Enforced Separations: A Qualitative Examination of How Latinx Families Cope With Family Disruption Following the Deportation of a Parent

Author(s):  
Kristina Lovato ◽  
Laura S. Abrams

During the past two decades, U.S. immigration policies have been tightened resulting in increased deportations of unauthorized persons residing in the United States. This qualitative phenomenological study is theoretically grounded in family systems theory. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Latinx youth ( n = 8) and their remaining caregivers, specifically mothers ( n = 8) who had recently experienced the deportation of the child’s father. Findings from the analysis revealed that following the deportation of a parent, families (a) modified family structures and relied upon extended familial support, (b) experienced familial tensions, (c) experienced financial difficulties and housing instability, and (d) retreated from social life, including drastically shrinking social networks. Implications for practice include developing culturally based, trauma-informed interventions for Latinx families affected by deportation.

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110219
Author(s):  
Aiala Szyfer Lipinsky ◽  
Limor Goldner

Studies dealing with the experiences of non-offending mothers from the general population and minority groups after their child’s disclosure of sexual abuse are scarce, and studies on mothers from the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community are non-existent. This study takes an initial step in filling this gap by exploring how the normalization of sexual abuse shapes these mothers’ experiences. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted on a sample of 21 mothers from the ultra-Orthodox sector whose children had been sexually abused. It consisted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews of the mothers followed by a drawing task on their experience. The analysis of the interviews yielded four central themes: the role of social stigmatization and religion on the mother’s ability to share her child’s abuse; the effect of the disclosure on the mothers’ mental state and maternal competency; the mothers’ ongoing experience in the shadow of this unprocessed/unresolved trauma; and the mothers’ coping strategies, including acceptance, faith, and meaning making. The findings highlight the influence of the tension between the need to adhere to religious norms and preserve the social fabric and the need to enhance mothers’ and children’s well-being.


Author(s):  
Amanda Brown ◽  
Susan Hayden ◽  
Karen Klingman ◽  
Leslie C Hussey

Chronic illness is an increasing concern in the United States as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 50% of adults have at least one chronic illness. When individuals must adjust to chronic illness, they may experience uncertainty regarding the illness, prognosis, and symptoms. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the management strategies of uncertainty in chronic illness from patients’ perspectives. Merle Mishel’s uncertainty in illness theory was the framework used to explore the lives of individuals diagnosed and living with chronic illness. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight individuals who have chronic disease. Results revealed themes that individuals with chronic illness do experience uncertainty and that it impacts almost all aspects of their lives. Some of the themes identified were chronic illness, uncertainty, impact of uncertainty on daily living, coping or managing uncertainty, and communication from the healthcare team about uncertainty. The individuals expressed changes in daily activities and retraining their minds to accept their new normal. This study offers coping and management strategies that healthcare professionals can implement into treatment plans to improve the quality of life for individuals with uncertainty in chronic illness. The information produced from this study will aid healthcare providers in understanding the need to address the uncertainty at diagnoses and offer ways to assist patients in coping and managing uncertainty


2020 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2092258
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Leland

Purpose: This qualitative, phenomenological study explores gay fatherhood visibility in schools. The study was guided by prior research on families headed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) parents, as well as the theoretical exploration of “doing family” for LGBTQ-headed households and queer families. Data Collection and Analysis: Data primarily consisted of two, face-to-face, semistructured interviews with 22 gay-fathered households living in one of two different community types: gay-friendly areas, or those known for LGBTQ inclusion and protection, and intolerant towns, or those with little-to-no evidence of inclusion and protection. Additionally, this study included artifacts such as handbooks, letters about events, and documents related to school curricula. All data were analyzed inductively. Findings: Nearly all fathers came out, or had disclosed their sexual orientation to school personnel—particularly in gay-friendly areas. Nevertheless, findings indicate that assumptions of heterosexuality persisted in both gay-friendly and intolerant areas to some extent. Some attempts to be more inclusive and representative of gay-fathered families depended on community type, but even these attempts did not recognize a wider spectrum of family configurations that may constitute gay fatherhood. Implications: This study raises questions about how school personnel, and leaders in particular, consider a wider spectrum of family configurations as they interact with students and students’ families. The findings provide insight into future scholarship focused on gay fatherhood, as well as how leadership programs can prepare leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge to interact with nondominant family structures.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (15) ◽  
pp. 1760-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Kurt ◽  
Natti Ronel

