Life stories of young women who have perceived rejection from their mothers

M.Cur. (Advanced Psychiatric Nursing Science)I am a survivor of a multiple sexual traumas, some more brutal than others but the scar is just as deep. This happened in my teens and into my young adulthood years. During those years I perceived a great lack of support and mostly rejection from my mother, and saw the reoccurrence of these sexual traumas as a result of this. But through growth and education I have learned that my mother did the best that she could at that time, given her position and circumstances. I have also been able to acknowledge and accept my responsibilities in my past and, therefore, my future. It was a very difficult process to conquer, for both my mother and I, but it is worth it and it is possible. Today my mother is my best friend and my biggest fear is life without her. Understanding and overcoming this challenge has eased a lot of emotional pain that I had carried with me over the years and so I wished the same could happen for other women that might have perceived rejection from their mothers. To begin the journey, this research study was born. The purpose of my research study was to explore and describe the life stories of young women who have perceived rejection from their mothers, in order to formulate guidelines and recommendations that may help them to deal effectively with their situation. My research study also aims to stimulate interest among other role players within the academic field, communities and the health profession to assist with other meaningful interventions with regard to this challenge. My research study was implemented in two phases. I used a qualitative, explorative, and contextual research design in my approach. The first phase focused on the life stories of young women who have perceived rejection from their mothers. The second phase dealt with the findings gathered from the field work from which the guidelines and recommendations were formulated to assist the participants in coping with the challenge of their life stories. Eight in-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed by means of Tesch’s method of analysis. Guba’s method of trustworthiness was used together with the services of a well-experienced independent coder, to establish validity and reliability of the data. A signed voluntary consent form was obtained from the participants beforehand for participation in the research study, as well as for the conduction and recording of the interviews. Thematic analysis was used where themes and the central storyline were identified according to the life stories told in each individual interview. The limitations of my research study were also discussed. It was found that more research studies need to be conducted into this phenomenon in order to formulate other effective intervention strategies to help address the challenges that arise from the phenomenon. Recommendations for psychiatric nursing research, psychiatric nursing education, and psychiatric nursing practice were suggested. The knowledge and expertise of a language editor was also used in the research study