets. Through the apartheid policy, which was a system of laws in South Africa that allowed racial segregationists to segregate themselves against black South African indigenes, black South African citizens have been marginalized, discriminated against, and prejudiced by the non-black South African indigenes.

For more than 50 years, the apartheid policy exposed South Africans to this type of prejudice, discrimination, and nepotism. Even though apartheid is no longer a part of South African history, its effects on awareness still seem extremely present but suppressed in its citizens' psychics. The displacement result shows that most South Africans who engaged in xenophobic behaviour toward black foreigners are viewed as less threatening racial categories than white South African.

In other words, xenophobic behaviour is a refocusing of negative energy or emotion synthesised from the White-South African towards the black foreign nationals. For instance, the study of Landau et al. [33] and Dauda et al. [13] postulated that:

“South Africa has a lengthy history of political and racial discrimination by the white nationals, which invariably had an unquantifiable but significant impact on how black South African citizens perceive non-nationals”.

According to the findings of the studies reviewed, one of the dispositional elements that trigger XBs is learned helplessness. The results of these studies showed that among South Africans, learned helplessness (LH) is another pervasive dispositional component that determines XBs. It is crucial to be aware that some authors of the articles selected labelled the concept differently because it suited their fields or simple everyday language (for example, marriage xenophobia, romantic preference for foreigners, foreigners raising the standard of living, etc.).

The notion of LH in psychology describes a behavioural pattern characterized by malfunctioning or maladaptive behaviours marked by negative affect and avoidance of problems, which ultimately results in the collapse of problem-solving abilities when challenges arrive. Findings from the reviewed articles indicated that some male South Africans claimed that foreigners had stolen their women for dating or marriage. Other participants claimed that foreigners were to blame for the exponential rise in South Africa's cost of living or standard of living. Meanwhile, the assertion was supported by South African women, who noted that the experiences of their male counterparts are considerably more typical and that every woman greatly depends on her husband for both sexual and financial strength. The study of Dauda et al. [13] and many other studies reported that:

“While these South African men claim that foreigners are stealing all the jobs and the lower pay, foreigners and South African women generally accuse South African men of being lazy, unwilling to work, and spending their free time drinking, sleeping, and playing dice, where they might win a few Rands and then spend them on alcohol. Women in Alexandra are not very interested in partnerships with these kinds of males. Unemployed men are viewed as dom Khanda (dull headed) and omahlalela (loafers), unable to support themselves and their families, and as both insufficient and unreal men. Instead, women prefer guys who are either employed or appear to be making money in other ways. This particular man is an immigrant”-.

Therefore, this outcome showed that the dispositions of some non-white South African men toward life might have made their female adults susceptible to male foreigners, which culminated in jealousy and hatred and resulted in xenophobic attacks on foreigners [41].

Sequel to the outcomes of the study, the implicated and emerging dispositional factors that were implicated in the study were externalised locus of control, repression, displacement, and learned helplessness. These outcomes informed the basis upon which the psychological interventions were formulated in Fig. (2).

The framework for the psychological-based intervention was built on the outcome of the reviewed studies. The framework suggests the need for the organised body of psychology in South Africa to develop a National Cognitive Re-Orientation Programme (NCRP) totackle the identified dispositional factors. The NCRP is expected to boost the internal locus of control of young people in South Africa through the intervention programthat has been developed. The organised body could alsolaunch a National Psycho-education Program (NPeP) to handle these prevailing social vices, such as displacement, reprisals, and learned helplessness. The NpeP is expected to assist in the management and development of adequate knowledge and training that is useful to build coping strategies and problem-solving skills (skills development) through different measures.