Opportunities of Care at What Cost: Findings from a Qualitative Study Exploring Care Leavers Experiences of Residential Care Homes for Children in Thailand

The social problem of children’s homes in Thailand is a complicated one to address. Much of the research on this topic specific to Southeast Asia is relatively new, with many relevant articles published in the past 10 years. For over 80 years, research mainly from Eastern Europe has widely acknowledged the severe long-term cognitive, emotional and developmental effects on children raised in institutional care. However, to date, there has been very little published qualitative research addressing the lived experiences of Thai children growing up in children’s homes from the perspective of the care leavers themselves. This article seeks to learn more about the experiences and perspectives of those who spent their childhoods in institutional care and how they compare with international research on this topic. The results show complicated feelings towards their time in care, with the majority stating that despite the negative aspects, they would still choose a children’s home for themselves over staying in a village without access to secondary school. However, they unanimously expressed that they would not choose the same path for their own children.