Loss of a Parent: A Retrospective Phenomenological Exploration of Lived Experience.

摘要

The study examined the relationship between parental death during adolescence and individual perceptions of lived meaning in adulthood. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted examining the impact of parental death on individuals' lives. Five hypotheses were examined during this study: feelings of displacement or longing for feeling connected would emerge during interviews, participants will identify one or two individuals that helped them feel supported during the parental loss, losing a parent to cancer during adolescence would lead to a fear of being vulnerable to the disease or death, gender of both the deceased parent and the participant will impact the findings, and religion will play a role in the way the participants walk through their world during adulthood. Participants reported themes of fear, change, guilt, loss, advocacy, closure and gender compatibility.