Understanding the process of dying among young and old adults

This qualitative study aimed to further understand and explore the different perspectives that young and old adults have regarding the process of dying , respectively how young and old adults perceive and understand the process of dying, their thoughts, feelings and beliefs regarding the personal death and the death of loved ones, the connection between life and death cycle, their insights regarding the pivotal role that culture has on the way how people approach death, different coping mechanisms when facing loss, the idea of afterlife and perspectives for the idea of being immortal. In this research study participated 8 young adults (4 women and 4 men; 24-29 years old) and 7 old adults (3 women and 4 men; 65-72 years old). All participants were from Kosovo and were recruited through snowball sampling method. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews which lasted around 15- 40 minutes. The data gathered from semi-structured interviews were analyzed through Thematic Analysis. After the data coding, seven themes were generated: Appreciation for being alive, Life and Death Cycle, The meaning of Death, Afterlife, The universal fear of dying, Coping with the process of dying and The idea of being immortal.