Conference Agenda

Teenage pregnancy is a global challenge that can have serious consequences for both youth girls, their children, and the community in which they live. Adolescent childbearing is stigmatized by society as negative and undesirable, even though marginalized youth may see motherhood as the only way out of deprivation.

To better understand this phenomenon, the presenters involved ten Hungarian Roma women living in socio-economically and ethnically marginalized situations who became mothers as teenagers in an art-based participatory action research process. Digital Storytelling was used as a research method to identify the common characteristics of motherhood stories. Data came from the dialogs of the process and the short autobiographical videos created by the participants.

The method provided a powerful platform for the participants to give voice to their lived experiences, process their painful stories, and connect with each other. The act of creating a digital story had a transformative, empowering effect on the participants who identified structural barriers behind the problem and advocated for social change.

In this presentation, we would like to give an overview of this process, discuss the validity and reliability of the research results, present digital storytelling as a transformative social intervention, and introduce the experiences of the art-based research methodology.

Becoming a mother requires a process of reconstructing identity and integrate one’s changed position to oneself and others. This process might falter at different points and lead to experiences of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. In the context of the covid-19 pandemic social relationships changed substantially and forced isolation posed additional challenges for new mothers.

In this study we conducted a qualitative interview study with women who gave birth during periods of lockdown in Belgium on their experiences of becoming a mother during the perinatal period.

The absence of others in real life and changed care, life, and work circumstances posed substantial challenges for most participants. The lack of others being a witness of their new position as a mother made it difficult to reframe their identity. Feelings of being unnoticed, not being seen and not considered as a mother by others were described and related to feelings of loneliness.

The findings of this study indicate the importance of the physical presence, the gaze of others seeing and recognizing women as a mother of their baby in protecting the well-being of both. Qualitative research allows for rich and in-depth insights both at the level of experience and its discursive context.

Background and objective: Currently, 21.9% of the Hungarian population is over 65 years old. Advancing age also means several elderly people need help, so the demand for nursing homes is increasing. This exploratory research examines the factors that significantly influence mental health in old age, with special attention to the factors relevant for those living in nursing homes. The main hypothesis of the research is that nursing homes can elicit mental health. Method: I base my results on life interviews with 24 elderly people and on the scores of their WHO-WBI-5 questionnaires, as well as on the processing of the features and services of 20 nursing homes. Results: Communality and prosocial values stand out within the construct of social relations. Physical activity seems very important for mental health. Several interviewees highlighted work-like activities as the main source of meaning and competence. Some mentioned spirituality to fight the fear of death. Based on the findings, nursing homes can serve as perceived social support to preserve the vitality of those cared for and reduce loneliness. Self-esteem and intra-relations can be strengthened by forming group-identity, there are several tricks to raise self-efficacy and spirituality even within the walls of a nursing home.

This presentation describes a qualitative study that aimed to explore the experiences of older adults with digitalization and its impact on their mental health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed thematically, revealing that digital devices provided a valuable source of connection and entertainment for older adults. However, they also faced challenges related to digital inequality and lack of technical support, which hindered their ability to fully engage with technology. Retirement and loss of social connections can lead to loneliness in old age, but digital contact can alleviate this feeling, although not all online relationships are satisfying. Additionally, the interviewees discussed the psychological burden of digital device use, such as anger and overuse, due to inadequate digital skills and a lack of technical or emotional support. This study highlights the importance of qualitative research methods in understanding the mental health challenges faced by older adults in the context of digitalization.