The lived experiences of resilience in Iranian adolescents living in residential care facilities: A hermeneutic phenomenological study

BACKGROUND: Resilience is one of the main factors affecting human health, and perceiving its meaning for high-risk adolescents is of particular importance in initiating preventive measures and providing resilience care. OBJECTIVES: This qualitative study was conducted to explain the meaning of resilience in the lived experiences of Iranian adolescents living in governmental residential care facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted using the hermeneutic phenomenological method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adolescents aged 13–17 living in governmental residential care facilities of Tehran province affiliated to the Welfare Organization of Iran who articulated their experiences of resilience. Sampling lasted from May 2014 to July 2015 and continued until new themes were no longer emerging. The researchers analyzed the verbatim transcripts using Van Manen's six-step method of phenomenology. RESULTS: The themes obtained in this study included “going through life's hardships,” “aspiring for achievement,” “self-protection,” “self-reliance,” and “spirituality.” CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that the meaning of resilience coexists with self-reliance in adolescents’ lived experiences. Adolescents look forward to a better future. They always trust God in the face of difficulties and experience resilience by keeping themselves physically and mentally away from difficulties. Adverse and bitter experiences of the past positively affected their positive view on life and its difficulties and also their resilience. The five themes that emerged from the findings describe the results in detail. The findings of this study enable nurses, health administrators, and healthcare providers working with adolescents to help this vulnerable group cope better with their stressful life conditions and improve their health through increasing their capacity for resilience.