THE IMAGE OF THE PERSONALITY’S WORLD IN THE SITUATION OF EXPERIENCING THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE

Abstract

The article presents a study of the image of the world of a person in a situation of experiencing the loss of a loved one, which was attended by 133 people aged 18 to 59 years who faced the death of a loved one from 3 days to 23 years ago. To study the perceptual layer of the image of the world, a modified version of the Ch. Osgood semantic differential was used for the semantic layer – the test of existential motivations by A. Langle, for the nuclear layer – the technology “Meaning in life depth” by P. Ebersol. To study life changes (semantic and nuclear layer of the image of the world) – a questionnaire of post-traumatic growth of R. Tadeschi and L. Calhoun. Statistical processing included frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, content analysis, one-factor analysis of variance. Results. The experience of loss affects all three levels of the image of the world: 1) people who have experienced the loss of a loved one more often describe the world as heavy, large, active, chaotic, rough, complex, tense, tough, expensive, fast, open; at the same time, the object of loss affects the ideas about the world; 2) the reason for the loss is reflected in the characteristics of the “fundamental value”: those who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to suicide feel less connected with other people and the possibility of contact with them, compared with those who have lost a loved one for other reasons; 3) most respondents are characterized by a loss of the meaning of life or a belief in its absence; while some find the meaning of life in interpersonal relationships, getting pleasure and personal growth.