Drawing a River: Utilizing the Power of Metaphors in Interviews With Children and Young People

Abstract

In the field of qualitative health research on children, scholars have called for the inclusion of children’s perspectives. Still, health care research on children appears to be characterized by an exclusionary approach that stems from a conception of disability and sickness as equivalent to a lack of agency. This article responds to the call to include children’s perspectives. It presents the Double-view (Dovi)-river interview, which is a drawing- and metaphor-based interview method that enables ambiguous and multi-layered life course narratives. Based on two steps – (1) a life course interview conducted while drawing a river of the child’s life and (2) revisiting and unfolding the child’s stories – the method allows for an arts-based, joint exploration of life experiences. Inspired by childhood studies as well as a poststructuralist epistemology, the article discusses and proposes ways to challenge power relations between the adult interviewer and the child interviewee. It is argued that the method can also challenge the predominant deficit view and the dichotomous understanding of children’s experiences of their life and capabilities that characterize much health care practice and health research, by focusing both on challenges and opportunities. Doing so enables a more nuanced and appreciative approach to children. We draw on empirical examples from a study with children with disabilities. However, we suggest that the method’s potential for enabling articulation of the complex and ambiguous can inspire qualitative research and health care practice more broadly.