Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T00:10:11.783Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

From spectator to spect-actor: The proactive involvement of chinese parents in their conflicts with adolescents through a forum theatre format

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2019

Grace S.M. Leung*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Anna Y. Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Eddie H.K. Yu
Affiliation:
Encounter Playback Theatre, Hong Kong, China
Johnson C.S. Cheung
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Parent-adolescent conflict seems to be common when adolescents negotiate power with their parents. Forum theatre (FT), an interactive and participatory theatre form, is recommended as a community-based intervention to assist Chinese parents in managing the challenges of parent-adolescent interaction. FT proposes that solutions to daily struggles can be reached through concerted efforts of the participants. This article documents the impact of FT on parents who took on the role of ‘spect-actor’. The spect-actor is an active spectator who acts on stage to test solutions to a problem. The results indicate that parents gained more awareness of their children’s needs, which helped them to relax their control over their children. FT is recommended as a means of parent education in schools.

Type
Articles
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bedford, O., & Hwang, K.K. (2003). Guilt and shame in Chinese culture: A cross-cultural framework from the perspective of morality and identity. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 33, 127144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berends, L., & Johnston, J. (2005). Using multiple coders to enhance qualitative analysis: The case of interviews with consumers of drug treatment. Addiction Research & Theory, 13, 373381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boal, A. (2002). Games for actors and non-actors (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Boal, A. (2013). Theatre of the oppressed. New York, NY: Theatre Communications Group.Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chao, R.K. (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training. Child Development, 65, 11111119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, M.C. (2013). Engaging theatre for social change to address sexual violence on a college campus: A qualitative investigation. British Journal of Social Work, 44, 14541471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniel, B., Cross, B., Sherwood-Johnson, F., & Paton, D. (2014). Risk and decision making in adult support and protection practice: User views from participant research. British Journal of Social Work, 44, 12331250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: Norton.Google Scholar
Fernald, D.H., & Duclos, C.W. (2005). Enhance your team-based qualitative research. Annals of Family Medicine, 3, 360364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francis, D.A. (2010). Sex is not something we talk about, it’s something we do: Using drama to engage youth in sexuality, relationship and HIV education. Critical Arts, 24, 228244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gourd, K.M., & Gourd, T.Y. (2011). Enacting democracy: Using forum theatre to confront bullying. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44, 403419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandil, Y. (2016). The art of seduction and provocation in applied theatre: A view. Canadian Theatre Review, 168, 8689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lam, C.M., Kwong, W.M., & To, S.M. (2019). Has parenting changed over past decade? A qualitative study of generational shifts in parenting. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 9, 4247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landy, R. (1983). The use of distancing in drama therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 10, 175185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leichner, P., & Wieler, C. (2014). Maladjusted: Participatory theatre about human-centred care. Arts & Health, 7, 111.Google Scholar
Low, A.Y.T. (2016). Can Hong Kong Chinese parents and their adolescent children benefit from an adapted UK parenting programme? Journal of Social Work, 16, 104121.Google Scholar
McElhaney, K., Allen, J., Stephenson, J., & Hare, A. (2009). Attachment and autonomy during adolescence. In Lerner, R.M. & Steinberg, L. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, Vol. 1: Individual bases of adolescent development (3rd ed., pp. 358403). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Miramonti, A. (2017). How to use forum theatre for community dialogue — A facilitator’s handbook. Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com.Google Scholar
Nichols, M.P. (2014). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (10th ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Limited.Google Scholar
Ralph, A., & Sanders, M.R. (2003). Preliminary evaluation of the Group Teen Triple P program for parents of teenagers making the transition to high school. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 2, 169178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smetana, J., Crean, H., & Campione‐Barr, N. (2005). Adolescents’ and parents’ changing conceptions of parental authority. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 108, 3146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smetana, J.G. (2011). Adolescents’ social reasoning and relationships with parents: Conflicts and coordinations within and across domains. In Amsel, E. & Smetana, J.G. (Eds.), Adolescent vulnerabilities and opportunities: Developmental and constructivist perspectives (pp. 139158). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stapel, D.A., & Blanton, H. (2007). Social comparison theories: Key readings. New York, NY: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Stavrianopoulos, K., Faller, G., & Furrow, J.L. (2014). Emotionally focused family therapy: Facilitating change within a family system. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 13, 2543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent-adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11, 119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watkins, P.C., McLaughlin, T., & Parker, J.P. (2019). Gratitude and subjective well-being: Cultivating gratitude for a harvest of happiness. In Silton, N.R. (Eds.), Scientific concepts behind happiness, kindness, and empathy in contemporary society (pp. 2042). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, M.Y. (2013). The concept of guan in the Chinese parent-child relationship. In Yi, C.C. (Ed.), The psychological well-being of East Asian youth (pp. 2949). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.Google Scholar
Yau, J., & Smetana, J. (1996). Adolescent-parent conflict among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Child Development, 67, 12621275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmer-Gembeck, M., & Collins, W. (2003). Autonomy development during adolescence. In Adams, G. & Berzonsky, M. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 175204). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar