Adolescent Males’ and Parents of Adolescent males’ Perceptions and experiences of being authentic.

In recent years the well-being in male adolescents has been on the decline with males between the ages of 15-19 years being significantly more likely to take their lives than females (Samaritans, 2021). Male adolescents face a unique set of circumstances which could impact upon their well-being, including under-reporting poor mental health and denying emotional distress (Carlen et al., 2022; Courtenay, 2011). Carl Rogers (1961) believes a person is authentic when they dispose of their facades and become openly what they truly are. This suggests that to experience well-being adolescent males need to be authentic. However, judgemental conditions from parents and wider society, called conditions of worth, can prevent a person being authentic. When a person is authentic, they are thought to experience greater well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2000). In this study, the traditional Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach was expanded to examine two distinct groups’ experiences and perceptions of authenticity. One group consisted of five male adolescents aged 16 to 19 years and the other consisted of four parents of male adolescents. Each participant was interviewed separately using semi-structured interviews and were encouraged to bring a photograph to the interview to represent what authenticity meant to them. An idiographic analysis was conducted of each participant’s experiences. Group Experiential Themes (GETs) were identified for adolescent males. These were: ‘It is good to be me’, ‘True self as judged by other’, ‘Future self as representing hope’ and ‘Revealing true self in safe ways’. Parents’ GETs were identified as: ‘It’s not positive to be outside the system’, ‘Self as lost or put to one side’, ‘Adapting self to fit in’, ‘Parental control and balancing aspirations’, ‘Being self is positive and necessary’ and ‘Self as evolving’. Convergences and divergences in the perceptions and experiences of authenticity between the two groups were examined and three Group Experiential Themes were identified; ‘True self as necessary’, ‘Changing self’ and ‘The need to belong’. It was found that parents tended to make their true self (authentic), less explicit with people they were uncomfortable around. Adolescent males tended to hide their true self with people they did not trust and so were inauthentic. However, the male adolescents had started to believe that they could change who they were so that they would be more likely to fit in with a judgemental society in the future suggesting they had a fluid individualised perception of authenticity. These are discussed in relation existing literature including Rivera et al’s. (2019) authenticity as desired reputation, Deci and Ryan’s (2012) Self Determination Theory, Sedikides et al’s. (2019) revision of state authenticity and Dialogical Self Theory which accounts for the impact of socio-cultural and historical contexts (Hermans, 2022). The strengths and limitations of the research are explored. The main limitation being difficulty in recruiting male participants which was exacerbated by the pandemic. The wider implications of the research are discussed, focusing on the use of co-construction and reflectivity in Person-centred counselling and supervision and the use of character-work to facilitate exploration of self.