Volume 23, Issue 89 (8-2023)
refahj 2023, 23(89): 385-441 |
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bashlideh F, qorbanpoor lafmejani A. (2023). Lived experience of teenage girls from living in pseudo-family centers. refahj. 23(89), 385-441. doi:10.32598/refahj.23.89.4020.1
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Introduction
Every year, due to economic and social pressures, parents leave a large number of children in the community, and the most common form of care for them around the world is care and living in an orphanage (Zinah, Smik, & Koga and Carlson, 2005). Family and economic problems, death and separation of parents, physical and psychological problems are among the most important factors that cause children to be placed in orphanages (Rasouli & Yaghmaei, 2010). Thombeni (2010) also cites poverty, parental death, substance abuse, alcoholism, parents suffering from incurable physical illnesses or mental disorders, imprisonment, the absence of a parent (usually a father) and prostitute mothers as contributing factors to homelessness and abuse in the world. Homelessness is one of the factors that creates a lot of psychological pressure on a specific age group, including adolescents (Rasouli & Yaghmaei, 2010). Living in an orphanage can have many effects on children's emotional states and expose them to psychiatric disorders, so recognizing the characteristics and problems that living in an orphanage imposes on children and the result can be regarded important a good ground to study. To prevent and reduce the effects of these conditions (corman, 1964; translated by Dadsetan & Mansour, 2008). Poverty, attachment disorders, lack of social skills and mental health problems and high risk for emotional and behavioral development problems in adolescents, as well as the death of parents, make children vulnerable and prone to physical and psychological risks (Ibrahim, El-Bilsha ,El-Gilany & kahter 2012). All these issues require special attention from educators, teachers, counselors, and assistants (Kameli, Ghanbari Hashemabadi & Agha Mohammadian Sharabaf, 2011). In fact, considering the difference between the living and educational environment of these people and those who live in a healthy family environment, it is predictable that these people will be different from their counterparts who live in the family. In this article, attempts have been made to describe all aspects of life, desires, fears, feelings, needs, and problems of adolescent girls living in boarding houses in their first language and to answer the following question: What is the lived experience of adolescent girls living in boarding houses?
Method
The research method is qualitative and descriptive phenomenology. The seven-step Colaizi’s method was used to analyze the results. Based on purposive sampling method focused on theoretical saturation criteria, 26 adolescent girls aged 11 to 18 years old who had the experience of living in boarding houses participated in this study. Coding began immediately after the first interview and continued until the theoretical saturation of the information that occurred in the 26th interview. The data collection method was semi-structured interview. Interview times ranged from 30 to 45 minutes. Interviews were conducted at Rasht Welfare Organization. In data analysis, in the first step, all the interviews were written on paper and each interview was read line by line several times, and live codes are created attached or separated from the text of the interviews. After that, similar live codes were placed in sub-categories, and finally, by placing sub-categories similar to the main themes, 28 sub-categories and eight main themes were created.
Findings
Analysis of the information obtained from the interviews revealed the following eight main themes: The first theme is the construction of negative emotions, which itself includes four sub-categories, which are abandonment, fears, worries, and anxieties, and depressed mood. The second theme is the construction of psychological empowerment. This theme includes three categories, which are agreement and compatibility, help and will. The third theme is the constructive attitude towards life, which includes the attitude towards living outside the home and the attitude towards the home. The fourth constructive theme is the lack of coping skills, which includes behavioral problems and injuries, discharge and its problems, group life and its problems. The fifth theme is the construction of mental preoccupations, which included views on one's family, worries about the future, attention to the past, adolescence, and the reasons for homelessness. The sixth theme is the construction of needs, which includes emotional needs, material needs, the need for recreation, psychological needs, and the absence of family. The seventh theme is the construction of social anxiety, which includes social stigma and social communication. Finally, the eighth theme is the construction of a successful future orientation that includes independence, hope, the importance of healthy living, and educational goals.
Discussion
The first theme of the interviews was negative emotions, which included a number of sub-categories, including release, which included codes of freedom, such as feelings of loneliness and lack of support, feelings of abandonment, and feelings of loneliness. Children who live in orphanages or grow up in orphanages and have a constant change of caregiver may have a trap of abandonment in their minds. Another sub-category is depressed mood. Since past-related depression and past-related losses as well as the inability to change the situation ahead, this experience seems to be normal for girls living in homes. The second theme is the construction of psychological empowerment, which includes agreement and adaptation, assistance and will. The person who agrees is basically altruistic and sympathetic to others and is actually eager to help them. Adolescents are interested in solving other people's problems as much as they can and even making the world a better place to live so that others do not experience the hard and bitter experiences they have experienced. The teenage girls believed that in order to achieve their goals, they had to have a strong will and believe in their abilities, and they were not afraid of fractures and difficulties along the way, and they persevered and continued. The third major theme is the outlook on life, which includes a view of homes. In fact, the attitude towards life is a broad concept that affects a person's choices, goals and activities, and this is why a person enjoys a purposeful life that is accompanied by a sense of power and a sense of evolution. The fourth major theme of the interviews was the lack of coping skills, which includes several sub-categories, including the lack of coping skills and behavioral injuries. Homeless children have less flexibility in experiencing stress. The fifth theme is the construction of mental occupations, which includes topics that occupy the minds and thoughts of these adolescents. These include attitudes toward one's family, worries about the future, the past, adolescence, and the reasons for homelessness. The sixth theme is the construction of needs, which includes emotional needs, material needs, the need for recreation, psychological needs, and the absence of family. The seventh theme is the construction of social anxiety, which includes social stigma and social communication. Finally, the eighth theme is the construction of a successful future orientation that includes independence, hope, the importance of healthy living, and educational goals.
Ethical Considerations
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in producing of the research.
Funding
The present study did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Follow the ethics of research
In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully listed.
Every year, due to economic and social pressures, parents leave a large number of children in the community, and the most common form of care for them around the world is care and living in an orphanage (Zinah, Smik, & Koga and Carlson, 2005). Family and economic problems, death and separation of parents, physical and psychological problems are among the most important factors that cause children to be placed in orphanages (Rasouli & Yaghmaei, 2010). Thombeni (2010) also cites poverty, parental death, substance abuse, alcoholism, parents suffering from incurable physical illnesses or mental disorders, imprisonment, the absence of a parent (usually a father) and prostitute mothers as contributing factors to homelessness and abuse in the world. Homelessness is one of the factors that creates a lot of psychological pressure on a specific age group, including adolescents (Rasouli & Yaghmaei, 2010). Living in an orphanage can have many effects on children's emotional states and expose them to psychiatric disorders, so recognizing the characteristics and problems that living in an orphanage imposes on children and the result can be regarded important a good ground to study. To prevent and reduce the effects of these conditions (corman, 1964; translated by Dadsetan & Mansour, 2008). Poverty, attachment disorders, lack of social skills and mental health problems and high risk for emotional and behavioral development problems in adolescents, as well as the death of parents, make children vulnerable and prone to physical and psychological risks (Ibrahim, El-Bilsha ,El-Gilany & kahter 2012). All these issues require special attention from educators, teachers, counselors, and assistants (Kameli, Ghanbari Hashemabadi & Agha Mohammadian Sharabaf, 2011). In fact, considering the difference between the living and educational environment of these people and those who live in a healthy family environment, it is predictable that these people will be different from their counterparts who live in the family. In this article, attempts have been made to describe all aspects of life, desires, fears, feelings, needs, and problems of adolescent girls living in boarding houses in their first language and to answer the following question: What is the lived experience of adolescent girls living in boarding houses?
Method
The research method is qualitative and descriptive phenomenology. The seven-step Colaizi’s method was used to analyze the results. Based on purposive sampling method focused on theoretical saturation criteria, 26 adolescent girls aged 11 to 18 years old who had the experience of living in boarding houses participated in this study. Coding began immediately after the first interview and continued until the theoretical saturation of the information that occurred in the 26th interview. The data collection method was semi-structured interview. Interview times ranged from 30 to 45 minutes. Interviews were conducted at Rasht Welfare Organization. In data analysis, in the first step, all the interviews were written on paper and each interview was read line by line several times, and live codes are created attached or separated from the text of the interviews. After that, similar live codes were placed in sub-categories, and finally, by placing sub-categories similar to the main themes, 28 sub-categories and eight main themes were created.
Findings
Analysis of the information obtained from the interviews revealed the following eight main themes: The first theme is the construction of negative emotions, which itself includes four sub-categories, which are abandonment, fears, worries, and anxieties, and depressed mood. The second theme is the construction of psychological empowerment. This theme includes three categories, which are agreement and compatibility, help and will. The third theme is the constructive attitude towards life, which includes the attitude towards living outside the home and the attitude towards the home. The fourth constructive theme is the lack of coping skills, which includes behavioral problems and injuries, discharge and its problems, group life and its problems. The fifth theme is the construction of mental preoccupations, which included views on one's family, worries about the future, attention to the past, adolescence, and the reasons for homelessness. The sixth theme is the construction of needs, which includes emotional needs, material needs, the need for recreation, psychological needs, and the absence of family. The seventh theme is the construction of social anxiety, which includes social stigma and social communication. Finally, the eighth theme is the construction of a successful future orientation that includes independence, hope, the importance of healthy living, and educational goals.
Discussion
The first theme of the interviews was negative emotions, which included a number of sub-categories, including release, which included codes of freedom, such as feelings of loneliness and lack of support, feelings of abandonment, and feelings of loneliness. Children who live in orphanages or grow up in orphanages and have a constant change of caregiver may have a trap of abandonment in their minds. Another sub-category is depressed mood. Since past-related depression and past-related losses as well as the inability to change the situation ahead, this experience seems to be normal for girls living in homes. The second theme is the construction of psychological empowerment, which includes agreement and adaptation, assistance and will. The person who agrees is basically altruistic and sympathetic to others and is actually eager to help them. Adolescents are interested in solving other people's problems as much as they can and even making the world a better place to live so that others do not experience the hard and bitter experiences they have experienced. The teenage girls believed that in order to achieve their goals, they had to have a strong will and believe in their abilities, and they were not afraid of fractures and difficulties along the way, and they persevered and continued. The third major theme is the outlook on life, which includes a view of homes. In fact, the attitude towards life is a broad concept that affects a person's choices, goals and activities, and this is why a person enjoys a purposeful life that is accompanied by a sense of power and a sense of evolution. The fourth major theme of the interviews was the lack of coping skills, which includes several sub-categories, including the lack of coping skills and behavioral injuries. Homeless children have less flexibility in experiencing stress. The fifth theme is the construction of mental occupations, which includes topics that occupy the minds and thoughts of these adolescents. These include attitudes toward one's family, worries about the future, the past, adolescence, and the reasons for homelessness. The sixth theme is the construction of needs, which includes emotional needs, material needs, the need for recreation, psychological needs, and the absence of family. The seventh theme is the construction of social anxiety, which includes social stigma and social communication. Finally, the eighth theme is the construction of a successful future orientation that includes independence, hope, the importance of healthy living, and educational goals.
Ethical Considerations
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in producing of the research.
Funding
The present study did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Follow the ethics of research
In this article, all rights relating to references are cited and resources are carefully listed.
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2021/10/25 | Accepted: 2022/09/26 | Published: 2023/08/15
Received: 2021/10/25 | Accepted: 2022/09/26 | Published: 2023/08/15
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