What Would Foucault Say? Applying the Theoretical Lens of Power/Control and Stigma through a Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis of Runaway Girls

Abstract

Qualitative studies have examined runaway youth and their choices to leave home, their involvement living on the streets, and their lived experiences as stigmatized youth. For the present study, a Qualitative Interpretative Meta-Synthesis (QIMS) was conducted to synthesize the data from these various studies. A systematic search located qualitative research that focused on girls who were or had been runaways. They were synthesized in this analysis. The themes of power/control and stigma are analyzed with a Foucaultian lens with an eye toward informing social workers of their roles in the power/control structures that create stigma for runaway youth.