Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Manning, Frances Ann

Titel

Ben's story: A case study - narrative inquiry into childhood onset mental illness

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

2008

Link zum Volltext

• ProQuest

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Ben's Story: A Case Study - Narrative Inquiry into Childhood Onset Mental Illness explores, through narrative inquiry, ethnography, and case study, the life experiences surrounding childhood mental illness. Employing qualitative methodology, the researcher integrates the biological, sociological, and psychological paradigms of childhood mental illness within the context of personal, real life experiences and situations. From her experiences as a teacher for more than two decades, and the mother of an adopted child suffering from a severe mental illness, the researcher approaches the topic of childhood onset mental illness from her immersed position within the family dynamic, the mental health care system, the current political context, the juvenile justice system, and the educational system. The dissertation is what Robert Nash terms "scholarly personal narrative," a genre which he poses as a counter-narrative to the dominant, de-contextualized research paradigm. Nash asserts: "It is in the sharing of our personal stories [...] that we make the deepest connections with those we are serving." Personal narrative, he adds, "helps us all to understand our histories, shape our destinies, develop our moral imaginations, and give us something truly worth living and dying for" (2). Main participants of the study are Ben and members of his family; data include their personal narratives, open-ended and semi-structured interviews, school, hospital, and police documents, as well as participant observation. The complexities surrounding the care and education of children with mental illnesses is explored, as well as the implications regarding the changing roles of schools, hospitals, juvenile detention centers, and jails. In the past, individuals suffering from severe mental illnesses have been isolated from society and placed in asylums. This isolation continues; however, today the isolation is brought about through homelessness, incarceration, and stigma which marginalize them from society. There are complex issues to tackle, such as how to insure that the rights of those suffering from mental illnesses are protected, as well as ensuring the safety and security of those who care for them, attend their schools, and live in their communities.