Chinese cultural dimensions of death, dying, and bereavement: focus group findings

For the Chinese, death is associated with bad luck. They fear the corpse and the potential bad luck, which they are exposed to at funerals (Hill, 1992). Consequently, they will often turn their backs to the open coffin. The first author remembers vividly when as a young child, her mother told her it was necessary to pay respect to the deceased, but forbade her to look at the body. Candy is given to the guests who have come to mourn and is to be eaten immediately with the wrapper discarded before reaching home so as to ward off bad luck (Klass & Goss, 1998).

Attending funerals in Western society signifies paying respects to the deceased. This is emphasized in Chinese culture; however, respect takes on a slightly different connotation. The performance of funeral rites by the child to the deceased parent conveys filial piety. Filial piety (hsiao or xiao) is a system of obligations of a child to a parent, where the child provides aid, affect, economic and emotional support, and glory or prestige/status to the parent (Lin & Liu, 1993). Traditionally, one of the most vital obligations for children is to perform their parents' funerals appropriately (Klass & Goss, 1998). The more elaborate the funeral ceremonies and procession and the louder the wailing, more status is reflected upon the family.

METHODOLOGY

Three separate focus groups were conducted with Chinese American and immigrant masters-level students in graduate social work program, pastors and religious leaders who work with the Chinese American community, and social service providers from a longstanding social service agency in the Chinatown area of New York City. The students were able to share their childhood experiences of growing up in traditional Chinese families. Because pastors and religious leaders often deal with families and grief and perform funeral ceremonies, we felt they would be able to share specific insights about the practices and the spiritual meanings of the rituals for families. Finally, service providers from the Chinese community were recruited because they provided specific services to grieving families. We believe, that each group offered a unique picture to the social realities under examination.

A key contact person was identified for each group to help recruit focus group participants who met the eligibility criteria of the study. Participants had to have experience working with Chinese immigrants or Chinese Americans on issues of bereavement, death, dying, and grief. A total of seven masters-level social work students participated in the first focus group. All the students were Chinese, born in the U.S. or immigrated to the U.S. during childhood. Six pastors and religious leaders were in the 2nd focus group. All were Chinese immigrants, with the exception of one pastor who was white, but who pastors a church in New York City's Chinatown. Five social service providers participated in the 3rd group, and all were Chinese immigrants. Data was collected from December 1998 to May 1999 in New York City. Refer to Table 2 for brief demographic summary of the focus group participants.