The experience of rejection : a single case study of a rejected adolescent

• Main Author: Jones, Sandra L.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4428

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of rejection for an adolescent. A single case study, using Hermenuetic Phenomenological method as described by van Manen (1990) was employed. Over the course of one year, the coresearcher was interviewed and audio-taped twelve times regarding his experiencing of rejection by his peers. The co-researcher also participated in informal meetings and provided samples of his poetry to the researcher. The material was analysed via hermenuetic phenomenological method and themes emerged. Finally a description of the experience of rejection was created by the researcher. The significant dimensions of the experience of rejection which emerged included; physical, cognitive, and emotional isolation and confusion; frustration, tension, anger, and violence; victimhood; communication difficulties; fantasy and magical thinking; alienation, exclusion, and sense of uselessness; negation and invisibility; and hopelessness and despair. In this case, the co-researcher made many attempts to connect meaningfully with society, but was often rebuffed. Based on these findings, implications and recommendations for both schools and counselling practice were outlined to assist those working with rejected adolescents. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate