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“Our Only Child Has Died” – A Study Of Bereaved Older Chinese Parents, Yongqiang Zheng, Thomas R. Lawson, Barbara Anderson Head
“Our Only Child Has Died” – A Study Of Bereaved Older Chinese Parents, Yongqiang Zheng, Thomas R. Lawson, Barbara Anderson Head
Faculty Publications - College of Social Work
Long and complicated grief is a relevant factor contributing to the deterioration of the older adults’ later life quality. In China, the unintentional consequence of the one child policy has emerged. There, the group of older adults who lost their only child is called shiduers. The current study compared 42 older adults who lost their only child to 33 older adults who have a child, in term of their physical and mental health, and social support. The results confirmed the general deteriorating trend in those aspects of the bereaved Chinese parents’ life after their only child’s death. The results also …
Identity Reconstruction As Shiduers: Narratives From Chinese Older Adults Who Lost Their Only Child, Yongqiang Zheng, Thomas Lawson
Identity Reconstruction As Shiduers: Narratives From Chinese Older Adults Who Lost Their Only Child, Yongqiang Zheng, Thomas Lawson
Faculty Publications - College of Social Work
The purpose of this qualitative study was to illustrate how the identity of Chinese older adults who lost their only child changed after the traumatic event in the context of unique culture and policy settings. The individuals studied were 14 adults over the age of 50. Each respondent was interviewed concerning his or her post-loss experiences. Results indicated that these bereaved parents are not only deeply impacted by the loss of the most loved one, but are also stigmatized by the culture and victimized by the one-child policy. The collective identity as shiduer is defined not only by personal grief …