Qualitative Study of Gender Identity and Self-Esteem in Adolescent Delinquent Girls: Role of the Family

Background: The present phenomenological research aimed to investigate the role of the family in the gender identity and self-esteem of adolescent delinquent girls. It employed a phenomenological approach. Methods: The research population consisted of 17 - 18-year-old delinquent girls in Tehran during the years 2021 - 2022, and purposive sampling was employed. After conducting 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews, the researcher reached data saturation. The data were analyzed using Smith's phenomenological method. Results: This study obtained six main themes, 14 sub-themes, and 73 meaningful units. The main themes were as follows: (1) Inadequate access to parents; (2) parental conflicts; (3) ineffective interaction styles; (4) ineffective modeling; (5) ineffective rules; and (6) gender discrimination. The findings of this study indicated that delinquent girls had experienced numerous family-related harms and dysfunction within the family, along with weakened gender identity and self-esteem, resulting in disturbances in their social behavior. Conclusions: This research demonstrated that beyond the act of delinquency, there always exists an underlying motivation, and parents and educators should strive to identify which needs of adolescents are being met through such behaviors.