The meaning of adolescent attachment in a male boarding school : an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Objective: Emphasis is often placed on the negative psychological effects of boarding school on children under the age of 11, yet a literature review revealed that there has been little research into effects on boarding school adolescent males. Therefore the aim of this study was to begin to explore the meaning attributed to the experience of being an adolescent male in a boarding school focusing on the psychological effects of boarding and its impact on their individual experience of relating. Method: Six ex-pupils of a male boarding school were recruited. Participants were interviewed using a semi structured audio-recorded interview, covering early attachment experiences, school experiences and post school relationships. Interview data were qualitatively analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to study participants' experience from 'their perspective. Participants also rated themselves on an attachment questionnaire. Results: Five super-ordinate themes were identified: "Family tradition"; "coping through self-reliance"; boarding school male identity; "ease through etiquette v dis-ease in relationships"; "elucidation through process of past and present". Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight 1) the potential significance of how caregivers, pastoral and teaching staff relate to the male adolescent in an all-male boarding school. 2) that separation from father may be a key factor for the boarding school male adolescent. 3) that more research may be needed on how all-male boarding schools and the gender balance of their staffing impact on alumni's ability to relate to women.