Experiences of orphans in Iloilo City: The influence of institutional parenting and interpersonal relationships in the institution on their life plans

• Main Author: Vargas, Bea Joy J.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Orphans > Philippines; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/2922
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study describes the experiences of orphans living in orphanages in Iloilo City, and how these experiences influence their life plans. It also determines how their experiences in the orphanage vary according to the quality of their experiences before they were institutionalized. In-depth interviews were conducted among fifteen (15) orphans residing in orphanages in Iloilo City. The informants are between the ages of 18 to 22 years old. The study reveals that financial problems, together with the inability of the orphans’ surrogate parents to provide social and emotional support, were the primary reasons for the orphans’ transition to the orphanage. The institutional parenting provided for the orphans is manifested through the various social and emotional support given to them by their caregivers and social workers. The findings also reveal that the experiences of the informants in the orphanage shape their life plans. Specifically, the different skills training provided for them influenced their work plans in the future. The study discovered that the orphans deemed the quality of their experiences in the orphanage as favorable, in comparison to their experiences before they were institutionalized.