| Summary: | 博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 社會教育學系 === 106 === This study looks into the effects of experiential death activities on grief adjustment and resilience of mourning adults through an eight-week program. Activities included dying care, bidding farewell to life, and conversation with the deceased at an establishment promoting lifelong learning, such as a community college, for three hours a week. The purpose of this study includes:1. Bereaved adults' pre-activity response to grief and difficulty in recovering from grief; 2. Observations of bereaved adults' response during program activities; 3. Bereaved adults' post-activity grief adjustments and resilience; 4. Effects of program activities on bereaved adults' grief adjustment and resilience.
For the purposes of this study, the group of adults sampled was that of those who have been in mourning for many years pre-activity and exhibited positive results post-activity. Sampling included seven female and one male adults ranging from 45 to 55 years of age who lost a family member two to thirty-nine years ago. A hermeneutic approach was taken where three semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain pre- and post-activity data, with the third taking place six months after completion of the program to look into delayed effects. Collected data was transcribed, conceptualized, propositionalized, graphed, and then theorized for further analysis and interpretation.
Results showed that:
1. Before the activities, bereaved adults experienced long-term grief reactions in the perceptual, physical, cognitive, behavioral, and social areas of their lives. Cultural barriers for both internal and external systems that obstructed grief adjustment are as follows: The interviewees had negative relationship with the deceased, reasons for their pessimistic outlook included traditional filial perception that the deceased had unfinished business, had signed a Do Not Resuscitate, had thought the deceased spirit had not been laid to rest, had realized that the deceased was no longer with them, had felt abandoned by the deceased, and had disconnected from the deceased. Individual factors include the not seeking assistance due to the inability to recognize grief, emotional suppression, being uninformed of professional psychologists' expertise, believing grief must be dealt with alone, having a pessimistic view on death, and not allowing time in the daily schedule for self-care. Family factors include the taboo approach to death, emotional suppression of family members, hectic lives of individuals that keep them from noticing one another's sorrow, scapegoating, father remarrying after the death of the mother in a patriarchal society, and dispute over inheritance. Social factors include leaving the workplace or familiar surroundings, the taboo approach to death in society, emotional suppression as a result of the lack of knowledge on how to care for grieving individuals, being uninformed of professional psychologists' expertise, and being ill-prepared for life-death situations.
2. During the activities, participation in program activities allowed grieving adults to recall positive memories of the deceased, express sadness, remember the deceased in a positive light, and reflect on life. Taking part in dying care activity allowed participants to recall positive memories of the deceased, express sadness, become aware of the source of sadness, build a positive approach, and experience support from fellow participants and the program facilitator. Participating in farewell activity helped participants to reflect on life, live in the moment, and be future-oriented. Taking part in conversations with the deceased activity allowed participants to recall positive memories of the deceased, express sadness during inner dialogues, create positive interactions with the deceased, and leave a positive impression.
3. After participation in program activities, participants adjusted better from grief in terms of progression through the Four Tasks of Mourning and were better adjusted physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
4. Participation in program activities allowed participants to increase multiple protective factors in both internal and external systems such as the following:
Improved relations with the deceased by way of recalling positive memories, pleasant impressions, positive emotions, feeling loved by the deceased, and believing that the deceased has moved on to a better place. Individual factors include ability, characteristics, perception, and behavior. Family factors include expressing grief or talking about the deceased, sharing thoughts from program participation, communicating gratitude, apologies, or love to family members, cherishing family members, improvement of relationships with family members, family's willingness to participate in some programs together, learning how to provide dying care in the future, and visiting relatives in hospitals. Social factors include increased support from fellow participants, the program facilitator, and society.
5. Activities that allowed participants to face traditional cultural barriers that inhibited grief adjustment were those that included these factors: grief recognition, mindfulness, task theory, experiential approach to life-death education, proactive approach to connecting with the deceased, expressions of care for the deceased, inner dialogues on sadness, public discussions about the deceased, being accepting towards the sense of security and comfort provided by grief support groups, and participating in learning to adapt to a new life without the deceased.
Findings from this research lend towards recommendations for theory on response to and adjustment for grief, activity plans for experiential approach to life-death education, facilitators for experiential activities, establishments promoting lifelong learning, professions in the counseling field, adults coping with grief, and future research.
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