Lived Experience of Children Without Effective parental Care in Residential Care Centers in Tehran

Children without guardians has always been a social issue. These children have been deprived of family support and custody for many reasons because they have lost one or all of the effective member of meeting their needs in life. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the lived experience of children without effective parental care in residential care centers in Tehran. The presented research is applied as a goal and in terms of the type of method is a phenomenological research. The collected tools include the semi-structured interview. The statistical population for this research are girls and boys living in residential care centers in Tehran who are over 13 years old and have at least 5 years of life experience in these centers and were selected by targeted Sampling because of interview with them get a clearer understanding of their issues and needs. MAXQDA software were used for data analysis. Results of content analysis of 7 main themes and 22 sub-themes. Lack was also identified as the common nature of the phenomenon. Findings indicated a complex perception of life in residential care centers by participants. Despite the many restrictions and supervision in these centers, they were satisfied with their lives, but they think living in these centers is the source of an ambiguous future. They demanded attention to more happiness, support and acceptance in society. Also they have a dual feeling towards family: nostalgia and sadness.