Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

‘I Always Say What I Think’: a Rights-Based Approach of Young People’s Psychosocial Functioning in Residential Care

  • Published:
Child Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adolescents in residential care tend to be socially devalued and are psychosocially vulnerable. For that reason, a rights-based approach must be adopted to empower them and promote their participation. Focus group discussions were developed with 29 adolescents aiming to explore their rights perceptions during the placement in residential care and how it could be related to their well-being. Results from the grounded model showed that youth’s perceptions on the non-fulfilment of their rights are related to perceived emotional and behavioral difficulties. Their psychological functioning seems to be particularly affected when a set of dimensions are perceived as not fulfilled, namely, education, private life, non-discrimination, perceived social image and respect for themselves and their families by the protection system. Also, a set of individual, relational and socio-cognitive variables were identified as conditions and processes that provide additional explanatory potential to this model. These results underpin the relevance of adopting a rights-based approach to understand psychosocial functioning in residential care, strengthening the importance of social influences to human development. Implications for practice are also explored in the present work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altman, I. (1977). Privacy regulation: Culturally universal or culturally specific? Journal of Social Issues, 33(3), 66–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb01883.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armenta, B. E., & Hunt, J. S. (2009). Responding to societal devaluation: Effects of perceived personal and group discrimination on the ethnic group identification and personal self-esteem of Latino/Latina adolescents. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 12(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430208098775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, S. (2014). The rights of children and young people in state care. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(9), 1082–1088. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2014.931432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atwool, N. (2006). Participation in decision-making: The experience of New Zealand children in care. Child Care in Practice, 12(3), 259–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575270600761727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Arieh, A., & Attar-Schwartz, S. (2013). An ecological approach to children's rights and participation: Interrelationships and correlates of rights in different ecological systems. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry., 83(1), 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajop.12003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beracochea, E., Weinstein, C., & Evans, D. (2010). Rights-based approaches to public health. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

  • Bravo, A., & Del Valle, J. F. (2003). Las redes de apoyo social de los adolescentes acogidos en residências de protección: Un análisis comparativo con población normativa. Psicothema, 15, 136–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calheiros, M. M., Garrido, M. V., Lopes, D., & Patrício, J. N. (2015). Social images of residen- tial care: How children, youth and residential care institutions are portrayed? Children and Youth Services Review, 55, 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casas, F., & Saporiti, A. (Coords.) (2005). Tres miradas a los derechos de la infancia: Estudio comparativo entre Cataluña (España) y Molise (Italia). Madrid: Plataforma de Organizaciones de Infancia.

  • Casas, F., Cornejo, J., Colton, M., & Scholte, E. (2000). Perceptions of stigmatization and satisfaction with services received, among users of social welfare services for the child and the family in 3 European regions. Social Indicators Research, 51(3), 287–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chilton, M., & Rose, D. (2009). A rights-based approach to food insecurity in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 99(7), 1203–1211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collin-Vezina, D., Coleman, K., Milne, L., Sell, J., & Daigneault, I. (2011). Trauma experiences, maltreatment-related impairments, and resilience among child welfare youth in residential care. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 9(5), 577–589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-011-9323-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of Europe. (2005). Recommendation of the committee of ministers to member states on the rights of children living in residential institutions. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darlington, Y., Healy, K., & Feeney, J. A. (2010). Challenges in implementing participatory practice in child protection: A contingency approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(7), 1020–1027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.03.030.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, K., & Berry, M. (2002). Engaging families in child welfare services: An evidence-based approach to best practice. Child Welfare, 81(2), 293–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Valle, J. F., & Fuertes, J. (2015). El acogimiento residencial en la protección a la infancia. Madrid: Ediciones Pirámide.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doek, J. (2014). Child well-being: Children's rights perspective. In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Frønes, & J. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being (pp. 187–217). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eaves, Y. D. (2001). A synthesis technique for grounded theory data analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35(5), 654–663. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01897.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erol, N., Simsek, Z., & Munir, K. (2010). Mental health of adolescents reared in institutional care in Turkey: Challenges and hope in the twenty-first century. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(2), 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0047-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, B., Bridge, A., Kennedy, A. P., Alibhai, A., & Konde-Lule, J. (2014). Hear our voices: A Photovoice project with children who are orphaned and living with HIV in a Ugandan group home. Children and Youth Services Review, 45, 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.038 011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frazier, P., Tashiro, T., Berman, M., Steger, M., & Long, J. (2004). Correlates of levels and patterns of positive life changes following sexual assault. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.72.1.19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grugel, J. (2013). Children’s rights and children’s welfare after the convention on the rights of the child. Progress in Development Studies, 13(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/146499341201300102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helwig, C. C. (2006). Rights, civil liberties, and democracy across cultures. In M. Killen & J. Smetana (Eds.), Handbook of moral development (pp. 185–210). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karabanova, O. A., & Poskrebysheva, N. N. (2013). Adolescent autonomy in parent-child relations. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 86, 621–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, S. P., Marcenko, M. O., Hoagwood, K., & Vesneski, W. (2009). Engaging parents in child welfare services: Bridging family needs and child welfare mandates. Child Welfare, 88(1), 101–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Law 142/2015 (2015). The law for protection of children and youth at risk. [Lei de Protecção de Crianças e Jovens em Perigo]. Retrieved from http://www.cnpcjr.pt/preview_documentos.asp?r=5738&m=PDF.

  • Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. C. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magalhães, E. (2015). Psychosocial functioning of adolescents in residential care: The mediator and moderator role of socio-cognitive, relational and individual variables. Doctoral dissertation not published.

  • Magalhães, E., Calheiros, M. M., & Costa, P. (2016). To be or not to be a rights holder: Direct and indirect effects of perceived rights on psychological adjustment through group identification in care. Children and Youth Services Review, 71, 110–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Major, B., & O'Brien, L. T. (2005). The social psychology of stigma. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 393–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melton, G. B. (1980). Children’s rights concepts. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 9(3), 186–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374418009532985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascoe, E. A., & Richman, S. L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531–554. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pells, K. (2012). ‘Rights are everything we don’t have’: Clashing conceptions of vulnerability and agency in the daily lives of Rwandan children and youth. Children’s geographies, 10(4), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2012.726072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson-Badali, M., Ruck, M., & Bone, J. (2008). Rights conceptions of maltreated children living in state care. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 16(1), 99–119. https://doi.org/10.1163/092755608X278902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prilleltensky, I., Nelson, G., & Peirson, L. (2001). The role of power and control in children's lives: An ecological analysis of pathways toward wellness, resilience and problems. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 11(2), 143–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Punch, S., McIntosh, I., & Emond, R. (2012). ‘You have a right to be nourished and fed, but do I have a right to make sure you eat your food?’: Children's rights and food practices in residential care. The International Journal of Human Rights, 16(8), 1250–1262. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2012.728858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rauktis, M., Fusco, R., Cahalane, H., Bennett, I., & Reinhart, S. (2011). “Try to make it seem like we're regular kids”: Youth perceptions of restrictiveness in out-of-home care. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(7), 1224–1233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.02.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruck, M. D., Peterson-Badali, M., & Helwig, C. C. (2014). Children’s perspectives on Nurtur- ance and self-determination rights: Implications for development and well-being. In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Frønes, & J. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being (pp. 2537–2559). Netherlands: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Safvenbom, R., & Samdahl, D. M. (1998). Involvement in and perception of the free-time context for adolescents in youth protection institutions. Leisure Studies, 17(3), 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/026143698375132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siqueira, A. C., & Dell’Aglio, D. D. (2010). Crianças e adolescentes institucionalizados: desempenho escolar, satisfação de vida e rede de apoio social. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 26(3), 407–415. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722010000300003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations General Assembly (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/crc/.

  • Wanat, S., Whisnant, J., Reicherter, D., Solvason, B., Juul, S., Penrose, B., & Koopman, C. (2010). Coping with the challenges of living in an Indonesian residential institution. Health Policy, 96(1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.01.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weed, M. (2009). Research quality considerations for grounded theory research in sport & exercise psychology. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10(5), 502–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.02.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – (Grant Number SFRH/BD/77554/2011). The authors thank all institutions that accepted to participate and especially all adolescents who took part of this work. The authors would like to thank the researchers that collaborated in this study in terms of data collection (João Graça) and critical review (Cecilia Aguiar).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE–IUL), CIS–IUL, Lisboa, Portugal

    Eunice Magalhães & Maria Manuela Calheiros

  2. Centro de Investigação em Ciência Psicológica, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Maria Manuela Calheiros

  3. Universidade Lusófona do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Carla Antunes

Authors
  1. Eunice Magalhães
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maria Manuela Calheiros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carla Antunes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eunice Magalhães.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Magalhães, E., Calheiros, M.M. & Antunes, C. ‘I Always Say What I Think’: a Rights-Based Approach of Young People’s Psychosocial Functioning in Residential Care. Child Ind Res 11, 1801–1816 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-017-9511-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-017-9511-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation