Abstract

DE BEER, A. Men's experience of loneliness after the loss of a spouse: A description of a narrative pastoral engagement. Koers (Online) [online]. 2016, vol.81, n.1, pp.1-9. ISSN 2304-8557.  http://dx.doi.org/10.19108/koers.81.1.2231.

The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of loneliness that men experience after the loss of a spouse. It contains research to illuminate the occurrence, meaning and perception of loneliness after the loss of a spouse. The research is founded in practical theology and researched from within a postmodern paradigm, with a social constructionist discourse as epistemological point of departure as it is expressed in the narrative hermeneutic approach. Several actions subjacent to participatory action research are employed and form part of a qualitative research. Mechanisms of the narrative approach that resonate with the principles of participatory action research are used to collect the information. Valuable significant alternatives to cope with loneliness are explored by using the conversational approach. Anthropological paradigms are clarified from the view that a human being is a complex entity that constructs his/her own circumstances through narratives. Important findings of this research are that men can experience loneliness after the loss of a spouse and they are in need of an attachment figure to help them to cope with loneliness.

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