Philippine Journal of Psychology

June 2000, Vol. 33, No. 1

Phenomenological-Clinical Approaches to the Study of Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances
Special Issue Editor: Maria Lourdes Arellano-Carandang

Contents

The Clinician as Researcher, Innovator and Communicator
Ma. Lourdes Arellano-Carandang

The author elucidates on how the clinical psychologist has developed various therapeutic skills that are ideally suited for innovative research.
The Phenomenological Approach in Psychological Research
Madelene Sta. Maria

The principles of the phenomenological approach are initially explained by examining how the use of introspection in the approach differs from its use as understood by the empirical psychologist. In phenomenology, it is assumed that subjectivity constitutes reality, and with this assumption we are given another viewpoint with which we may be objective about the mind. Objectivity in a phenomenological study is to capture the invariance in the appearance of phenomena in consciousness or in subjectivity in varied circumstances of lived experience. Integral to this is the researcher's abandonment of the "natural attitude" and the use of the researcher's own subjectivity in revealing meanings as a phenomenon is re-experienced through phenomenological analysis.
Developing a Method for Understanding the Resiliency of Abused Children
Violeta Bautista

Research on the resiliency of abused children in particular and experience in family therapy in general point to a need for a method of investigation suited to understand suffering and resiliency as human experience. Favoring the qualitative, phenomenological intuitions over the positivist is more fruitful since the nature of the knowledge critical to the investigation involves a feel for the world of consciousness of the abused. The connectedness between the persons of the researcher and of the children is decisive in generating and understanding the needed knowledge. Thus the preferred method makes much use of life histories and narratives from the point of view of the experiencing persons. It turns out that resiliency itself has much to do with the way the children reconfigure a host of elements in their life into a narrative of hope.

The Inner World of the Boy-Child Prostitute: A Phenomenological and In-depth Clinical Study
Beatrix Aileen Laguisma-Sison

Using a phenomenological approach and multiple case studies, this research focused on 12 boys with previous experience in prostitution. They were interviewed and then clinically assessed using several projective tests, which were developed and further refined, from previous studies on sexual abuse. Significant findings showed the boys' intense longing for nurturance from a parent-like figure – a significant adult who is affirming and caring. Insecure about their abilities and in what the future holds for them, they feel emotionally and physically neglected. As a form of coping, they have consciously become a parent to the others to cover up their strong underlying need to be nurtured and cared for. With regard to their experience in prostitution where their clients were mostly men, the gravity of the trauma they experienced in their trade affected their own sexual identity. The paper ends with the inner journey of the researcher.
Pagkatao, Pagkababae, at Seksuwalidad (Self-Concept, Womanhood, and Sexuality): A Phenomenological Study of the Inner World of the Girl Child Prostitute
Priscilla Gonzalez-Fernando

This study sought to explore the "inner world" of female children with previous involvement in prostitution, specifically their self-concept, sense of womanhood and sexuality . Using an in-depth, multiple case-study approach, eight girls aged 14 to 17 years were interviewed using a clinical interview and projective techniques to encourage the expression of their deepest and most personal feelings, needs, issues, and attitudes. The main finding was that an emotional/conceptual "split" had taken place, wherein the girls' self-concept, sense of womanhood and sexuality contained two widely disparate, and yet equally present, self-images: the one that had been irreparably damaged, stained, abused, and degraded by the experiences of abuse and prostitution, and therefore deserved no honor, love, or happiness; and the one that held hope for a "new (or fantasized) me" that had dignity, was respected and loved, and had real choices and a real chance for happiness.
Makasalanan o Kapus-Palad: A Phenomenological Study of Children in Conflict With the Law
Rosales Cornelia Araneta-de Leon

Using a multiple case-multiple measures approach, this study focused on understanding the world of children in conflict with the law (CIL). Eight boys ages 14 to 17 were given the clinical assessment battery composed of an in-depth interview, projective techniques and adult behavioral observations. The experiences of the children in their outer world and inner world were sought. The results point towards a longing for a nurturing family. The association of bonding and attachment on conscience development was explored. Stages of conscience erosion were formulated indicating a need for early intervention to help the CIL. Strategies for intervention and suggestions for further research are discussed.
Re-visiting the Children of Smokey Mountain: The Past Still Speaks for the Present
Maria Kathleen Bernardette N. Puente

Using an in-depth clinical and phenomenological approach, the original research looked into the relevant demographic characteristics of the scavenger children, their experiences of scavenging, family and community life, their wishes and aspirations, and other factors affecting their moral or spiritual development. Findings on the relevant demographic data and the children's work experiences are consistent with existing literature on child labor. However, scavenger children suffer more inner wounds than what most people ordinarily think. Surrounded daily by domestic and communal violence, scavenger children feel helpless underneath an external behavior of helping their families survive. In the midst of these dire conditions, the most effective avenue for hope and change may be in school, the only institution that the children look to positively. Finally, the inner hope, wisdom and moral clarity that scavenger children demonstrate are remarkably admirable.
Minding the Minds of the Sexually Abused Street Children: A Look Into Their Cognitive Functioning
Ma. Louise P. Triviño

Drawn from a comprehensive in-depth clinical study on street children, a closer look at the cognitive processes and abilities of twenty sexually abused street children was done. The Problem-solving Style, Worldview and the Intellectual Abilities of the sexually abused children were obtained through in-depth clinical interview, projective tests and selected subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R). Data on the cognitive processes were analyzed using a qualitative method called the modified inter-rater clinical judgement and discussion-consensus model (Carandang, 1999). Results show that the sexually abused children have a generally disempowered way of facing problems. They mainly employ either evasion or passivity to deal with conflicts. Their resulting worldview is likewise negative. They generally see the world as cruel and chaotic. A small percentage however, although admitting that the world was indeed difficult, had some hope for change. Intellectual abilities of the sexually abused were generally lower than their normal counterparts. Implications about the influence of their negative worldview and disempowered problem-solving style on their cognitive performance were discussed.
When a Positivist-Trained Psychologist Asks a Different Research Question
Christian Vernon M. Mogol

The author discusses the experiential aspects of doing qualitative as opposed to quantitative research.