진로단절 위기를 경험한 중도장애 중년 남성의 외상 후 성장에 관한 생애사연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discover growth factors by analyzing the process of life changes before and after trauma events through the career history of a man with walking disability who has experienced post-traumatic growth. For this purpose, the data collected through two in-depth interview were analyzed into categories of ‘dimension of life’, ‘turning point’, and ‘adaptation’ based on life-history analysis framework by Mandelbaum(1973). The results of this study are as follows: first, ‘dimension of life’ of the study participant was <the wanted urethane expert>, <‘workholic’: honeymoon period and life of nothing but work>, <a lone warrior on the scene of survival>, <the only Sun in the sky> and <another ‘heart’: passion and intrepidity>. Second, ‘turning point’ was <the collapsed vertebra: the precarious pivot of life>, <missing ‘myself’: ‘swing’ between hope and despair> and <being in the world: What is the meaning of ‘walking disability’ like>. Third, ‘adaptation’ was <another ‘cane’ as support that sustains me>, <the factory manager that has the disabled father> and <also ‘myself’: the photographer carrying two canes with walking disability>. This participant experienced crises by walking disability in his life as an irreplaceable talent in the automobile seat manufacture, but he got over the crisis of career interruption finding out the meaning of his life through ‘self-understanding’ by putting his ‘family’ at the center of his life, and above all, being supported by the factory manager that had the disabled father. The results showed the importance of ‘discovering the meaning of life through sufficient self-understanding and self-awareness’ for post-traumatic growth, and the importance of ‘awareness of disabled people at work’ for maintaining employment of the severely disabled. This result can provide important implications for counseling for disabilities in the mid-life and supporting for their employment promotion.