| Abstract [eng] |
Teenage Experience of Motherhood in Foster Care, Violeta Šimienė, Vilnius, Vilnius University, 2019, 68 pages. Motherhood during teenage years while living in foster care comes with huge challenges, with which teenage mothers are not capable of dealing with independently. The purpose of this project is to reveal and better understand the experience of adolescents going through motherhood while living in foster care. During the study, questions about how teenagers experience motherhood and the various difficulties they face, were discussed. Participants of the study - 6 adolescent mothers living with their children in foster care - attended semi-structured interviews. Experience of participants was analyzed by inductive thematic analysis. Results disclose, that teenage motherhood experiences directly correlate with their painful childhood experiences. The participants of the study view motherhood as an experience which fills in the emptiness they feel and provides meaning and purpose to life. However, another part of this experience is seen as a conflict between the roles of adolescence and motherhood. In their early motherhood they face great challenges that they need help to cope with. While living in foster care, they receive acceptance, care and support from foster care workers as well as from other teenage mothers living who live in foster care. |
