TheFamilyandSelfinDialogue.docVIP

The Family and Self in Dialogue Sujata Sriram, Ph.D., Pooja Ralhan, Nandita Chaudhary, Ph.D. Department of Child Development, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi. Abstract This paper presents findings from research on the dialogical construction of the self among Indian adolescents. The method was found to be valuable, relevant and effective in creating a favourable atmosphere for self-disclosure in this cultural location. The mapping of the self and PPR constructions assisted the respondents to represent already lived through experiences, co-present current events and pre-present future circumstances along with the researcher. Among the 18 adolescents researched, it was revealed that social relationships, societal values and past experiences with people, particularly within the family found dominant places in the constructions of the self. Family members were found to be permanent inhabitants within the defined space with frequent reference to hierarchy, authority patterns and power relations. Relationships were evaluated both positively and negatively while creating spaces with distinct teleological relevance for self-definition and future projections. From within the family, it was the parents who were positioned in the dominant spaces and the youth often evaluated themselves as physically, psychologically and socially immature in comparison. There was a discernible allegiance to parents as the fundamental makers of the individual self of the adolescents with inextricable linkages to their very existence. Siblings were incorporated as indispensable elements of the connected self with the older sibling having a quasi-parental character. All respondents mentioned extended kin as significant in the formative years of their life. The memories of growing up with other family members were particularly evident among youth that had lived in joint families. The function of extra-familial relationships was articulated with reference to companionable peers as signific