Existential scars

KU Leuven , 1 semester
Unraveling the role of trauma and meaning in life in the experience of tiredness of life in older adults.
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Existential scars
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For many older adults, later life remains a period of continued meaning and connection. Yet some relatively healthy older adults experience their life as completed and no longer of value. They describe their lives as burdensome and empty, express a loss of purpose and future perspective, and an overarching sense of meaninglessness.  Surprisingly, we know very little about what tiredness of life is and how it develops, especially among community-dwelling older adults.
In this project, we explore how traumatic experiences may shape how safe we feel in close relationships (attachment) and how this influences how older adults experience meaning in life and feelings of tiredness of life. As part of an enthusiastic research team, you will have the opportunity to work with existing quantitative data and contribute to new work packages within the project. You can also become involved in other ongoing projects, all centered on existential gerontopsychology.

  • The project runs till 31 August 2029.
  • Number of placements available: 1 per semester
  • Available in Fall and Spring semester.

Pre-requisites

  • High level (3rd or 4th year) undergraduate student
  • Minimum GPA 3.4
  • Interest in working in the field of geronto-psychology, interest in existential topics, willing to actively join the weekly lab meetings

Important note: 
Students must remain registered as an undergraduate student at their U.S. or Canadian home institution while participating in the program. The student's home institution must complete the Learning Agreement after acceptance into a project, even if credits will not be transferred to that institution. Transfer of credits is decided by the students' home institution.

Submitting an application, does not guarantee that the student will be offered a placement. The research projects are also available to our domestic degree students; therefore, projects may already be full at the time of applying. Final decision on your admission is solely taken by the Research Supervisor at the host institution.

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Lab: Meaning Research Late Life

The lab studies existential topics in highly advanced age. Current projects focus on how meaningfulness is related to late life psychological functioning and mental health, how existential isolation and loneliness are experienced at highly advanced age and whether and how existential struggles are related to psychological suffering and to tiredness of life. She is an advocate for a biopsychosocial-existential approach to elderly care. Research at the lab is interdisciplinary and multi/mixed method.