An exploratory, qualitative, phenomenological study focused on the experience of pain while participating in sexual masochistic acts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine individuals (four female, five male) who regularly participate in sexually masochistic acts and point to pain as central to their experience. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed several key characteristics of the participant’s experience: the first time, intoxication, craving and withdrawal, tolerance, pain as control, and the pain inducing partner. The findings indicate that the way pain is experienced while mitigated through masochistic behavior creates an addictive process that coincides with a chronic behavioral spin contextualization. This article presents a preliminary model of addiction to physical pain in light of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) definition of substance-related and addictive disorders and the behavioral spin theory.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahereh Rahimi ◽  
Neda Dastyar ◽  
Foozieh Rafati

Abstract Background: Family caregivers of patients with COVID-19 face many challenges that affect their physical and mental health. Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the family caregivers' experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19. Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study was performed based on 13 family caregivers who had experience in home caring for patients with COVID-19. Data were collected through purposive sampling with in-depth semi-structured interviews. The Colaizzi's 7-step method was used to determine themes. The MAXQDA10 software was used to manage qualitative data analysis.Results: Five themes of (a) “nature of the disease” with 2 subcategories, including “fluctuating symptoms” and “emergent and unpredictable disease;” (b) “unmet needs” with 3 subcategories, including “lack of knowledge,” “lack of health facilities,” and” financial problems;” (c) “unpleasant physical, psychological, and social experiences” with 3 subcategories, including “unpleasant physical experiences,” “unpleasant psychological experiences,” and “unpleasant social experiences;” (d) “care facilitators” with 3 subcategories, including “social support,” “adaptive mechanisms,” and “intrinsic motivations;” and (e) “positive experiences” with 3 subcategories, including “promoting spirituality,” “improving relationships,” and “growth” were extracted.Conclusion: Information and financial support for COVID-19 should be provided to family caregivers. Also, community members should embrace patients and family caregivers and reinforce the positive experiences of caregivers.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Gachanja ◽  
Gary J Burkholder ◽  
Aimee Ferraro

Background: HIV-positive parents are challenged with disclosure to their children. Some do not disclose at all, others disclose to some children, and many take years to fully disclose to all their children. Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in Kenya to describe the lived experiences of HIV-positive parents and their children during the disclosure process. Sixteen HIV-positive parents were engaged in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interview data were analyzed using the modified Van Kaam method. Results: Parents had a total of 37 living children; 15 HIV-positive, 11 HIV-negative, and 11 of unknown HIV status. Parents went through four phases (secrecy, exploratory, readiness, full disclosure) of disclosure; most admitted needing healthcare professionals’ help to move their children through the three child stages (no, partial, full) of disclosure . Most parents were in between the exploratory and full disclosure phases but had taken years to navigate these phases. Twelve children (HIV-negative and unknown status) had full disclosure of their parents’ illnesses, nine HIV-positive children had full disclosure of their own and their parents’ illnesses, and 10 children (five HIV-positive, four unknown status, and one HIV-negative) had partial disclosure of their own and/or their parents’ illnesses. Parents had indefinite plans to disclose to the six children with no disclosure. Conclusion: Despite being challenged with disclosure, parents progressively navigated the disclosure phases and fully disclosed to the majority of their children. However, the creation of HIV disclosure guidelines, services, and programs would help hasten the time it takes for them to fully disclose to all their children.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Gachanja ◽  
Gary J Burkholder ◽  
Aimee Ferraro

Background: HIV-positive parents are challenged with disclosure to their children. Some do not disclose at all, others disclose to some children, and many take years to fully disclose to all their children. Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted in Kenya to describe the lived experiences of HIV-positive parents and their children during the disclosure process. Sixteen HIV-positive parents were engaged in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interview data were analyzed using the modified Van Kaam method. Results: Parents had a total of 37 living children; 15 HIV-positive, 11 HIV-negative, and 11 of unknown HIV status. Parents went through four phases (secrecy, exploratory, readiness, full disclosure) of disclosure; most admitted needing healthcare professionals’ help to move their children through the three child stages (no, partial, full) of disclosure . Most parents were in between the exploratory and full disclosure phases but had taken years to navigate these phases. Twelve children (HIV-negative and unknown status) had full disclosure of their parents’ illnesses, nine HIV-positive children had full disclosure of their own and their parents’ illnesses, and 10 children (five HIV-positive, four unknown status, and one HIV-negative) had partial disclosure of their own and/or their parents’ illnesses. Parents had indefinite plans to disclose to the six children with no disclosure. Conclusion: Despite being challenged with disclosure, parents progressively navigated the disclosure phases and fully disclosed to the majority of their children. However, the creation of HIV disclosure guidelines, services, and programs would help hasten the time it takes for them to fully disclose to all their children.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper Feyaerts ◽  
Wouter Kusters ◽  
Zeno Van Duppen ◽  
Stijn Vanheule ◽  
Inez Myin-Germeys ◽  
...  

Background Delusions in schizophrenia are commonly approached as empirical false beliefs about everyday reality. Phenomenological accounts, by contrast, have suggested that delusions are more adequately understood as pertaining to a different kind of reality-experience. To date, however, the specific nature of delusional reality-experience has not been subject to systematic empirical study. It is also unclear howthis alteration of reality-experience should be characterized, which dimensions of experiential life are involved and whether delusional reality may differ from standard reality in various ways. Furthermore, little is known about how delusional patients value and relate to these experiential alterations. This study aimed to investigate the natureof delusional reality-experience, and its subjective apprehension, in individuals with lived experience of delusions and a schizophrenia-spectrum diagnosis.Methods In this study, individuals with lived experience of delusions and a schizophrenia-spectrum diagnosis formed a purposeful sample. Phenomenologically driven semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the nature of delusional reality-experience and participants’ subjective valuation of these experiences. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative method tailored to the in-depth exploration of participants’ first-person perspective, was used to analyse participants’ accounts.Findings Between Mar 2, 2020 and Sep 30, 2020, 18 adults with a clinical schizophrenia-spectrum diagnosis and lived experience of delusions participated in the interview-study. The findings suggest that delusions are often embedded in wide-ranging alterations of basic reality-experience, involving quasi-ineffable atmospheric and ontological qualities that undermine participants’ sense of the world as unambiguously real, fully present, and shared with others. We also found thatdelusional reality-experience can differ from standard reality in various way (i.e., in a hypo –and hyper-real form), across multiple dimensions (e.g., meaningfulness, necessity/contingency, detachment/engagement), and that participants are often implicitly or explicitly aware of the distinction between delusional and standard reality. Finally, delusional experience can have an enduring value and meaning that is not fully captured by a strictly medical perspective.Interpretation Increased awareness and recognition of the distinctive nature of delusional reality-experience, in both clinical and research settings, can improve diagnostic accuracy, explanatory models, and therapeutic support for delusional individuals whose lived realities are not always evident from an everyday perspective.


Author(s):  
Candela Bonill-de las Nieves ◽  
Concepción Capilla Díaz ◽  
Miriam Celdrán-Mañas ◽  
José Miguel Morales-Asencio ◽  
Sandra Milena Hernández-Zambrano ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Aim: to describe ostomy patient’s perception about health care received, as well as their needs and suggestions for healthcare system improvement. Method: qualitative phenomenological study was conducted, involving individual and semi-structured interviews on the life experiences of 21 adults who had a digestive stoma. Participants were selected following a purposive sampling approach. The analysis was based on the constant comparison of the data, the progressive incorporation of subjects and triangulation among researchers and stoma therapy nurses. The software Atlas.ti was used. Results: perception of health care received is closely related to the information process, as well as training for caring the stoma from peristomal skin to diet. It is worthy to point out the work performed by stoma care nurses ensuring support during all stages of the process. Conclusion: findings contribute to address the main patients’ needs (better prepared nurses, shorter waiting lists, information about sexual relation, inclusion of family members all along the process) and recommendations for improving health care to facilitate their adaptation to a new status of having a digestive stoma.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Joanne Sin Wei Yeoh ◽  
Quynh Lê ◽  
Daniel R. Terry ◽  
Rosa McManamey

<p>The notion of food security encompasses the ability of individuals, households and communities to acquire food that is healthy, sustainable, affordable, appropriate and accessible. Despite Australia’s current ability to produce more food than required for its population, there has been substantial evidence demonstrating that many Australians struggle to feed themselves, particularly those from a cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the experiences of food security among migrants in a regional area of Australia (Tasmania).</p> <p>33 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Tasmanian migrants. The interviews were analysed thematically using Nvivo 10.0 and three main themes emerged: (1) migrant’s experiences of food security in Tasmania; (2) the factors that influence migrant food security in Tasmania; and (3) acculturation strategies. Participants were satisfied with their current food security in Tasmania but they still encountered some challenges in the availability, accessibility and affordability of healthy and cultural food. Factors that influenced their food security were educational background, the language barrier, socioeconomic status, geographical isolation, and their cultural background. Migrants managed to adapt to the new food culture by using different acculturation strategies.</p> <p>Migrants residing in Tasmania encounter a diverse number of challenges pertaining to food security and use different food security strategies while acculturating to the new environment. These findings may inform other migrant communities in Australia, relevant non-government organisations and government departments and suggest strategies to address food security challenges among migrants.</p>


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