Cao Yanmei, Li Wendy Wen, Xue Yunzhen
Department of Psychology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.
Death Stud. 2020;44(9):586-595. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2019.1609135. Epub 2019 May 6.
The need to make sense of one's mortality is of central concern for death studies. We aimed to explore the meaning of aftermath concerns in the process of preparing for death. Using a qualitative approach, we explored aftermath concerns among 25 participants with terminal cancer in China. Three aftermath concern themes were developed from the participants' narratives: mental concerns about parents, material concerns about children, and spiritual concerns about the self. Aftermath concerns are relational because they are not about what happens within an individual, but between individuals which are manifested within the broader cultural, social, economic, and political contexts.
理解自身死亡的意义是死亡研究的核心关注点。我们旨在探讨临终准备过程中身后事担忧的意义。采用定性研究方法，我们在中国对25名晚期癌症患者的身后事担忧进行了探究。从参与者的叙述中提炼出了三个身后事担忧主题：对父母的心理担忧、对子女的物质担忧以及对自身的精神担忧。身后事担忧具有关联性，因为它们并非关乎个体内部发生的事情，而是关乎个体之间的事情，且这些事情在更广泛的文化、社会、经济和政治背景中得以体现。
