Date

12-16-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Anna S. Key

Keywords

chemical intolerances, chronic illness, grief, living losses, young adults

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Individuals with chronic illnesses characterized by chemical intolerances experience symptom- and stigma-related losses within the physical, environmental, occupational, social, and psychological domains of life. A variety of grief responses can come with non-death related, or living, losses such as these. The aim of the present qualitative phenomenological study was to fill a gap in the current literature on grief and loss in this marginalized population by exploring how young adults with chemical intolerances experience grief pertaining to illness-related loss within their unique developmental context and stage of the developmental lifespan. This research was important because young adulthood is marked by increased vulnerability to the effects of social isolation and chronic illness. Participants (N=13) with chemical intolerances were recruited from illness-specific social media groups and the research platform Prolific to complete a brief questionnaire and semi-structured virtual interview at their convenience. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that the participants experienced illness-related grief as a “rollercoaster,” yet had resilient coping strategies as they faced the loss of their expected futures. This research contributed to the field's knowledge of how current grief and loss theories apply in the context of living losses, as well as added to the literature on how grief is experienced in young adulthood. Although transferability of the findings may be limited to specific subsets of the chemically intolerant population, this research has important implications for positive change in the lives of those with chemical intolerances.

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