Maskrosbarn- den förlorade barndomen. En biografisk studie utifrån maskrosbarns beskrivningar av deras barndom och hur de har hanterat den som vuxna

ABSTRACT Author: Jennifer Hedin Title: Invulnerable children – a lost childhood. A biographical study by invulnerable children's descriptions of their childhood and how they have handled it as adults [translated title] Supervisor: Maria Heintz Assessor: Anders Östnäs The purpose of this study was to examine how invulnerable children described their difficult childhood. The aim was also to understand how the invulnerable children handled their difficult childhood both as children and as adults. To examine the purpose I read three autobiographies written by Swedish female authors who identify themselves as invulnerable children. The results I found after reading and analyzing the content of the texts were five themes which were the most central in describing a difficult childhood. These were the mother’s lack of care, too much responsibility, the relationship between the mother and child, lack of important people in their lives and self- image. To understand the five themes which described their childhood I applied the concept of risk factors. Parent’s mental illness, criminality and divorce are example of risk factors. To explain how the authors described how they handled their difficult childhood I used protective factors. Protective factors can be factors outside that help the children, for example teachers and friends who care. It can also be factors inside themselves, for example social competence. As a conclusion the authors had more risk factors then protective factors during their childhood. To survive and protect themselves they changed some risk factors to protective factors. Key words: invulnerable children, childhood, risk factor, protective factor, autobiographies