| Summary: | 碩士 === 慈濟大學 === 社會工作研究所 === 94 === Adolescent bereavement study is still in its infancy in Taiwan despite considerable understanding learned in western societies. Only few studies, most of them qualitative studies focusing on the adolescent’s reaction to parental death, have been done in Taiwan. The present investigation collected quantitative data from a randomized sample of middle school students in Hualien to explore the impacts of the coping skills and the individual’s characteristics (including personal background, the nature of the event, and social-environmental factors) on adaptation. Comparisons of behavioral problems, self esteem, physical well being, grades and school attendance among groups of 174 adolescents who experienced parental death, 69 adolescents who experienced parental loss for other reasons (such as divorce of the parents, raised by relatives, adoption) and 150 adolescents who had both parents around showed adolescents who experienced parental loss for other reasons did not adapt as well as the other two groups. There was no difference between adolescents who experienced parental death and had both parents around.
The results indicated that the bereavement coping skills had significant impacts on adolescents’ adaptation. There were three types of coping skills: cognitive (e.g., continuing bonding with the dead parents, confront the anniversary grief head on, focusing on the positive side of the legacy of the deceased parents), behavioral, (e.g., goal shifting, facing the problems in reality) and emotional (e.g., sharing the sadness with friends). The bereaved adolescents in Taiwan tended to adopt the cognitive and behavioral strategies rather than seeking emotional support. The adolescents who took these coping strategies adapted better. The experiences at the time when the parent died was an important factor to adaptation. It had direct impact on adaptation and many indirect effects through coping strategies. Many families did not elaborate the funerals to the children. It was intended to protect the children but our results showed that the impression of the funeral or a good explanation at that time had positive effects helped adaptation. Sharing their emotion with peers or adults also helped. If the family could not understand their thoughts of the deceased and sorrow or interrupt their coping strategies, the adaptation process would be negatively affected. These results will be useful to bereaved family and school/clinical professional working with bereaved adolescence.
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