Applied Social Studies - Doctoral Theses

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A study of the social organisation of the determination and classification of deaths by suicide in Ireland
(University College Cork, 2024) Williamson, Ellen May; Edwards, Claire; Ni Laoire, Caitriona
There is a widely held belief that official national suicide mortality statistics underestimate the actual number of deaths in situations where the deceased has taken their own life and that, as a consequence, government resources for suicide prevention initiatives are not optimally allocated and utilised. International research supports the notion that the numbers of deaths by suicide are underestimated, and opinions regarding the level of underestimation vary. Whilst research regarding the level of underestimation is insightful in offering possible explanations relating to technical aspects of suicide statistics, less research has been conducted into the social processes which shape how suicide mortality statistics are produced and with what effect. In Ireland, the process for determining and classifying unnatural deaths that may be due to suicide is a coronial medico-legal one where the coroner determines the medical cause, the manner and means of death. Uniquely, however, the Irish process of classifying an unnatural death that has been subject to an inquest, for the purpose of national mortality statistics, can subsequently involve a Garda giving an opinion in a confidential form as to the means of death, and the opinion being taken into account for classification purposes by the mortality coder in the Central Statistics Office . This study interrogates the social organisation of the determination and classification of deaths by suicide in Ireland. It makes visible the procedures, practices, and key actors involved at each stage of the process of the construction of suicide statistics. It explores the role of the coroner with a particular emphasis on the beyond reasonable doubt legal requirement and explores the administrative procedures, including the impact of the procedure involving the Garda’s confidential opinion, in shaping production of the statistics. The research is based on interviews with coroners, an examination of coroners’ inquest files and a matching of coroners’ verdicts with the national mortality database. The study powerfully evidences the way in which socio-cultural factors, including historical administrative systems, institutional norms regarding ‘how we do business around here’, and human discretion all feed into the construction and production of Irish suicide statistics. It shows that even though suicide was decriminalised thirty years ago, the legacy of the historical context of suicide as a crime persists. The research indicates that the status and power of the coronial system has not diminished in a culturally changed Ireland and demonstrates the effects of the beyond reasonable doubt requirement in determining possible suicide deaths. Most significantly, the research exposes provisionality, contingency, inconsistencies and scope for discretion at multiple levels in the process of the determination and classification of possible suicide deaths which definitively impact official suicide statistics. The study therefore argues that there is an urgent need to develop consistent understandings, practices and processes across all actors involved in the social organisation of suicide mortality statistics. It proposes that one way to do this may be to introduce internationally recognised operational criteria which support a balance of probabilities approach to death determination and classification, as a way of developing greater standardisation, transparency, and confidence in suicide mortality statistics, and in turn, better informed public health responses to this enduring societal issue.
An exploration of foster carers' identity in the caregiving role: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
(University College Cork, 2023) Daniels, Maria; McCaughren, Simone; Bantry White, Eleanor
The purpose of this research was to explore the life experiences that influenced foster carers to take on the role of fostering. The aim was to develop a more in-depth understanding of how their experiences shaped their identity in the caregiving role and their developing relationships with the children in their care. A qualitative approach was adopted guided by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Seven foster families were recruited and data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using IPA. Four superordinate themes emerged from the interpretative analysis. The first theme Complex Family Dynamics identified foster carers’ reasons for taking on the role of fostering were deeply personal and related to their own subjective experiences. The second theme Conflicting Identities captured their feelings around the assessment process. The third theme Developing Identities related to their emerging identities as foster carers and developing relationships with the children in their care. The fourth theme Enactment of the Role outlined their approach to the task of fostering and relationships with professionals. Narrative identity was the lens used to analyse the new findings related to the interchange between what foster carers bring to the role and the requirements of the system. Their experiences in the role emerged as contextual and deeply personal. Their identity as foster carers was shaped by their subjective experiences and this identity was different to the one imposed on them as ‘ordinary’ families who enter a system and are simultaneously required to adhere to statutory requirements and professionals expectations. The analysis of this research focused on foster carers’ interpretation of their role and the implications for them, the children in their care and the system that recruits and supports them. The main conclusions are presented and lead to a number of recommendations for social work practice, support and training for foster carers, policy implications and future research. Underpinning these recommendations is an emphasis on the importance of considering foster carers’ experiences through their lenses. The findings suggest further exploration of how foster carers are assessed in Ireland is needed to create a more authentic space for reflection for both foster carers and social workers. An examination of what foster carers bring to the role from their unique perspectives would also give them a sense of self in the care they provide and build a foundation for future learning.
Adoption reunions: an exploratory study of the ‘lived experience’ of Irish adult intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth families in the digital age
(University College Cork, 2023) Shier, Anne Marie; Christie, Alastair; McCaughren, Simone; Jenkinson, Hilary; Technological University Dublin
This research explores the lived experiences of reunion for young adults who are adopted internationally to Ireland. It examines how intercountry adoptees have reunions with their birth families online and in-person, and how experiences of contact and reunion with their birth family contribute to their identity construction. The rationale for studying reunion in intercountry adoption to Ireland is that it is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the first cohort of intercountry adoptees to Ireland now reaching adulthood. Therefore, the study makes a unique contribution to this field of research by addressing a gap in research on the experiences of reunion with birth families among intercountry adoptees to Ireland. A further significant contribution which the study offers is a focus on how social media and technology are used in the process of reunion. An interpretivist approach was used to provide insight into the reunion experiences of internationally adopted people in Ireland. This thesis adopts a qualitative research methodology with the data drawn from in-depth, semi-structured interviews completed over twelve months with twelve intercountry adoptees aged between nineteen and thirty. All of the participants were internationally adopted to Ireland and have had reunions with their birth families online and/or in person. Theoretical concepts centred around a sociological approach to identity construction and relevant literature were used to explore and illuminate the experiences of intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth family. The transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate the transformative role of social media and technology on reunion in intercountry adoption. The affordances of social media and technology facilitated searching for and connecting with family members online, often at a fast pace. The online contact ‘normalised’ and provided a ‘safe space’ for birth family contact and identity construction. A significant finding was the extent to which birth siblings act as facilitators and mediators of participants’ online contact with birth parents, and the way that online contact facilitated participants’ engagement in impression management to control and manage their identity narratives. The findings highlight the immersive embodied experiences of in-person contact which frequently involved staying with birth family and provided opportunities for ‘mothering’ and sharing family cultural rituals and routines. Challenges associated with the reunion including managing boundaries, financial expectations and accessing information are presented. The research findings demonstrate the importance of birth family contact and information for intercountry adoptees and the key role this plays in identity formation. This research contributes to knowledge by reconceptualising what is meant by a ‘reunion’ in an intercountry adoption context; highlighting the significant role of social media technology in reunion in intercountry adoption; emphasising the continued importance of in-person contact and demonstrating the way that sociological approaches to identity can be used as a lens to explore the experiences of intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth families. Finally, this research provides recommendations for policy, practice and research concerning reunion in intercountry adoption.
An exploration of the support and facilitation of young people’s religious preferences in children’s residential care services
(University College Cork, 2023) Anderson, Victoria J.; Horgan, Deirdre; McCaughren, Simone
Set within broader practice and theoretical contexts, the overall objective of this research was to explore the support and facilitation of religious diversity amongst young people living in residential children’s services in Ireland. Based on the recognition of the unique positioning of these services in the private domain of young people and their family’s lives, as well as the complex historic relationship between residential care and religion, the research examines how well-equipped services are to effectively respond to diverse religious preferences within an increasingly secular framework. Building on the epistemological foundations of interpretivism, a social constructivist approach was incorporated into a mixed-method research design to capture the views and opinions of some key social actors in the everyday meaning-making processes surrounding this issue. The primary exploration focuses on micro-level service delivery and everyday practice. Drawing loosely on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979), broader consideration has been given to macro aspects of service delivery, including legislation, policy, and practice structures, as well as the meso-level impacts including relevant staff support, education, and training in order to contextualise the research. Data gathered indicates inconsistencies in practices, attitudes toward and framings of religion across different services, different service types and between different religions. The outcomes of the exploration highlight a need for increased religious consideration not only in frontline professional practice but also in the systems and structures surrounding everyday service delivery. The findings of the research suggest that more needs to be done to increase religious literacy amongst all involved in service delivery to ensure young people are receiving adequate support and facilitation of their religious preferences in acknowledgement of their rights to religion and the role that it may play in their lives and circumstances.
From a constitutional ban to reproductive justice? Trans/formations of past and present abortion governance in Ireland
(University College Cork, 2023) Waltz, Charlotte; Leane, Máire; O'Riordan, Jacqui; Irish Research Council; Cultuurfonds; VSBFonds; Hendrik Mullerfonds
Following the Repeal of the constitutional ban on abortion in May 2018, abortion care in Ireland was implemented on 1 January 2019. Under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, abortion is now legally available during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, in later cases where the pregnant person’s life or health is at risk, and in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. Abortion provision remains criminalised for medical practitioners outside of those parameters. The legal, cultural, social, and political shift in governance after the repeal of the constitutional ban provides fertile ground to move away from moral understandings of abortion and to explore abortion care as policy, practice and lived experience for both service user and provider. This thesis examines the emergence of abortion care practices and norms under the transformed post-Repeal governance framework from 2019 to 2021, the period which is subject to the Government Review of the Health Act 2018. Drawing on existing publicly available information and ethnographic fiction, this thesis unpacks how abortion governance is put into practice and how this shapes service users' and providers’ engagement with abortion care in Ireland. It critically examines how governance under the new legal context in Ireland is translated into the provision of abortion care, which systemic inequities and contexts shape access and provision, and evaluates to what extent abortion governance has moved towards reproductive justice. The conceptual framework develops and employs the concepts of reproductive justice (Ross, 2017; Ross and Solinger, 2017), reproductive governance (Morgan and Roberts 2012), moral governance (Mishtal, 2015) and feminist understandings of biopower (De Zordo and Marchesi, 2015; Foucault, 1997a; 1997b; 1995; 1990). Together they combine to enable a situated reading of past and present abortion governance in Ireland and inform the entire research process. Abortion governance is historically contextualised through a reproductive justice frame and different ways of knowing and experiencing abortion care are foregrounded throughout the thesis. The methodological approach develops and deploys creative feminist and reproductive justice methods (Davis and Craven, 2016; Günel, Varma and Watanabe, 2020; Ross and Solinger, 2017). The methodology incorporates a reflexive and creative writing approach which seeks to capture embodied experiences with abortion care (Ingridsdotter and Kallenberg, 2018). Ethno-fictional vignettes provide the means to illustrate embodied experiences of service users and providers that can be difficult for more dominant academic approaches to capture, and to critically appraise the first three years of abortion care provision from a reproductive justice perspective. As such, this thesis presents a new way of analysing and understanding contemporary abortion care in Ireland. The research identifies four main post-Repeal governance mechanisms: the legal framework under the Health Act 2018, controlling of information and maintaining a culture of secrecy, framing of abortion as exceptional, and exclusionary and delaying processes of governance change. These mechanisms demonstrate central continuities between pre- and post-Repeal abortion governance, despite the transformative moment of the Repeal referendum in 2018. The legalisation of abortion does not guarantee an expansion of considerations of embodied experiences with care, nor does it significantly transform moral governance mechanisms of the past. The ethno-fictional vignettes give voice and visibility to often hidden experiences of abortion service provision and use. This unique approach to conducting research on abortion provision in Ireland reveals that abortion access and provision continue to be problematic and inequitable and highlights how lived engagements with care are intricately tied up with governance. This thesis thus shows that post-Repeal abortion governance in Ireland does not reflect reproductive justice and, moreover, impedes further transformations towards it.

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