Journal of

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Divorce is a reality in the lives of many people around the world. This phenomenon is affecting people's lives in many ways and is the origin of complex emotional, cognitive and physical changes in the family, especially children. In this regard, this study was conducted to explore the lived experience of children of divorce about their emotional experiences. In this qualitative study, a phenomenological framework was adopted. The population under study was 17 adolescents aged 12-18 years old; who had experienced the separation of their parents. The participants were selected purposively, and selection continued until data saturation. Data collected by semi-structured and face-to-face individual interviews. The data were analyzed using the Colaizzi`s proposed stages. The thematic analysis resulted in three sub-themes for emotional experiences including anger and hate, fear and feeling of defenseless. According to findings, the adolescents participating in the study faced with a variety of emotions and experiences during the divorce and thereafter. Based on the results, children of divorce have numerous mental and environmental perceptions and experiences which in some cases can affect their well-being and mental health. The results emphasize the need for a deeper explanation of the lived experience of these people by psychologists and social workers and implementing therapeutic interventions based on the content derived from the present study, focusing on improving their emotional states.

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The loss reaction includes variety of the responses such as the bodily, emotional, existential and cognitive reactions. The strength of these responses can vary from the weak transitory emotional reactions to the lifelong strong ones, which can change the life story of the individuals. In this study, the qualitative data gathering on focus groups, the semi-structured interview about the loss experiences, and the life story interview by Mc Adams approach were applied on 21 participants. The phenomenological analysis of the manuscripts of the interviews used to investigate individual’s responses to the loss. Results showed three major clusters that include context of the loss, nature of the loss and the experimenter’s characteristics. In context of the loss, time and the sociocultural background of the loss experience is major themes. Another kinds of thems consisted of nature of the loss cluster includes its type, the obligatory versus the optional loss, and the predictable versus unpredictable loss. Finally, the participant’s characteristics included the life experiences, personality, and knowledge level of participants. Results shows the interactive effect of objective living world which the loss happens as an incident in it and the sobjective living world of the individual who experiences the loss.