| Abstract [eng] |
Most adolescents living in institutional foster care probably were subject to various severe experiences: violence and/or neglect in childhood, as well as placement in the care system that impinge their relationships with significant people and withdraw them from familiar surroundings. Negative experiences in childhood can affect personality development and the formation of concepts of self and the world, can have negative influence on memory and the integration of life experiences. The purpose of this research was to explore autobiographical narratives of adolescents living in foster home and to study how the structure of the life story reflects the integration of various life experiences, what aspects of experience are highlighted by the themes that emerge from autobiographical narratives and what conception of self do adolescent living in foster home present in their life stories. 8 adolescents (3 male, 5 female) living in foster home, aged 16–18, participated in the research. Semi-structured interview composed of two sessions (Wengraf, 2004) was performed: 1) interviewer asked single initial question to elicit autobiographical narrative (to tell the life story, all the events and experiences witch were important to interviewee) and indicated that there would not be any interruptions or questions; 2) interviewer asked for elaboration on topics that had been raised in the first session. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts was done. Results show that the structure of the life stories of research participants differ: some stories have coherent structure that shows the acceptance and integration of experiences; others lack coherence and reflect the peculiarities of traumatic memory – they are fragmented, they lack of essential parts of the story, causal relations and explanations. Six main themes emerged from autobiographical narratives: domestic violence, neglect in childhood, family relationships, bereavement of a close person, placement in foster home and living in it. The themes reflect vital aspects of experiences of research participants and are usually negative. Most research participants describe themselves through the spheres of emotional states and interpersonal relationships, but information about their personal traits is scarce. Usually the descriptions of self are negative. Research participants present themselves in two opposite roles: active fighters (take some action to cope with the situation, understand the possibility to get help from outside) and passive observers (do not attempt to cope themselves and do not ask for help). |
