When singing strengthens the capacity to aspire: girls’ reflexivity in rural Bangladesh

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.In the present paper, we explore the impact of singing for girls in rural Bangladesh. Previous findings in this field-based interview study (with 18 girls) have demonstrated that singing can act as a driving force in young girls’ psychological individuation processes, implying increased agency and autonomy. A critical question, however, is to what extent the village girls will manage to maintain a feeling of agency as they pass through puberty. How do they navigate between their own wish to continue singing and pressure from cultural norms (such as getting married)? Using Margareth Archer’s morphogenetic approach and Arjun Appadurai’s approach to culture as a capacity as analytical tools, we connect different modes of reflexivity to the girls’ capacity to aspire. We discuss specific mechanisms that emerge as relevant for the girls/young women as they navigate their way through the Bengali rural society.publishedVersio

A voice of one’s own – singing as an individuation process

Opprinnelig publisert her: https://psykologtidsskriftet.no/vitenskapelig-artikkel/2020/09/egen-stemme. Publisert i Brage med skriftlig tillatelse fra tidsskriftet.Background: Vocalizing is key to the individual’s psychological development, and singing can be vital in creating a sense of community. There is, however, scant knowledge on how singing can contribute to inding a voice of one’s own in youth. Method: We explored the impact of singing in a qualitative study with Bangladeshi village girls learning folk songs. The data material includes in-depth interviews with 10 girls coming from rural areas where girls often get married off early. Results: Analysis resulted in three main themes: 1) To become oneself through singing, 2) To comfort oneself through singing, and 3) To get to know oneself through the teacher. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that the girls discover and integrate affect through singing, giving them courage to stand up for themselves. The paper argues that singing may be a driving force in psychological individuation processes towards increased autonomy.publishedVersio

Egen stemme - en studie av å synge som individuasjon

Background: Vocalizing is key to the individual’s psychological development, and singing can be vital in creating a sense of community. There is, however, scant knowledge on how singing can contribute to inding a voice of one’s own in youth. Method: We explored the impact of singing in a qualitative study with Bangladeshi village girls learning folk songs. The data material includes in-depth interviews with 10 girls coming from rural areas where girls often get married off early. Results: Analysis resulted in three main themes: 1) To become oneself through singing, 2) To comfort oneself through singing, and 3) To get to know oneself through the teacher. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that the girls discover and integrate affect through singing, giving them courage to stand up for themselves. The paper argues that singing may be a driving force in psychological individuation processes towards increased autonomy

When singing strengthens the capacity to aspire: girls’ reflexivity in rural Bangladesh

In the present paper, we explore the impact of singing for girls in rural Bangladesh. Previous findings in this field-based interview study (with 18 girls) have demonstrated that singing can act as a driving force in young girls’ psychological individuation processes, implying increased agency and autonomy. A critical question, however, is to what extent the village girls will manage to maintain a feeling of agency as they pass through puberty. How do they navigate between their own wish to continue singing and pressure from cultural norms (such as getting married)? Using Margareth Archer’s morphogenetic approach and Arjun Appadurai’s approach to culture as a capacity as analytical tools, we connect different modes of reflexivity to the girls’ capacity to aspire. We discuss specific mechanisms that emerge as relevant for the girls/young women as they navigate their way through the Bengali rural society

Discovering One’s Own Way: Adolescent Girls’ Different Pathways Into and Out of Self-Harm

Self-harm is associated with mental illness and suicide risk. The present study aims to increase knowledge of adolescent girls’ pathways into and out of self-harm. The participants were 19 girls, 13 to 18 years of age, who were strategically selected from an outpatient care unit. A naturalistic multiple case study was done with personal interviews. The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, and the capacity for “mentalization”—representation of behavior in terms of mental states—was measured with the Reflective Functioning Scale. The analysis of the topic “beginning self-harm” resulted in two meta-themes: (a) beginning self-harm as a way to handle difficult feelings and relational problems and (b) becoming influenced by peers to experiment with self-harm. The analysis of the topic “quitting self-harm” resulted in three meta-themes: (a) ambivalence toward help, treatment, and ending self-harm; (b) finding one’s own way of quitting self-harm; and (c) exploring self-harm together with the therapist. Three case stories illustrate variations in trajectories of change and capacity for mentalization. The findings suggest that self-harm may be a way of handling developmental challenges in autonomy and identity formation during adolescence. Adolescents need an opportunity to discover their own way of quitting self-harm. Variations in mentalization may provide for different pathways