1. The Marker Phenomenon Experience:
An Exploration of Experiences for People Who Hold Their Parent’s Age of Death as
Their Own.
By
Angela R. B. Kiker
Seminar Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master of Arts
degree in
Counseling Psychology
I recommend that this paper be accepted as a seminar paper required for the
Master of Arts Degree
________________________ ___________________
Tom Sommerfield, Ph.D. Date
Instructor

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3. Abstract
This paper is a proposal for a qualitative research study of the experience of approaching,
reaching, and passing the age of a parent who previously died when the subject has held
this age as a marker for the end of their own life. This “marker” age and the phenomenon
surrounding it, has been minimally written about. The goal of this study is to further
explore the phenomenon, and come up with new theories relating to it. This paper will be
introducing this research topic, stating a hypothesis and exploring literature related to this
marker phenomenon and other issues surrounding the death of a parent. The chosen
methodology will then be discussed and the plan for gathering information defined.
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4. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT….................................................………….........................................ii
CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION……………..……….…………….…….... 5
Introduction to the Problem…………………………………………….... 5
My Own Experiences of This Phenomenon………………….………… 5
Need for the Study………………………………………………..……... 7
Statement of Hypothesis………………………………………………….. 9
CHAPTER TWO-REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE………………………....... 11
“Emparative” Death Timing………………….……………..………….... 11
Many People Affected..………………………… ….………………..…. 13
Adult Orphans …………………………………………………………… 14
Significance of Parent Lose. ………….…………………………………. 15
Perceived Differences in Age or Gender of Lose………………………... 18
Summary of the Literature……………………………………...…………. 20
Statement of the Hypothesis……………………………………………… 21
CHAPTER THREE- METHODOLOGY ………………….……………………....23
Research Design………………………………………….…………………24
Participants…………………………………………………………………
27
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5. Permission to Conduct Research and Ethics Involved………..… 27
Data Collection ……………………………………………………….. 29
Statistical Analysis……………………………………………………… 30
Assumptions…………………………………………………………... 30
Limitations and Future Direction…………..………………………… 31
CHAPTER FOUR-SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION…………..……………… 33
Summary……………………………………………………………………….... 33
Discussion……………………………………………………………………….… 33
Counseling and Educational Implications…………………………………..….. 34
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………… 35
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Marker Phenomenon Research Proposal
Introduction
The Marker Phenomenon is a human experience occurring after the loss of a
parent. In simple terms, a child who loses a parent may hold the age of their parent at
death as a marker age for their own death. It is a phenomenon that is difficult to find
much about, outside of one book written in 1995, by Maxine Harris, PhD. The
contents of this book will be discussed later in the literature review. The phenomenon
seems to stem from a faulty belief that a parent’s death is linked to one’s own
mortality in some way. What happens to these children as they reach this marker age
is part of the marker phenomenon that has yet to be fully explored. This phenomenon
can live with a person from the moment their parent died, and become noticeably
stronger as the individual reaches the same age of a deceased parent. It would be
useful to understand the full extent of this experience on a universal level.
My Own Experiences of This Phenomenon
In this part of my introduction to my research topic, I will briefly share why I
choose this subject for my research project. I experienced the classic “Marker
Phenomenon” from childhood. When my father died at age 40, I was eight years old.
At this early age I held his age at death as a marker age for my own death. I assumed
my whole life that I would die at the age of 40, the age of my father when he died. As
I approached this age, I experienced some emotional uncertainty and confusion. This
emotional experience could be labeled as mild mental disturbance. It is difficult to
describe, but I felt both positive and negative emotions. After I began to realize that I
was not going to die at the age of 40, I had increased anxiety in new areas. The

