Anna Manja Larcher

Hope for the Fatherless?: a Grounded Interpretive Study Anna Manja Larcher

Psychology?s literature regarding fatherlessness is not only grim, mainly pointingout the negative consequences of fatherlessness, but it also does not provide muchspecific information about fatherless individuals? experiences. A pilot study revealed thatfatherless individuals do not always suffer from the loss of their father and that they alsohave the ability to overcome the negative consequences commonly associated with fatherloss. The research questions for this study presented themselves naturally after reviewingthe literature and after considering the results of my pilot study, namely, ?What dofatherless individuals actually experience in being fatherless, and what is the nature of theexperience of being fatherless in people who seem to display successful coping andresilience?? Phenomenology and the Grounded Interpretive research method wereemployed to explore in depth the lived experience of three participants. My interviews show that cultural, family, and educational background and theindividual?s interpretations of his or her situation significantly contributed to howfatherlessness was experienced.