Social disabling: A qualitative study of interpersonal interaction patterns of shiduers in China

Abstract

The experience of shidu (i.e., losing one’s only child) completely changes the lives and social interaction patterns of people. However, current research findings on interpersonal interactions of individuals who are experiencing shidu (referred to as “shiduers”) are inconsistent, reducing the effectiveness of support programs. Therefore, a qualitative analysis was conducted on the interpersonal interaction process of shiduers using the classic grounded theory. The results showed that “shidu” as an interpersonal information has two contradictory attributes, “family shame” and “family routine,” which create a social disabling dilemma for shiduers. Shiduers can reset their interpersonal relationships by establishing a clear inner and outer circle of relationships (centralizing) and by sequencing and typing relationships (differentiating). The interpersonal interactions of shiduers are complex and depend on the type of relationship. The current results can help community workers target individual support, family empowerment, and community building for people experiencing shidu.

Authors contributions

Yin Chen has participated in the design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation and drafting the early version of the article. Liping Yang has participated in the design and revising the article critically for better intrinsic logicality.

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before their enrollment in the study.

Consent for publication

This manuscript has not been published before, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All coauthors approved this publication.

Code availability

The data sets supporting the results of this article are included within the article and its additional files

Ethical approval

The study was conducted in accordance with the “International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans” of the “Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS)” of the WHO available at: https://cioms.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WEB-CIOMS-EthicalGuidelines.pdf.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author or first author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Social Science Foundation of China under Grant [22BSH101].