2023.01 66-4 The Effectiveness of Culture-specific Psychodrama on Changing Group Participants’ Parent-child Interactions Regarding Filial Piety
This study investigated the effectiveness of culture-specific psychodrama on changing participants' parent-child interactions regarding filial piety. A focused group interview was conducted with master's students who participated in an ongoing psychodrama group lasting 17 weeks. A qualitative analysis of the interview yielded the following results. First, adult children experienced difficulties in five areas of parent-child interactions: (1) parents' hierarchical disciplinary attitudes, (2) parents' emotional and behavioral problems, (3) spousal issues between parents, (4) the pressures accompanying the responsibility of caring for parents, and (5) parents' ardent expectations of the children. Second, five positions were noted in response to these difficulties: (1) strenuous efforts for maintaining harmony in the face of family conflicts; (2) suppression of inner conflicts that accompanied the responsibilities in the role of a child, (3) being trapped in the pain inflicted by parents' past behaviors, (4) avoiding interactions and becoming emotionally withdrawn, and (5) anger and self-blame resulting from direct conflicts. Third, six changes were brought about by culture-specific psychodrama: (1) gaining awareness and accepting one's own feelings, (2) clarifying the impact of painful past experiences, (3) gaining clarity of boundaries regarding their sense of responsibility in their tense relationships, (4) showing deep and comprehensive understanding of parents' cultural backgrounds, (5) becoming more flexible when conflicts arise in the relationship, and (6) increasing emotional interactions between the parents and children. Based on these results, we discussed the inner conflicts experienced by children belonging toin this culture, as well as the children's growing understanding of the sociocultural landscape delineated by culture-specific psychodrama and its effectiveness on changing the parent-child relationship.
Keywords
Adult parent-child relationship, filial piety, indigenous counseling psychology, psychodrama
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