How does meaning-making theory explain how people cope with loss?

How does meaning-making theory explain how people cope with loss?

• A. It posits that people reinterpret or reconstruct the life story and beliefs to restore meaning, purpose, and identity after a loss
• B. It asserts that meaning is impossible to recover after loss
• C. It states meaning comes solely from religious faith
• D. It argues meaning is irrelevant to grief

Answer: (A)

Meaning-making theory explains coping with loss by showing how people rework their life story and beliefs to keep life meaningful, even after the death of someone important. When a loss happens, it can challenge assumptions about control, justice, and the future. Through interpretation, a person starts to weave the experience into a coherent narrative—revising beliefs, adjusting goals, and finding new or revised ways to express meaning and identity. This process might include honoring the person who died, maintaining ongoing connections in a new form, or adopting spiritual or existential beliefs that help make sense of the pain. This approach highlights that meaning can be reconstructed rather than abandoned, and it isn’t limited to religious faith or to any single source of meaning. Instead, people draw on multiple sources and narrative reframing to restore purpose after loss.

Meaning-making theory explains coping with loss by showing how people rework their life story and beliefs to keep life meaningful, even after the death of someone important. When a loss happens, it can challenge assumptions about control, justice, and the future. Through interpretation, a person starts to weave the experience into a coherent narrative—revising beliefs, adjusting goals, and finding new or revised ways to express meaning and identity. This process might include honoring the person who died, maintaining ongoing connections in a new form, or adopting spiritual or existential beliefs that help make sense of the pain.

This approach highlights that meaning can be reconstructed rather than abandoned, and it isn’t limited to religious faith or to any single source of meaning. Instead, people draw on multiple sources and narrative reframing to restore purpose after loss.