تحلیل مضمون تجربه احساس طردشدگی در کودکان خانواده‌های پرتنش

نیلوفر محمودیان; شاهین هاشمیان; ساناز زارعیان

Authors

Niloofar Mahmoudian Department of Health Psychology, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran Author
Shahin Hashemian Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
Sanaz Zareian Department of General Psychology, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran Author

Keywords:

rejection, children, high-conflict family, thematic analysis, emotional insecurity, interparental conflict

Abstract

This study aimed to thematically analyze children’s lived experience of perceived rejection in high-conflict families and identify the emotional, cognitive, and relational patterns underlying this experience. This qualitative study used thematic analysis. Participants were 22 children aged 9 to 12 years living in Tehran who reported exposure to chronic family tension, recurrent interparental conflict, insufficient emotional responsiveness, or persistent feelings of being ignored within the family. Purposeful sampling was used and continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted approximately 35 to 55 minutes and was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded after obtaining parental consent and child assent. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo software and followed the stages of familiarization with the data, initial coding, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final report. Data analysis led to the identification of five main themes: “emotional invisibility within the family environment,” “internalization of rejection and self-blame,” “emotional insecurity and constant expectation of exclusion,” “withdrawal, silence, and psychological self-protection,” and “seeking emotional substitutes outside the family.” Children did not describe rejection merely as the absence of explicit attention; rather, they experienced it as a multilayered condition involving not being heard, not being seen, being compared with others, being blamed for family problems, and feeling unworthy in close relationships. The findings indicated that children’s sense of rejection in high-conflict families is shaped by unresolved parental conflict, insufficient emotional availability, and threatening family communication patterns. This experience may contribute to emotional insecurity, rejection sensitivity, diminished self-worth, and social withdrawal. Family-centered interventions should therefore focus on reducing destructive conflict, improving parental emotional responsiveness, and restoring children’s sense of belonging and relational safety.

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