| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 幼兒教育學系研究所 === 102 === Abstract
This study explored the meaning and importance of an individual’s attachment to transitional object. The methodology was based on hermeneutic phenomenology and semi-structured interviews were adopted for data collection. Five participants were invited to participate in this study. After two rounds of in-depth interviews, four themes can be generated: (i) the relationship between transitional object and oneself, (ii) the meaning of transitional object to oneself, (iii) the importance of transitional object to oneself, and (iv) reasons for the disappearance or continued attachments to a transitional object. The conclusions include: the participants compared analogize transitional object to be a family member. Further, the meaning of transitional object as a “soul mate” became strengthened each time when a critical life event occurred. Different from the previous findings, this study indicated that transitional object was not seen merely as a psychopathological fascination with an object. Rather, transitional object substituted the role of primary caregiver, because the caregiver had failed to adequately meet the individual’s needs for care and concern during early childhood. Over time, whenever the individual experienced a major life event, the attachment to the transitional object was constantly enhanced, and the object helped to reduced tension and anxiety as well as provide satisfaction and solace at the psychological and physiological levels. Such meaning and importance are the main factors of an individual’s continued attachment to transitional object.
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