Psychological Impact of Mothers’ Suicide Attempt on Adult Children and Their Accommodation Experience

• Main Authors: Shirley Yin, 尹雪梅
• Other Authors: 許雅惠
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 100
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/91203606068139992239

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 輔導與諮商研究所 === 99 === In view of the fact that having a mother who attempted to commit suicide causes lasting shock to a child, the purpose of this research is to study how adult children deal with such psychological impact, how they adapt themselves to get back to the normal lives, and what kind of influence this event has on their personality development. Using purposive and snowball sampling methods, the author identified three adults who had had the experience of having a mother with suicide attempt. All of them were interviewed by the researcher individually. The processes of their impact and accommodation experience were analyzed by narrative and holistic-content analytic methods. These three participants were named as “Carol”, “Daisy” and “Reed”, respectively according to the nature of their experience. “Carol” meant “hymn, song of praise”, and her story was about “seeing hope in a despairing situation”. “Daisy” implied a story about “Lonely child seeking for happiness.” “Reed”, looked fragile but was tough inside, and his story was about “crushed reed that experienced mercy and love from God.” Carol’s story was composed of 19 category subjects, which could be further grouped into five main axes according to the status of these subjects. These axes were: 1) from reluctance to accepting the truth, 2) from helplessness to seeking for assistance, 3) from panic to adaptation, 4) from hate to forgiveness, 5) from darkness to brightness. Based on the similarity, the category subjects could be summarized into five core themes: 1) sensing the reality with heart, 2) self-healing by revealing his/her potential, 3) overcoming the adversity with the help of faith, 4) transforming lives with love, 5) being full of spirituality and willing to accept the fate. Daisy’s story contained 16 category subjects which could be further grouped into three main axes according to the status of these subjects. The axes were: 1) from being confused to being disturbed to being stabilized, 2) from inferiority to self-pity to self-awareness, 3) from feeling shocked to being adapted. Based on the similarity, the category subjects could be summarized into five core themes: 1) being hurt by suffering from the tragedy, 2) having destroyed self-image, 3) being indulged in love to compensate the regret, 4) undergoing self-growth and revelation of vantage, 5) pursing the dream with all hope. The story of Reed had 18 category subjects which could be further grouped into three main axes according to the status of these subjects. The axes were: 1) from being disturbed to being trapped to being stabilized, 2) from dependence to independence, 3) from being hurt to being healed to embrace hope. Based on the similarity, the category subjects could be summarized into five core themes: 1) suffering by being trapped in the reality, 2) facing the tribulations in life, 3) self-growing to seek for independence, 4) transforming the setbacks into strength, 5) having dreams in the love of God. The research is concluded with some practical suggestions based on the results of the research. These suggestions are applicable in the field of counseling, including adult children facing mother with suicide attempt and the reference for further study.