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Marker Phenomenon is a unique and distressing experience of which little is known
about it. Although the idea that a child holds the age of their parent’s death as a
marker for their own death is known, little is known about what actually happens as
we approach that age, except for those who actually live through it.
As I approached 40, I shared openly with others that I felt I was coming to the
end of my life. It was an odd kind of certainty for me. After living with this belief for
so long, it even gave me a minor sense of comfort as I finally approach the marker
age. I had lived my life shaping my choices around this belief, consciously and
subconsciously. I honestly felt I was going to die, even if it did not seem rational and
I seemed otherwise happy and healthy. My friends and family were not worried, but
amused by my increased lust for life and the certainty of my convictions. It was a
kind of joke to them, and yet my experience, although difficult to explain, was very
real. I had little preparation or understanding of what I was going through as I
approached and then reached this marker age. I had no real support because so little
is known about the full extent of this phenomenon. I had a mental list of all the things
I wanted to experience before I died, and I found myself working hard to complete the
list. I had done well my whole life, meeting my primary life goals. As I approached
forty, I filled my life with more activities, challenges, work and fun, then ever before,
some uncharacteristic of me. I finally had the courage to stand up for what I needed
and wanted to do, and I selfishly made sure those desires were met. It is lucky I did
not die, considering my careless and reckless behaviors at time. Some people who
knew me and saw the changes, half jokingly stated I must be going through a mid-life
crisis. But, at 38 and 39 years old and as healthy as ever, running half marathons and
told I looked in my twenties, I felt far from mid life. I felt young. But, I also felt I was
at the end of my life. I was resigned to the idea that I would die in my prime, and I

8. 8
accepted it. I consoled myself with the notion that I would not have to grow old, and
that gave me comfort. A part of me maybe even looked forward to a possible reunion
with dead loved ones. I knew very well, that many of my new choices, actions and
attitudes came from my faulty belief that I was going to die at the age of 40. Yet, I
was a healthy young woman with only minor and manageable health issues. There
was no rational reason for me to think I would die. My father died at the age of 40,
however, and that stuck with me my whole life as a marker for my own mortality. I
was experiencing what I call, The Marker Phenomenon.
When I did not die, it wasn’t the relief you might expect. At first I kept
waiting for “the next shoe to fall” or for the eventuality of death to find me. When
slowly, a few years post forty, I began to accept the idea that I wasn’t going to die, I
was afraid, confused and nervous. I had never planned for a life after 40. It was a
struggle in many ways, getting my life back on track. I have had a mental breakdown
and major career change since passing forty years old, and I am now working to
create a new long life plan. My mother died when I was 34 years old. The marker of
age 61, her age at death, is not as strong for me. But, if it does affect me, this time I
will be more aware and perhaps better prepared for the phenomenon. It is also
possible that this marker phenomenon experience will not happen to me again. I just
don’t know. This is something I would like to discover, along with a whole lot of
other potentially connected and interconnected relationships surrounding this marker
phenomenon, by talking with other people who have experienced this phenomenon.
Need For Study
More needs to be understood about this phenomenon and the experiences
around it, and how others perceive it in their own life. It is important to see if there
are patterns and universal commonalities that can be pulled together to come up with

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additional theories about this phenomenon, and perhaps discover information that can
be used to help prepare or support others who will go through this experience. Since
many people lose their parents, this is a significant subject worthy of further
exploration. Many people hold a specific truth that they will die at a certain age in
their mind. It is often those who are told they will die by a doctor due to an illness
and its projected prognosis. In the marker phenomenon case, however, the belief of
approaching death is medically unfounded. It is a mental phenomenon caused in
someone who faces the issue of their own mortality for the first (or second) time from
the death of a parent. What happens when that person who is certain they will die,
does not die? Is it a relief? Is the new uncertainty something to fear? If they have an
end day in mind for their life, how will they act? Do they fear the approaching
marker age, or welcome it? Do they fear death or embrace it? What will change in
their last year, months, or days? Will they reflect on previous life choices, and if so,
which ones? If the eventuality of death does not unfold, how will they feel
afterwards? When will they accept their previous belief as faulty? These are real
feelings and real issues for those who experience this marker phenomenon. These are
real questions that need to be answered if social science is to fully understand and
support these people.
After talking with adult children who lost a parent, it was discovered that they
also went through a unique experience when they approach the marker age, although
it was difficult for them to define. It will be important to look at parentally bereaved
children of all ages. We are living longer and parents are a very important part of our
whole life. We also have a greater chance now than ever of both losing a parent in
our lifetime and reaching and surpassing their age at death in our lifetime. It will be

