90後菁英的青春殘酷物語──高學業成就青年的情緒困擾與社會支持

Abstract

本文關注90 後（出生於1990-2000 年）高學業成就青年的情緒困擾現象，有別於過往常見的個人歸因或純粹生理解釋，報導著重在社會變遷和文化的作用，透過深度訪談當事人、陪伴者和相關領域學者專家以回答兩個主要問題：一、為什麼高學業成就青年會陷入特定樣貌的情緒困擾？這跟他們所處的當代社會以及他們世代的成長經驗有何關聯？二、處在情緒困擾中的高學業成就青年，如何與這樣的身心狀態共處？現今的心理支持體系給予他們哪些協助？又有哪些不足？ 高學業成就青年追求完美和害怕失敗的性格特質在升學主義主導的學校教育中被強化，90 後的「學業菁英」除成績外還須力求各面向多元卓越的表現，在競爭過程中付出龐大的心理代價，使個人認同和生涯探索等心理議題延後處理。由於台灣迅速的政治與經濟結構變遷，這群青年與他們的父母存在巨大的世代差異，對工作選擇、家庭互動及情緒處理的觀點皆有落差，易造成溝通上的阻礙和衝突。此外，華人家族的集體價值觀和社會上瀰漫的個人主義彼此矛盾，使高學業成就青年陷入心理拉扯，更不傾向求助。 在社會支持方面，藥物治療和心理諮商皆對於高學業成就青年的情緒困擾有一定程度之協助，然醫療或自殺防治之措施未必等同於保障個案的生活品質。目前台灣的心理諮商供給在大專院校有所改善，但社區諮商服務則仍有進步空間，整體而言，公共心理健康資源需要更多人力及經費的挹注。本文也強調，除了專業支持以外，必須從前端改變帶來焦慮與傷害的個人競爭文化，重新打造互助共好的支持網絡，建立情緒困擾受苦者和陪伴者的集體敘事和連結，才能從根源上減少高學業成就青年甚至是社會整體的精神痛苦。

This thesis seeks to examine the phenomenon of growing emotional distress experienced by the post-90s generation (those born between 1990-2000) with high academic performance. Common interpretation tends to attribute this to personal or physiological factors. However, this report investigates with a focus on environmental factors, namely, societal changes and cultural influence. Through in-depth interviews with the distressed individuals, companionship providers, and academics and experts in relevant fields, this thesis seeks to answer 2 major questions: (1) why are youth with academic success cursed by certain types of emotional distress? Moreover, what kind of association does this phenomenon have with the current society and the childhood experience of this generation? (2) How do these individuals cope with their mental condition? What assistance can the current mental health supporting system provide, and what are its inefficiencies? Perfectionist trait and “atychiphobia” are commonly shared by youth with academic success. Such traits are even more reinforced by the education system that only focuses on getting students into a “good school”. Apart from just getting good scores, these “elites” also need to excel on other fronts to be viewed as competitive. As a result, they no longer have capacity to explore their personal identity and career interests, leaving their emotional needs unattended. Moreover, the huge generation gap looms large over them and their parents. The fast political and economic structural changes in Taiwan makes it difficult for them to reconcile on career choices, familial interaction, and emotional handling issues. Disagreements and conflicts henceforth arise. Additionally, the tradition of stressing on the familial duty to honor the ancestors within Chinese families contradicts with current society’s belief in pursuing one’s own success. This gap in turn pushes them into emotional conflicts, making them more unwilling to seek help. In terms of social support, medical treatment, counseling and psychological therapy can provide a certain degree of assistance for the emotional distressed. However, medical interference and suicide prevention measures cannot ensure the quality of their lives. Although the overall psychological counseling service within higher education has been improved, community counseling still has a long way to go. In general, the public mental health system still lacks manpower and budget. This thesis also highlights that apart from professional support, the culture of pressuring pupils into the abyss of competition should be fundamentally changed, or else it’d continue to drag them into anxiety and self-defeating behaviors. It is necessary to rebuild a support network for the distressed and the companionship providers, and create their collective narratives. Only through this, can the youth with academic success, even the society as a whole, be exempt from the recurrent emotional sufferings.