Ebeveynsiz yetişen bir çocuktan kendi çocuğunu yetiştiren bir ebeveyne: Kurum bakımında yetişmiş babaların ebeveynlik deneyimlerinin yorumlayıcı fenomenolojik analiz ile incelenmesi

Despite growing body of literature on adulthood outcomes of institutional care, literature on parenting experiences of these individuals is narrow. Majority of these studies focuses on experiences of ex-care mothers and there is a gap in the literature regarding studies on parenting experiences of ex-care fathers together with quality of past relationships, by using qualitative methodologies. Therefore, the present study aimed in-depth examination of parenting experiences of ex-care fathers regarding their self-representations and experiences originated in their relationships with caregivers by using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and five married fathers who were placed institutions at the age of six at the latest and having a child who is at least two years of age were included. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. The results revealed six superordinate themes, namely 'indistinctness of subjectivity as a result of being raised in a subjugating environment with the identity of an anonymous outcast orphan', 'deprivation of needs in relationships with caregivers that sets the stage for emergence of the vulnerable child', 'hesitation in identifying himself with fatherhood', 'difficulty in comprehending a relationship in which both his own and his child's separate subjectivities can coexist', 'passive coping strategies that were developed in childhood with the experience of despair and transmitted to the relationship with his child', and 'compassion as the strength of being an orphan'. The findings were discussed considering related literature findings. Conclusions and clinical implications based in the findings of the current study were presented.