The meaning and purpose of life in young people who have experienced parental loss from the perspective of logotherapy and spirituality: A phenomenological study

This study seeks to understand the role of spirituality in determining the meaning and purpose of life for young people who have experienced parental loss. In comprehending the meanings assigned to phenomena, in-depth interviews were carried out. Logotherapy and spirituality- focused group work were conducted as tools in the discovery of meanings. The data were collected through purposeful sampling, including in-depth interviews with 10 individuals and feedback from a 9-session group study. Since the collected data comprised of insights into how participants identified and made sense of the phenomena relevant to the loss experience, a descriptive approach was employed in the study. Besides, MAXQDA Release 22.5 software was used during the analysis process. As a consequence of the analysis, three main themes and fifteen sub-themes representing the metaphor of the "Meaning Map" were recognized through coding the in-depth interviews. In addition, eight themes representing the metaphor of the "Meaning Compass" were acquired through the coding of the group process. For the interpretation of the data, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was integrated into the research design. Eventually, it was found out that spirituality holds significant meaning for their lives. It was also noticed that participants assign new meanings to spirituality, life, death, and parental loss through the group process and discover different meanings related to their life experiences. This study is considered to encourage further research encompassing social work, logotherapy, parental loss, and spirituality. January 2025, 253 pages. Keywords: Parental Loss, Logotherapy, Spirituality, Meaning of Life