Voices from the void: Indian girls' experiences of growing up in an orphanage
Item
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Title
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Voices from the void: Indian girls' experiences of growing up in an orphanage
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:e5c6ad2b94a6:11563
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identifier
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12061
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Creator
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Robertson, Katherine E.,
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Contributor
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Peter Fraenkel
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Clinical psychology | India | Orphanage | Orphans | qualitative research | Resilience | well-being
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Abstract
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The literature on children who have lost their parents and have been raised in an orphanage indicates that they are at a developmental disadvantage compared to children who were raised within their own families. The majority of previous research in this field is gleaned from the barren institutions of Romania and Russia. The goal of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration of how Indian girls experience living in an orphanage, with a focus on what contributes to their sense of "well-being." Participants included 19 girls all living together in one orphanage in Jaipur, India. Ethnographic data, including observations, conversations, and photographic images, provided data of their experiences of daily living in the orphanage. Data analysis was guided by principles of grounded theory which places priority on the participant's narrative and meaning of their experiences. The data illuminated the daily joys and struggles of growing up parentless. The data converged on several key themes that were posited to contribute to the girls' overall sense of well-being and happiness: 1) the girls' grasp of being a valuable member of the larger society and the household; 2) the girls' experience of having defined roles in the home; 3) the quality of the girls' relationships with staff and peers and; 4) the girls' sense of their own spirituality. The data also captured powerful feelings of loss and longing experienced by the girls, despite their resilience. The findings of this research contribute to a greater understanding of a child's experience growing up in an orphanage, thus revealing potential policy changes for how orphanages are run worldwide.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
