| dc.description.abstract | The drive to belong is one of the fundamental hallmarks of the human lived experience. As we make our way through life, we find a great many of life’s most cherished moments are those shared (i.e., experienced together) with others who matter to us. Indeed, the social world affords us a multitude of opportunities to have our needs met and desires satisfied. From time to time, however, the vicissitudes of life pummel our homelike existence, rendering us afraid, lonely, and unwell. Unable to maintain our grip on the social world, circumstances compel us to respond in certain ways. In the attempt to find our feet again, we rely on environmental cues and sociocultural norms to lift us up and propel us forward. Possibilities for overcoming life’s struggles are mediated by access to the right resources (existential goods) and opportunities for action. When lack or loss of access jeopardizes our lifelines, we encounter the world in a diminished and distorted form. As a result, withdrawal from the social world is a common adaptive response to what can be described as “feeling out of place”: an unshakeable sense that somehow you do not matter and therefore do not belong. Absence of belongingness is associated with several adverse mental health outcomes, highlighting cause for concern. Accordingly, this research seeks to elucidate the parameters of belonging and unbelonging experiences in a variety of different contexts, utilizing a phenomenological framework of analysis, with a view to enhancing our understanding of the interpersonal and other relational factors threatening our well-being and disrupting our place in the social world. | en_GB |
