Subjective meanings of death and bereavement among young people grieving for the death of a grandparent

The main purpose of the current study was to investigate subjective meanings of death and bereavement processes of young people in Turkey grieving for the death of a grandparent. Particularly, experiences of bereaved Turkish youth with grandparent loss were investigated from a developmental and cultural perspective. To achieve this aim, a qualitative study was performed. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven bereaved college students, and data was analyzed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Six super-ordinate themes emerged from the obtained data, which were (1) losing the second mother/father, (2) youngster's first contact with death as a transformative experience, (3) youngster's ambivalence regarding death-related rituals, (4) grandparent loss as a dual loss process, (5) university both as a barrier and shield in the grieving process, (6) death as a multidimensional concept. Findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature and cultural values of Turkey. Keywords: Grieving young people, Grandparent loss, Subjective meanings of death and grief, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis