Guatemalan family-style orphanages: A grounded theory examination of caregiver perspectives

This study is an exploratory qualitative examination of two separate non-profit family-style orphanages in Guatemala. The researchers used a grounded theory approach to study semi-structured interviews of caregivers (N = 20). Caregivers mainly consisted of ‘tias’ who lived with the children and teachers who taught the children at the schools associated with the orphanage. The following categories emerged from the data: sense of belonging, hope for the future, and the importance of structure (e.g. organization and schedule). There was also an emphasis on religion in both the sense of belonging and hope for the future categories. This study adds to the emerging research regarding family-style orphanage care and focuses on caregiver perspectives.