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important to include all those who have lost a parent regardless of their age at the
time, in this study.
The Problem Statement or Hypothesis
Statement of Hypothesis
For those people who lose a parent to death and hold the age of that parent as a
marker for their own death, the closer the individual moves to the “marker” age the
more emotionally unstable the individual becomes. This marker phenomenon can lead
to greater anxiety, stress, depression, or irrational behaviors, not typical in the subject
until they approach this marker. This hypothesis can be seen in a structured format
below:
Increase in mental disturbance = f (age of individual becomes closer to marker
age of deceased parent)
Summary of Plan and Procedures
Based on this hypothesis the subject group will be restricted for this research
to a purposeful sampling of 25 individuals who have lost a parent and feel they have
held the age of their deceased parent as a marker, and have or are now approaching
the marker age of the parent who died. The phenomenon will be investigated to
understand it, searching for units of meaning that can be integrated into a typical
experience. The paper will more fully describe the phenomenon as it is experienced
by the subjects so it can be understand from many points of view. Notes will be made
of how human action and interaction result from and influence one another. Nothing
will be proved, but information about the phenomenon will be complied, a description
will be made and a theory about it will be formed. Qualitative tools, including field

11. 11
research interviews, will be used. As people who have had the marker experience are
interviewed, the phenomenon will be investigated, and a theory built about it. The
methodology will be described in greater detail in section three of this paper.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A Preliminary Review of Literature for Work Already Accomplished in this
Academic Area
According to Maxine Harris, PhD., the writer of, The Loss That Is Forever,
The Lifelong Impact of the Early Death of a Mother or Father, sometimes issues
about mortality only become conscious when one reaches the age at which a parent
died. She called this phenomenon “emparative death timing” (Harris, 1996). She
claimed that it is a time often fraught with anxiety (Harris, 1996). That age at which
one’s mother or father died can act as a marker for the end of the person’s own life
(Harris, 1988). This phenomenon may be a time of fear as that age approaches, or it
may cause a kind of confusion about what to do next when one survives. This
indicates that reaching and passing the marker age can have potential emotional
significance. One of the people quoted in Dr. Harris’s book had a similar feeling to
my own, which was that life was complete and death could be accepted at the
approaching marker age of a deceased parent. It can be an overwhelming time, as
Dr. Harris stated in her book, planning for a future you honestly never felt you would
have. Many people spend years approaching this marker age, almost as if they are
waiting to die, putting off things because they fear or had feared an inevitable end to
their life (Harris, 1996). Often, when one passes the marker age they can finally feel
free to live their own life, as if they had been putting things on hold before. But at
times, Dr. Harris found that some people have a period of confusion and
disorganization, as if they are trying to get a life expected to end, back on track.
Some people who approach this marker react in a unique way. The following

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statement, from Maxine Harris’s book, demonstrates this in a very poignant way.
“The individuals live their lives fully, cherish their worldly experiences, but feel
prepared to accept Death more as a peaceful sleep or long awaited reunion, than as a
Grim Reaper.” (Harris, page 192). This is something the author of this paper can
relate to in her own experiences.
It was surprising when looking into this topic more, and searching for peer
review articles and journal and texts, to find that there is not much additional research
available. Very little, outside Maxine Harris’s amazing book has been written about
this age marker phenomenon. Her book, The Loss That Is Forever, The Lifelong
Impact of the Early Death of a Mother or Father, is a complete book first written in
1995 that seems to have been compiled with many case studies and qualitative
research. However, in her book, Harris concentrates on the effects of early parental
loss, and only briefly discusses feelings related to the marker phenomenon for her
subjects. It would be interesting to discover if all those who lose a parent are affected
by this marker phenomenon. Her book has case studies with individuals who
approached the marker age at 36-48. Obviously, it is easier to study and observe this
phenomenon in a population of individuals who lost a parent as a child, because they
have a greater chance of approaching this marker age in their lifetime than an adult
who loses a parent to old age. The author approached the marker age of the father’s
death when age 40. The author’s mother, however, passed away when the author was
age 34 years, and when the mother was 61 years old. It will be interesting to see if the
author will experience the marker phenomenon again as she approaches age 61, or if
this phenomenon will be limited to the first death of a parent, or to those who lose a
parent only as a young child. These are just some of the questions about this
phenomenon that will be explored and researched in this study.

