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“Care just changes your life”: factors impacting upon the mental health of children and young people with experiences of care in Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- MULLAN Christine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 13(4), October 2007, pp.417-434.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper represents one element of a research project carried out into the mental health needs of children and young people with experiences of care in Northern Ireland. Focusing exclusively on qualitative data collected from 51 young people in care and aftercare, it discusses in the first instance how the challenges and difficulties faced by young people can manifest themselves in feelings and behaviours that may exemplify poor mental well-being. In doing so it provides an understanding of mental health in the context of these young people's lives. Through offering a more detailed account of some of the specific issues that put these young people at increased risk, it highlights areas for further work and consideration as a means of protecting them against these risks. These include: dealing with experiences prior to care; easing and “normalising” the experience of living in care; and enhancing “safety nets” after care. A key objective of the research is to inform policy and practice through the accounts of children and young people. It is argued that more work needs to be done to find creative ways of enhancing the day-to-day experiences of young people while in care and when leaving care.
Towards depth and width in qualitative social work: aligning interpretative phenomenological analysis with the theory of social domains
- Authors:
- HOUSTON Stan, MULLAN-JENSEN Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Qualitative Social Work, 11(3), 2012, pp.266-281.
- Publisher:
- Sage
At the heart of qualitative investigation into social work is an attempt to understand ‘meaning’ but in the context of the wider social processes that shape it. This article argues that qualitative inquiry in social work can gain a clear-sighted awareness of the social world by aligning a methodological approach, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, with a sociological theory of agency and structure, the Theory of Social Domains. The former combines interpretative and phenomenological perspectives within a research method, so that inner psychological experience can be understood. The latter offers a theoretical explanation of social interaction in the context of the social world, with its textured and layered dimensions that stretch out into time and space. A case for this alignment is made, first, by setting out the theoretical and methodological foundations of both approaches and then, second, proffering a conceptual bridge between them through their shared interest in social phenomenology. The final part of the article applies these ideas to a hypothetical study of young people in the care system and their experience of secondary education.