A parentalidade em famílias em situação ou risco de sem-abrigo

: construção de uma teoria explicativa

Abstract

Parenting is taking on the responsibility of being a mother/father, and promoting the development of children. Despite being the most immediate space for care the family is not always able to provide a homogeneous environment and can harm the child's well-being and development. Families at risk for or experiencing homelessness can present multiple problems and needs, such as social, educational, and health. On the other hand, for some families, this experience of homelessness fosters other forms of parenting. This study aimed to deepen our understanding of how parenting takes place in families at risk for or experiencing homelessness. The main goals were: to map families with children in or at risk for homelessness who use resources aimed at vulnerable populations; to understand the meaning of parenthood in families in or at risk for homelessness; to identify the critical events that stand out during the parenting process; to identify the factors that facilitate and inhibit this process; to present the parenting response patterns of families with children in or at risk for homelessness; and also to develop an explanatory theory that contributes to improving the quality of care provided to these families. The research is part of the qualitative paradigm, using inductive - Grounded Theory. After characterising the empirical context of the study and determining the accessible population, the study was supported by interviews with 30 families. A process of coding the corpus of interviews, according to Strauss and Corbin was used to process the data. Personal, family and social resources sustain the parenting of families in a situation or at risk for homelessness. It is distinguished by caring at a distance and takes different forms, depending on the different types of homelessness situations or risk. In the situation of risk for homelessness, two procedural forms of parenting were identified: distance parenting, with the maintenance of parental authority, and non-totalitarian parenting when it is not exercised at a distance. In the situation of homelessness, four procedural forms were found: distance parenting with maintenance of parental authority, unilateral distance parenting, interrupted parenting, and parental breakdown. It is believed that this knowledge can contribute to raising nurses' awareness of the real needs of these families and health and social policies.

Date of Award	14 Oct 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Amélia Simões Figueiredo (Supervisor)