Ma'poksai: Lived experiences of Chamorros raised in kinship.

摘要

Changes in society on Guam have brought about adjustments in the family structure. It is inferred that these changes were due in large part to a generation of parents who abandoned their roles. Life circumstances for Chamorro families have prevented parents from caring for their children. This study sought to investigate the lived experiences of Chamorros raised in kinship as children and the reasons for their kinship placement. The phenomenological study on Chamorro kinship experiences found that children placed in kinship environments felt loved. As adults reflecting on their childhood kinship lives they expressed feeling a sense of loss despite the care and love provided in their kinship family. Study participants comprised of 13 adult Chamorros who were raised in kinship by age 8 years or younger. Whatever the situation, children are placed with alternative families or in kinship environments. These families have limited resources such as the case in this study. Despite such conditions, these children learned to adapt and survive. The phenomenon of kinship (ma'poksai) is a cultural practice. On Guam, growing up in alternative family structures is referred to as poksai. Circumstances that led to the placement of children in kinship were due to parental death, parental divorce, economics, single parent households, child abuse and neglect, parental substance abuse, or cultural expectations. The following study is on adults who were reared in kinship caregiving environments as children (ma'poksai).