그림책에 등장하는 아동의 이혼 적응 과정에 대한 분석

Abstract

This study selected picture books which use divorce as their subject matter, and analyzed how child characters of those picture books respond emotionally to it and cope with it. This study selected 14 divorce-related picture books for children. To analyze data, this study made thematic analysis of those picture books based on the divorce step model of Sprenkle and Storm (1983). Data analysis showed the followings. In the step of ‘pre-divorce decision-making’, child characters of picture books expressed negative emotions such as fear for possibility of being deserted, guilty conscience, and betrayal, etc. Many picture books under the step of ‘restructuring after divorce’ portrayed children who feel a sense of loss and miss the parent who does not live with them, as well as emotions of bewilderment, loneliness, and shrinking in the face of the new reality. In the step of ‘recovery after divorce’, character children were described as reestablishing their relationships with parents, and adjusting themselves with single-parent situations based on supportive relations with those around them. In particular, instead of showing strong emotional response as they do in previous steps, children in this step of recovery cognitively cope with the situations. Due to the characteristics of creative works called picture books, healthy adjustment of children was emphasized. Picture books described that those children can manage to understand divorce of their parents through their cognitive development levels, accept the realities instead of wishing unrealistic things, and grow adjusting to changed environments.