ABSTRACT

In Australia many children were negatively affected by past institutional child care regimes. In this qualitative research, the authors consider the long-term impacts that such care has had on a small sample of one particular population in relation to their sense of belonging as they age. This population is known as Forgotten Australians and refers to people who lived in this type of care as children prior to deinstitutionalisation in 1974. The findings presented are from the lead author’s 2016 Ph.D study that explored participants’ narrated experiences, utilising hermeneutic phenomenology as the methodology. Interviews were conducted with 21 participants residing in all states and territories of Australia. Key themes that emerged from the data were feelings of social disconnection; the need to construct safe places; and a desire to belong. A major finding is that many participants continue to experience the harmful legacy of their childhoods, manifesting as difficulties integrating into social life despite leaving institutional care 40 or more years ago. The key implications for this cohort as they age are discussed and recommendations are made.

摘要

在澳大利亚，许多儿童受到过去的机构性儿童保育制度的不利影响。在这项定性研究中，作者考虑了这种照料对一个特定人群的一小部分样本的长期影响及其年龄的归属感。该人群被称为“被遗忘的澳大利亚人”，是指在1974年去机构化之前曾在儿童中生活过这种类型的人。研究结果来自主要作者的2016博士研究，该研究利用诠释学现象学探讨了参与者的叙述经历。方法论。与居住在澳大利亚所有州和地区的21名参与者进行了访谈。从数据中得出的关键主题是社会脱节的感觉。需要建造安全的地方；和渴望归属。一个主要发现是，许多参与者继续经历着童年的有害遗产，表现为尽管在40年前或更早就离开了机构照料，但融入社会生活却遇到了困难。讨论了该人群随着年龄增长的关键意义并提出了建议。