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Restricted Freedom: Depressive Experiences and Gender Identities among Female Palestinian Adolescent Refugees

Gustafsson, Jenny LU (2010) MIDM70 20101
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract (Swedish)
The purpose of this study was to provide a complementary understanding to depression among female adolescent refugees through facilitating a feminist social constructionist approach emphasizing the girls’ own subjective experiences and understandings. The research questions dealt with how female adolescent refugees understand the discourses of femininity in their specific context and how they feel and act in regards of these discourses, what meaning female adolescent refugees put into their depressive experiences, how they make sense of these experiences, under what circumstances they are living and how they think these influence their well-being. The study took place in the Palestinian refugee camp Bourj al Barajneh in Lebanon. The main... (More)
The purpose of this study was to provide a complementary understanding to depression among female adolescent refugees through facilitating a feminist social constructionist approach emphasizing the girls’ own subjective experiences and understandings. The research questions dealt with how female adolescent refugees understand the discourses of femininity in their specific context and how they feel and act in regards of these discourses, what meaning female adolescent refugees put into their depressive experiences, how they make sense of these experiences, under what circumstances they are living and how they think these influence their well-being. The study took place in the Palestinian refugee camp Bourj al Barajneh in Lebanon. The main methods were conversation groups and interviews. These were complemented with focus groups and a document review. The main results were that the girls in the study were well aware of the discourses of femininity in their context and that these discourses limited their life choices. While some girls learnt the lesson of gender well, others had depressive experiences trying to live up to the standards of an ideal woman. The social and material circumstances under which they are living helped to reinforce these standards, further restricting their freedom. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gustafsson, Jenny LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM70 20101
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
gender, depression, Palestinian refugees, adolescence, refugee camp
language
English
id
1614538
date added to LUP
2010-11-09 14:39:46
date last changed
2011-01-21 13:48:30
@misc{1614538,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this study was to provide a complementary understanding to depression among female adolescent refugees through facilitating a feminist social constructionist approach emphasizing the girls’ own subjective experiences and understandings. The research questions dealt with how female adolescent refugees understand the discourses of femininity in their specific context and how they feel and act in regards of these discourses, what meaning female adolescent refugees put into their depressive experiences, how they make sense of these experiences, under what circumstances they are living and how they think these influence their well-being. The study took place in the Palestinian refugee camp Bourj al Barajneh in Lebanon. The main methods were conversation groups and interviews. These were complemented with focus groups and a document review. The main results were that the girls in the study were well aware of the discourses of femininity in their context and that these discourses limited their life choices. While some girls learnt the lesson of gender well, others had depressive experiences trying to live up to the standards of an ideal woman. The social and material circumstances under which they are living helped to reinforce these standards, further restricting their freedom.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, Jenny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Restricted Freedom: Depressive Experiences and Gender Identities among Female Palestinian Adolescent Refugees}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}