Integrating grounded theory and ethnography in critical perspective: social suffering among homeless women with mental illness in urban India

Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) offers critical strategies that help the ethnographer organize and interpret data holistically, enhancing analytical depth. This helps the ethnographer uncover the complexities of human experiences and worldviews within their contexts. Homeless individuals with mental illness (HMI) represent one of the most at-risk groups worldwide. Women are significantly more vulnerable than their male counterparts and are at a greater risk of being violated, sexually and physically. Drawing from my ethnographic fieldwork with formerly HMI women in Kolkata, India, this article illustrates how CGT’s emphasis on co-construction, reflexivity, and methodological flexibility facilitates nuanced, context-sensitive analysis. By reflecting critically on my positionality as a researcher embedded in intersecting gendered, cultural, and socio-political contexts, I demonstrate how CGT, informed by the theoretical lens of social suffering, provides a robust analytic tool to systematically explore and theorize complex lived experiences while remaining attuned to ethical and social justice considerations.