In-depth interviews with 24 young people revealed the importance of connectedness in fostering positive identity and meaning in vulnerable young people's lives. This article presents the findings of a participatory qualitative study investigating the role and potency of identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people. Such interventions should be inclusive of the individual and contextual issues influencing a child’s self-constructions, including coping skills, structural challenges and proximal economic and social resources. The review provides considerations for increased interventions aimed at improving child well-being which must take into account the unique ways in which children construct and assign meaning to the self.
A child’s ability to meaningfully construct a sense of self was associated with higher levels of coping and resilience and improved well-being. The study highlights the multidimensional and fluid nature of the self and emphasises the self-concept to be mutually influenced and supported by an individual’s immediate social networks, socio-environmental resources, and internal processes. These include multidimensionality, discursive practices, socio-environmental conditions, oppression & marginalisation, culture, and social support. Within these articles, six central thematic categories emerged as the key influences on children’s constructions of the self.
This research aimed to systematically review academic literature focused on how children construct and assign meaning to the ‘self.’ An article search and appraisal yielded 38 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Purpose of the reference groups Our engagement of children and young people in reference groups is driven by our belief that children are competent social actors and experts in their lives and can provide insights not available to adults. In this paper we will draw on our experiences of incorporating a children and young people's reference group into the design of three key studies: the Finding their Way Home study (Moore, McArthur, & Noble-Carr, 2007) that looked at accompanied children's experiences of homelessness, the Who Cares (Noble-Carr, Moore, & McArthur, 2009) study which focused on the experiences of children and young people who had parents who had alcohol or other drug issues and the Me, Myself and I ( Noble-Carr, Barker, & McArthur, 2013) a study that explored the importance of identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people. We have only found a number of writers who have been co-reflexive (Christensen & Prout, 2002 James & Christensen, 2008) and fewer who have written about their experience (Barker & Weller, 2003 Flanagan, 2011). Strategies to support vulnerable young people to develop positive, coherent, and achievable identity and meaning constructions are provided. The findings strengthen our understanding of identity construction for this group, highlight the value of adopting narrative approaches to identity exploration, and demonstrate the value of incorporating knowledge from the field of loss and grief. The study found identity constructions were profoundly influenced by anĮntrenched sense of autonomy, a longing to be the opposite of what they had experienced, and the expectation of living up to their own constructions of an ideal self. Interviews were conducted with 24 young people from Canberra, Australia. This article reports on a phenomenological study, which allowed young people to start from their own understandings of identity and meaning and explore the ways they constructed their sense of self and place in the world. While identity development and meaning making can be different for vulnerable young people, who experience multiple adverse life events, there is currently little evidence of how these young people construct identity and make meaning from their experiences. Identity and meaning are fundamental to human experience and are particularly pertinent during adolescence and times of adversity.
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