ABSTRACT

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints face a unique and often turbulent time in their relationship with their parent if the individual decides to leave the Church. To explore this phenomenon, we investigated the turning points and relational trajectories of children who have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their interactions with their parents still active in the Church. Thirty emerging adult children were interviewed using the retrospective interviewing technique (RIT). Through turning point analysis, we identified nine overarching turning points: (1) open conversation, (2) restatement, (3) personal withdrawal, (4) confrontation, (5) conformity, (6) coming out, (7) moving out, (8) third-party events, and (9) boundaries and interference. Four relationship trajectories also emerged: (1) disrupted, (2) turbulent (3) declining, and(4) accelerating. Findings and theoretical implications are discussed.

摘要

如果个人决定离开教会，耶稣基督后期圣徒教会的成员在与父母的关系中将面临一个独特且经常动荡的时期。为了探索这种现象，我们调查了离开耶稣基督后期圣徒教会的孩子们的转折点和关系轨迹，以及他们与仍然活跃在教会中的父母的互动。使用回顾性访谈技术（RIT）对30名新兴成年儿童进行了访谈。通过转折点分析，我们确定了九个总体转折点：（1）公开对话，（2）重述，（3）个人退出，（4）对抗，（5）顺从，（6）出来，（7）搬出，（8）第三方事件以及（9）边界和干扰。还出现了四个关系轨迹：（1）中断，（2）湍流（3）下降，和（4）加速。研究结果和理论意义进行了讨论。