Background and purpose: The rising rate of Iranian runaway girls indicates a need for conducting deep studies on this issue. This study aimed at investigating the phenomenon of running away from home by studying the lived experience of the girls in a juvenile correction and rehabilitation center in Tehran, Iran.  

Materials and methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was performed in which 12 female in correction and rehabilitation center were selected using purposive sampling. The lived experiences of the participants were studied by semi-structured interview. Then, the transcripts were analyzed applying interpretative phenomenology and Van Manen approach. Afterwards, the main themes, subthemes and semantic units were created.

Results: The thematic analysis resulted in three subthemes for turmoil in the family including disturbed family, lack of parental support and affection, and family's antisocial behaviors. All subthemes included some semantic units.

Conclusions: According to this study, deep attention is needed on lived experiences of runaway girls, psychotherapy sessions based on the main themes achieved in this research, and family therapy sessions based on improving the conflicts, especially in presence of key family members. Such actions in correction and rehabilitation centers helps the psychologists to rebuild the life of affected individuals after coming back home and prevent future problems.