Reflections of divorced men's perceptions of identity and close relationships on their divorce experiences

This research is a qualitative study that examines how divorced men perceive themselves and their close relationships in their past marriages and the effect of this perception on their relationship patterns. The study utilized the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs. The study aimed to deeply examine and evaluate the perceptions of divorced men's identity and close relationship in marriage. In this context, the study was conducted with 19 divorced men living in Turkey who had been reached using criterion sampling and snowball sampling methods, among the purposeful sampling methods. In the study, in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher through a literature review. The analysis of the data obtained as a result of the interviews was carried out using the MAXQDA program with the thematic analysis method. As a result of the analysis, four main themes were determined as identity in marriage, being a divorced man, close relationship dynamics and appreciation and these themes were interpreted and discussed within the framework of the relevant literature and emotion-focused couple theory. Based on the results of the research, recommendations were presented regarding social work intervention and support services for individuals and families, social work programs, social work education and future research.