1 University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2 University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Omega (Westport). 2019 Dec;80(2):245-265. doi: 10.1177/0030222817732465. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
The aims of this present study were to explore the use and meaning of metaphors and images about aging in older people with a death wish and to elucidate what these metaphors and images tell us about their self-understanding and imagined feared future. Twenty-five in-depth interviews with Dutch older people with a death wish (median 82 years) were analyzed by making use of a phenomenological-hermeneutical metaphor analysis approach. We found 10 central metaphorical concepts: (a) struggle, (b) victimhood, (c) void, (d) stagnation, (e) captivity, (f) breakdown, (g) redundancy, (h) subhumanization, (i) burden, and (j) childhood. It appears that the group under research does have profound negative impressions of old age and about themselves being or becoming old. The discourse used reveals a strong sense of distance, disengagement, and nonbelonging associated with their wish to die. This study empirically supports the theory of stereotype embodiment.
本研究旨在探讨有死亡意愿的老年人对衰老的隐喻和意象的使用和意义，并阐明这些隐喻和意象能告诉我们什么关于他们的自我理解和对想象中的未来的恐惧。本研究采用现象学-解释学隐喻分析方法，对 25 名有死亡意愿的荷兰老年人（中位数 82 岁）进行了深入访谈。我们发现了 10 个中心隐喻概念：（a）斗争，（b）受害者，（c）空虚，（d）停滞，（e）囚禁，（f）崩溃，（g）冗余，（h）非人性化，（i）负担，（j）童年。研究小组对老年和自己变老或变得老持有深刻的负面印象。使用的话语揭示了一种强烈的距离感、脱离感和归属感缺失，这与他们想死的愿望有关。这项研究从经验上支持了刻板印象体现的理论。
