台灣母親對驟逝子女的思念－一個現象學取向之研究

A Phenomenological Approach to Taiwanese Mothers' Recollections of the Sudden Deaths of Their Children in Taiwan

本研究旨在理解母親對驟逝子女思念經驗之本質。本研究驟逝之子女乃因台灣九二一大地震而喪生；母親對已逝子女的思念，具體而微地呈現在本研究的哀傷田野中。本研究以現象學取向理解母親對驟逝子女的思念。在資料蒐集步驟，研究者以個人中心取向（Rogers,1961,1980）對八位喪子女母親進行個別深度訪談，在資料分析方面，本研究採用Moustakas（1994）所發展的現象學分析步驟，研究結果以一綜合性的脈絡性－結構性的描述（composite textual-structural description）呈現母親對驟逝子女思念經驗之本質。台灣母親對驟逝子女的思念的獨特性表現在兩股力量的拉扯：母親自然而然地思念著自己的孩子，宗教民俗「為了孩子在另一個世界過得好，不要思念他，也讓他走得開」的相信反而阻卻了母親對孩子的思念。本研究針對母親思念的重要本質－兩難，以及文化差異與宗教信仰進行討論。

This study aimed to understand mothers' recollections of the sudden deaths of their children in an earthquake that hit Taiwan on September 21, 1999. A phenomenological approach to mothers' recollections was conducted through person-centered process (Rogers, 1961, 1980) of data collection, and a Moustakas's (1994) data analysis that led to a composite textual-structural description. This experience is unique in a way that has made Taiwanese mothers seemingly torn between the contradictory forces of their natural tendency to recall their deceased children and the widespread hearsay that recollection ought to be forbidden for the sake of the deceased's benefit in the afterworld. The paradoxical nature of mothers' recollections and the issues of cultural differences and religious beliefs were discussed.