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It seems that more needs to be done in this field, since most of us have parents,
and have a good probability of losing them during our life. Many people will
approach the same age of the death of our parent in our own life. For those who lose
one or both parents when young enough to approach that same age, what happens?
Do we all experience a feeling of unease or confusion during this approaching age
marker? Does this phenomenon happen to all who lose a parent, or is isolated or
stronger with those who lost the parent as a child? Most of us have parents, and many
of us will lose them at some point in our life. Does the age of the child when parent
died matter? Does age of the parent when they died matter? Does the relationship
with the parent before they died affect this phenomenon? Does the marker
phenomenon happen with each parent who dies, or just one? If just one, is it the first
parent who dies or the one a child identifies with the most? Is this phenomenon
something we need to go through to remain healthy? These are just some of the
questions to find out more about in this study.
In the continued literature review it was found that in 1994, only 1 in 10
people had lost a parent by the age of 25, but 1 in 2 people (50%) had lost both
parents by the age 54 (Chen, 1994). Because we are living longer, this could be
significant for this study. These statistics mean that a lot of adults will have lost a
parent, and many will live long enough to approach the same age (the marker age) of
their parent’s age at death. It is therefore necessary to look at literature that discussed
previous research on the effects of a parent’s death on adult children. There was a
study done by Debra Umberson and Meiche Chen where the impact of a parent’s
death on adult children’s physical and psychological functioning was assessed. This
study was performed in two periods separated by three years. In 1986 and again in
1989, they looked at individuals between the ages of 24 – 96, who had lost a parent.

15. 15
They had 207 consistent respondents. They found that there was a significant
increase in psychological distress in bereaved respondents as compared to non-
bereaved respondents. Their findings further identified an increased connection with
alcohol use and a decline in physical health (Chen, 1994). The age of the adult and
their marital status affected the amount of distress. The gender of the child and the
deceased parent, along with the relationship they shared also seemed to contribute to
the level of distress. This study made it clear that the death of a parent significantly
affects an adult child. Further study should look deeper to see if approaching the age
of the parent at death is an additionally significant event in the lives of these
individuals.
A special report by Begley and Check in Newsweek looked briefly at the new
trends of adult orphans. It also looked at how losing a mother or father affects an
adult child. They stated that becoming an adult orphan can push the orphaned adult
into a “whole-life overhaul” situation. This experience can be positive or negative.
What they found was that a parent’s death can free an adult child from previous career
choices, it can test marriages, and it can bring siblings close together or push them
further apart. We are living longer, so more adults will not just experience the death
of a parent, but have a greater chance of approaching the age of that parent at death,
and passing it. We also have a different way of life compared to previous
generations. Individuals often choose to push back life events because of our current
longevity. People may marry and divorce, or delay child bearing. We will change
jobs on average 7 times between the age of 35 – 51. All these changes in the current
time mean that the most constant person in our life is often our parent(s), and their
death will affect us in many ways. As adults continue the cycle of grieving, they

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experience the loss in new ways. How they experience the approaching marker age is
what I wish to study.
The book by Therese A. Rando, Ph.D., called, How to Go on Living When
Someone You Love Dies, has a lot of information relating to those who lose a parent.
The death of a parent at any age is a significant loss. The importance of the loss,
however, will be affected by several factors. The roles and relationship of the parent
at the time of their death is one such factor. Ones age, and the age of the parent is
another factor. Generally, adult children can be significantly affected by their
parent’s death. If a person is in their twenties and thirties they are in a life transition,
struggling to separate from your parent(s) on a complete psychic level, to become
independent and to consolidate their sense of identity (Rando, 1988). An individual
in this stage may still rely on their parent for support and advice. This could include
advice on child-rearing or financial support for a home purchase, as the individual
begins their career and family, and their parent(s) are comfortably settled into theirs.
The loss of a parent at this time can be particularly poignant. One may feel as though
they and the deceased parent were both robbed of time. At that age and period of
development, the bereaved adult will have a sense of being robbed of that significant
person who validated them in very important areas of life (Rando, 1988).
An additional important factor in the loss of a parent is whether this is the first
or second parent to die. If it is the adult child’s first experience with such a loss, they
may be inexperienced with death and grief. It might be the first time they realize they
will one day be without parents. They may be consumed with the needs of the
surviving parent. When it is a second parent who dies, the person has had some
practice, and may have accepted their parent’s mortality. However, no matter when
this happens, this person becomes an orphan with many new implications. Becoming

