Reflexivity and Lived Experience of Out-of-Home Care: Positionality as an Early Parenthood Researcher

Abstract

Knowledge, beliefs, identities, and emotions influence the ways in which all researchers engage in their work. Research processes are uniquely impacted when researchers share the lived experience under investigation, known as insider status. Reflexivity is an ongoing process of scrutinizing and responding to the ways in which positionality and subjectivities impact each stage of the research process. It can provide transparency, strengthen data interpretations, and increase researcher self-awareness. Broader aims of reflexivity aligned with feminist epistemologies are to shape researcher integrity and address structural inequalities. This article explores the author's engagement in reflexive practices while undertaking a PhD investigating early parenthood within the context of out-of-home care. Excerpts from interviews with 3 young mothers, a foster carer, and 11 professionals illustrate how the author's own lived experiences of out-of-home care and new motherhood assisted with building rapport and shared knowledge creation. Strategies employed to manage the risks of over-identifying with participants’ feelings of stigmatization and anxiety are also discussed to demonstrate how appropriate recognition of personal history can enhance the research process. This article concludes by arguing for meaningful opportunities to involve care-experienced people in social work research.