Browsing by Subject "yhdessä syöminen"

Goals. Family life is being challenged by many changes in society. Family dining interacts with other activities in an individual’s life and by studying it can we better understand the complex nature of everyday life. In this research family meals were observed through an adolescent lens. In this age a child’s relationship with his or her family is transforming. Since family meals can affect the well-being of adolescents in various ways, it seems relevant to examine their views on eating together. The aim of this study was to look for the diverse thoughts that family meals would evoke in 9th graders. The research task is to find the themes that strike out as most meaningful in a 9th graders’ thinking. Methods. The study was executed according to the qualitative research strategy while making use of phenomenological methodology. The data was acquired from 9th graders on an optional home economics lesson at a school in Uusimaa. The data was collected as mind maps and the event was observed. The data consists of ten (10) mind maps. It was analyzed and the comments in the mind maps were divided by their themes into three groups: (1) actions and habits, (2) regularity and quantity and (3) emotions, wishes and statements. Results and conclusions. The most recurring themes the adolescents brought up were spending time together, catching up with each other and experiencing positive emotions. In addition to these the youngsters expressed plenty of wishes and statements regarding eating together. In light of this thesis’ results, eating together in an adolescent’s everyday life would appear to be a positive operation of social and emotional significance. The results confirm earlier studies suggesting that family meals have positive effects on the well-being of young people.