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an orphan means that the person has lost that constant person in their life. There is
also no longer a buffer between them and old age or death. In this case, the individual
has become the oldest generation and may feel more vulnerable. At some level they
will no longer see themselves as a child, and will have to fully perceive themselves as
an adult. The death of a second parent may mean a person can no longer go “home”
physically or psychologically. The environment that signaled “home” was a place of
comfort and belonging, where they could be themselves without external pressures.
The loss of this refuge can be a major secondary loss (Rando, 1988). Becoming an
orphan can be accompanied with feelings of insecurity, vulnerability and anxiety
(Rando, 1988). Further research may reveals patterns or connection to the marker age
phenomenon, regarding whether the individual is or is not an orphan.
Losing such an important person in our life, a parent, does certainly affect us
in significant ways. The affect will vary, and the marker phenomenon experience
may vary as well, because of some differences. The dimensions of a loss will be
determined by the many factors related to the person, their parents and the details
surrounding their death. If a person had a mostly positive healthy relationship with
their parent(s), they may now feel they have lost direction, guidance and security.
They will have a new relationship with the world, without parents to help define them.
They may have lost a friend, and a friendship that was now more reciprocal than
before. They may feel they have lost the only person who truly loved them
unconditionally. If they had a mostly negative relationship with their parent(s), grief
may be more complicated. It could be an opportunity for them to let go of any
negative holds their parent had on their life, and offer an opportunity to feel free of
conflict. However, guilt or confusion from any negative feelings toward the parent or

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the circumstances of their parent’s death could cause them to hold onto faulty ideas
(Rando, 1988).
All of these factors could theoretically come up again, when the marker age
approaches. Even if it only comes up as a type of anniversary of the parent’s death,
there is a good chance it will have an impact. Even at the initial time of a parent’s
death, social support is difficult. Sons or daughters- in-law or grandchildren will
probably not feel the loss to the same extent as the adult child, or understand the
importance or significance of the loss. Since we are a more mobile society, friends,
spouses and even other relatives may not have seen the child actively involved in a
parent child relationship in order to fully understand the various impacts of the loss.
Children are often coping in a family where others are only barely handling their own
grief, and are unable to offer them any additional support. They may feel very alone
in their grief. Even if there is a surviving parent or sibling, they will have their own
issues and experience the loss in their own way. Relationships with siblings often
change, for better or worse, after the death of a parent. An adult’s loss of a parent has
profound implications simply because of the great significance of the role a parent
plays (Rando, 1988). Social Scientist understand the importance of providing
support at the time of a parents death, even if it is difficult, and program have been
put in place to offer some help. Parents without partners can offer support for
bereaved parents and give them support and share advice on how to help their
children cope. Books such as, When Parents’ Die, by Edward Myers, which is a
guide recommended for adults dealing with the death of a parent, or Helping Children
Cope with the Loss of a Loved One, by William C. Kroen, Ph.D., are both available
for personal reading and use as bibliotherapy in counseling to offer the reader
information and support. Unless more is learned about the “marker phenomenon”,

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however, little or no support will be available for the individual at this time. This
approaching marker age may be a time in which an individual really needs others to
understand and offer them extra support. Discovering the extent and type of support
that would be helpful for these individuals is another possible outcome of this
research.
Some differences still exist between young children losing a parent and adult
children losing a parent. In general, they will experience many of the same thoughts
and feelings, but a child lacks the skills for understanding, coping and expressing
what is going on. For this reason young children rather than adult children will
handle grief very differently (Emswiler, 2000). This difference might impact how a
child feels later on as well and the marker experience as they approach the age of their
parent when they died. Gender differences can also impact our coping. Boys grieve
differently than girls. William Worden states in his book, Children and Grief, that
boys tend to talk less and act out more, and girls tend to talk and cry more, although
you may not see her cry. Girls remain attached to the person who died more often
than boys, which may be a contributor to the marker experience as well (Worden,
1996).
Children don’t tend to go through as structured a process, and have more of a
scattered mourning process throughout their childhood and adulthood, going through
each new developmental stage and revisiting what losing a parent is like for them
then. To fully understand their loss, they have to mourn over and over again. This
emotional resurgence is mentioned in the book, Motherless Mothers, on page 5, and is
called a, Subsequent, Temporary Upsurge of Greif or STUG. They can be stimulated
by reminders such as dates, or event, and the mourner is able to have a realization and
awareness they were not able to before. One example they use in the book is having a

20. 20
child. These STUGS are a maturational grief which can trigger a desire to regress and
be cared for, and the longing for a mother (or father) can be intense at these times.
These STUGS are considered universal in grief for people of all ages, and actually
seen as beneficial mechanism for working through grief at each stage (Edelman,
2006). It is possible that being the same age as the parent when they died is another
STUG. It is possible this marker age could help the individual see things in a new
clearer way, or enter a final grieving stage that can be highly emotional and
problematic. This study would like to explore how exactly it may affect these
individuals. Is it a positive thing, something maybe we all need to go through to
move on or simply to offer us a kind of closure? Or, is it an indication of a negative
grieving process?
Grieving is now thought by the experts to be a fluid, cyclical and lifelong
process rather than a short lived path of steps to go through (Edelman, 2001, Kubler-
Ross, 1969). We now understand that although adult mourners may go through stages
of anger, denial, disorganization, and reorganization, it is a process which cycles
around again and again throughout their life. Grieving or STUG often happens at
various predictable points in the future, such as anniversary of death, holidays, and
special events such as a wedding (Edelman, 2006, Kubler-Ross, 1969). Approaching
the marker age could be a final anniversary, or STUG, and even possibly the last
major part of the grieving cycle. It could also just be another stage in a continuing
cycle. But, some grief related experience will most likely come around again during
the individuals own approaching age of the deceased parent, especially if they have
held that age as a marker for their own death. It may have a positive or negative
impact, or both. There is just not enough current research on this phenomenon to
really fully understand the universal aspects of what happens. When I was reading

21. 21
the book, Don’t Let Death Ruin Your Life, A Practical Guide to Reclaiming
Happiness after the Death of a Loved One, by Jill Brooke, I was surprised by how
many amazing people had lost a parent at relatively young ages. Ralph Waldo
Emmerson, Julia Roberts, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Genghis Khan, Eva Peron,
Charles Darwin, Pope John Paul II, Hans Christian Anderson, and Adolf Hitler, all
famous and infamous, are just a few of the names listed who lost a parent(s) as a
child (Brooke, J. 2001). I can’t help but wonder how much this loss shaped who
they became, if they experienced the Marker Phenomenon, and if so, how much did
the marker age phenomenon experience contributed to their later life choices and
actions.
Summary of Literature review
When one reaches the age at which a parent died, some will experience what
Harris termed, “Emparative Death Timing.” This is a phenomenon filled with anxiety
where some children will hold their parent’s age of death as a marker age for their
own death. Even before this individual reaches that marker age, it may influence their
life choices and actions in significant ways, an affect their mental and emotional
development. Little is known about how this experience of phenomenon affects
people in their life choices and actions. This study will strive to see if there are
common elements for those acting from this faulty belief system. Are they aware of
these feelings and beliefs as they live? Would intervention and support programs or
groups be of use for assisting these people in leading a healthier life and dealing with
this phenomenon?
We all have parents and many will lose them during their life and approach
their parent’s age at death. For those who have lost a parent and hold the age of their

22. 22
parent’s death as a marker for their own death, what is it they are experiencing? Will
this experience be stronger with certain individuals and not others? If so, what are the
factors that influence the phenomenon? What happens before they approach this
maker age? What happens at the marker age? What happe4nd after the marker age?
These are many of the questions that the literature review has brought forward.
Statement of Hypothesis
For those people who lose a parent to death and hold the age of that parent as a
marker for their own death, the closer the individual moves to the “marker” age the
more emotionally unstable the individual becomes. This marker phenomenon can lead
to greater anxiety, stress, depression, or irrational behaviors, not typical in the subject
until they approach this marker. This hypothesis can be seen in a structured format
below:
Increase in mental disturbance = f (age of individual becomes closer to marker
age of deceased parent)
Summary of Plan and Procedures
Based on this hypothesis the subject group will be restricted for this research
to a purposeful sampling of 25 individuals who have lost a parent and feel they have
held the age of their deceased parent as a marker, and have or are now approaching
the marker age of the parent who died. The phenomenon will be investigated to
understand it, searching for units of meaning that can be integrated into a typical
experience. The paper will more fully describe the phenomenon as it is experienced
by the subjects so it can be understand from many points of view. Notes will be made
of how human action and interaction result from and influence one another. Nothing
will be proved, but information about the phenomenon will be complied, a description

23. 23
will be made and a theory about it will be formed. Qualitative tools, including field
research interviews, will be used. As people who have had the marker experience are
interviewed, the phenomenon will be investigated, and a theory built about it. The
methodology will be described in greater detail in section three of this paper.

