title: Staff and youth views on autonomy and emancipation from residential care: a participatory research study.
abstract: The use of participatory approaches in designing services is still relatively uncommon. In this study, we helped design a service to support the transition of youth from residential care to independent living by exploring the perspectives of staff and of youth regarding: (a) the concept and development of autonomy; and (b) key factors in developing this type of service. We gathered the data through 10 interviews with staff (n=10) and 4 focus groups with youth (n=21), and subjected the data to a thematic content analysis. Staff defined autonomy as self-regulation and self-care, and identified three paths to foster autonomy--a sense of normality, meaningful relationships, and planning for emancipation. The staff and youth identified the following important aspects in designing the service: achieving normality (e.g. limited number of residents), promoting youth capacity (e.g. skill-building activities), providing social support (e.g. trust and respect between residents), and assuring guidance and boundaries (e.g. supervision of youth).
authors.affiliation: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL, ISCTE-IUL, Avenida das Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal. maria.calheiros@iscte.pt
authors.forename: Maria Manuela
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Calheiros
authors.forename: Joana Nunes
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Patrício
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Graça
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000299:Adolescent, Institutionalized / Q000523:psychology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003688:Deinstitutionalization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011174:Portugal; D012112:Residential Facilities; D012648:Self Care; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult