Negotiating Emotional Well-Being in Institutional Care: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Victimised Girls in a Sri Lankan Certified School

Abstract

Children who experience abuse, neglect, or conflict with the law are often placed in certified schools in Sri Lanka. While these institutions provide protection and rehabilitation, limited research has explored how victimised female children understand their emotional well-being within such highly regulated environments. This qualitative study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine the lived experiences of eleven female children aged 12–16 residing at Ranmuthugala Certified School. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed following the phenomenological procedures outlined by Moustakas (1994). Three superordinate themes emerged: Navigating Relational Safety, Agency Through Engagement, and The Dual Nature of Structure. Findings revealed that participants actively managed emotional well-being through selective attachments with trusted peers or staff, creative and expressive coping strategies, and future-oriented thinking. Institutional routines were experienced as both stabilising and restrictive, providing safety and predictability while limiting autonomy. Emotional well-being was therefore shaped by ongoing negotiation between relational needs, personal agency, and structural constraints. Drawing on Attachment Theory and Goffman’s theory of total institutions, the study highlights how institutionalised girls preserve identity, hope, and relational meaning within environments characterised by surveillance and control. The findings emphasise the need for trauma-informed, attachment-sensitive, and empowerment-based practices within certified schools. By centring the voices of victimised girls, this research contributes to child welfare scholarship in Sri Lanka and underscores the importance of institutional reform that promotes both protection and psychological healing.