24. 24
CHAPTER THREE- METHODOLOGY
Methodology
This “marker phenomenon”, referred to in this paper is something to consider
in the mental- health arena. It is clear that losing a parent at any age, and especially as
a child, is something that affects an individual in many ways. It has been established
in the academic literature review and conceptualization of this paper, that there is a
marker phenomenon that occurs in adults who have lost a parent, where the age of the
parent’s death becomes a marker for their own age of death, with its associated
emotional experience. More research on what happens to individuals who experience
this approaching age, or marker phenomenon, could reveal relevant and important
theories. As a researcher looks deeper at what happens during this approaching
marker age in this study, they may begin to see patterns, and new theories could
emerge. The purpose of this study is to find the patterns and relationships in this
phenomenon, to discover what is happening on a more universal level. Do the
individuals become emotionally unstable, irrational or change their behaviors in any
significant way as they approach the marker age? Do their behaviors and thought
processes change shortly before, during or after this age marker? As an individual
moves to the marker age, do they experience greater anxiety, stress, depression, or
irrational behaviors, not typical for them? How do others describe this experience?
These are just some of the puzzles I hope to decode in my study. After the data is
collected, it will be compiled and reviewed to explore, describe and understand what
this phenomenon actually entails. Theories will be built based on the finding, from
which to do more research. This research work will focus on discovering the
individual experiences regarding the marker phenomenon. The purpose of this

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methodology chapter will be to discuss the authors chosen research methodology and
design, indicating the instruments and processes involved in this study to explain the
event, the process and phenomena that occur for these people.
Research Design
One of the very first questions that had to be answered for this investigation
was how to find out what the marker phenomenon actually is as it is experienced by
those involved. It originally felt that a phenomenological study would best answer
this question, because it seems to focus on exactly what the study wished to discover;
the perceptions of individuals experiencing a particular phenomenon. In the study,
the goal is to find out how individuals experience the marker phenomenon as they
approach the age of the marker. The author of this paper has had a personal
experience with this phenomenon, and like others who choose this phenomenological
methodology, as mentioned in the book by Leedy, researchers often want to learn
more about their own experiences and better understand the experience of others. By
looking at these multiple perspectives some generalizations can begin to be made.
While this could be a useful methodology, I now believe due to the guidance of
professor, Dr. W. Stewart, that the grounded theory study methodology would be
better. Because the goal is more to organize any discoveries made in the study and
derive some meaning from them to create theories, a grounded study theory is ideal.
New theories can be constructed, using this methodology, from the categories and
interrelationships found. Perhaps a combination of phenomenological and grounded
theory could the researchers fully understand this marker phenomenon from the
participants’ point of view, with enough data to formulate some theories for further
study. A combination of methodologies would help researchers understand the
phenomenon, and how it is perceived and experienced by others, while also letting

26. 26
them make note of actions and interactions that result from it, and how they influence
one another (Leedy, 2005). Because this paper needs to focus on one methodology, I
will proceed with a qualitative study, using a Grounded Theory methodology, by
Glaser and Strauss.
By following the work of Glaser and Strauss, and designing a research study
around the Grounded Theory Study method, it will begin with data and then use that
data to develop a theory related to the phenomenon (Leedy, 2005). In this case the
researcher is asking, “What happens during the marker phenomenon?” And, “What
experiences do those who have this marker phenomenon have, or share, if any, as they
approach the age of their parents’ death?” The study wants to describe the marker
phenomenon experience and build a theory about it using qualitative tools.
Therefore, it will begin with a vague hypothesis, stated previously in this proposal,
but will collect data and work to discover patterns that could indicate a universal
principle from which to base a new theory and do further research. The data collection
will be field based, flexible and changeable. It will include the perspective of those it
intends to study. The researcher will be ready to analyze the data collected, and
collect more data, while using a constant comparative method (Babbie, 2007). It will
have a focus on the process, the people’s actions, interactions and emotional
experience related to the approaching of the marker age, and after. Procedures will be
used to collect and analyze data in a way to construct a theory regarding what happens
as we approach the same age as our parent when they died (the marker phenomenon).
From the information gathered, inductive reasoning will be used to begin to build a
picture from the patterns that emerge. To understand how behaviors relate to the
specific group of people who have experienced the loss of a parent, and the marker
phenomenon, the researcher will do interviews, unstructured and structured, and

27. 27
interview others outside the population, who have observed behaviors of the person
being studied. To create valid and reliable research a purposeful theoretical sampling
will be used to find the appropriate population for the study. Adults who are
approaching or passing the age of their parent at death will be interviewed, within a
ten year range:
 A = age of parent at death
 B = age of subject on interview
Formula is: B = A ± 5
The study will be completed over a period of time, of ideally 5 years. It would
then revisit the questions with the subjects as they move closer to or further away
from the marker age, to note how that may change their feelings, thoughts and
behaviors. Doing this would involve a long term connection with the subject. The
internet might be a good resource for this, and e-mail could be one way to maintain
contact. Gathering data from the individuals over time will enable the researcher to
see differences in their responses at different points associated with the marker, and
note any patterns in the data. Taking into account the interval between their current
age and the age of the marker, and any associated feelings and behaviors might reveal
some additional information associated with the phenomenon. In this case, the
researcher would be looking for any differences between those who have already
experienced the age marker and those approaching it. The purpose of my study is to
describe what happens during the marker phenomenon, as the age marker approaches,
at the exact age of parents death, and afterwards. With a period of 5 years for the
study, it is hoped that there would be a mix of subjects in that range. The researcher
will be able to see the emotional or behavioral affects at different times, and note any

28. 28
changes or patterns. This descriptive study will come from the perceptions of the
individual and their concepts of “emotional change or disturbance” for life, during
this time period, based on their own experiences. The questions listed in this proposal
are only samples, and only a starting point from which to base further questions over
time, using grounded theory study principles.
Sampling
People who have lost a parent and are approaching the marker age or past it
will be the focus for my study. It will be a specific, exhaustive and mutually
exclusive population. The individuals will have either lost a parent or not, and be
approaching or passing the age of the parents death or not. If they meet this criterion,
they can be a part of the study. There will need to be a way to locate this group. A
purposeful, non-probability sampling of volunteers and referrals will be used. This
will begin by getting permission to distribute an initial survey to a broad population.
After reviewing the results of the initial response, those who met the criteria will be
contacted. Permission will be received for the researcher to contact them for further
participation in the study. For additional access to this population, advertisements
will be posted in the local paper or around town on display boards asking for
volunteers who has previously lost a parent and are now approaching or have
approached the age of their parent at death. The researcher can also contact people
known to them or those they have been told of, who have experienced this, to see if
they would be willing to participate. It is the belief of the author of this paper that
many subjects will find the topic interesting and will be willing to share what they
have experienced. Local support groups for adult orphans or for adults, who lost a
parent as a child, could be contacted if such groups exist in the areas of the study.

29. 29
Once the population has been found, with approximately 25 individuals approaching,
at, or past the maker age, the researcher can proceed with further interviews.
Permission to Conduct Research and Ethics Involved
Since this paper is proposing to use humans as respondents for the study, the
researcher must make sure that they follow appropriate ethics related to the use of
human subjects. There will be a formal consent for all participants. The subjects
must both understand what we will be doing in the study and agree it. Access to the
individuals who are known to have gone through this phenomenon, will be granted by
the individuals themselves who volunteer and give their informed consent. The
researcher will use brief interviews to select appropriate candidates for further study.
After initial contact, the use of direct, lengthy observations and interviews, with
permission to record the verbatim conversation for transcribing and reviewing later
will be used. Additional interviews will be conducted and journal entry data collected
to continually update the information along the way. The subjects will be aware of
the process and agree to maintain contact with the researcher by e-mail and other
ways, for a period of five years. Ideally, casual interviews and data collection will
occur monthly, with lengthy field observations and interviews happening bi-annually,
for 5 years.
It is always important to remember to do no harm, and to get permission from
anyone who will participate in my research study. The researcher will also work with
any sponsoring organization to get approval through the Institutional Review Boards
(IRB) process, to ensure that any risks faced by my human participants will be
minimal (Babbie, 2007). The process of the study will be explained clearly and

30. 30
honestly so that potential subjects can make an informed decision about participation.
Only willing participants will be used who have given their informed consent. They
will be made aware of the purpose and nature of the study. The notes or memos
involved in the study will maintain confidentiality, and will not have any traceable
connection back to the participant. Since the researcher will be making use of a
depression index, permission will be received to use it from the copy write source.
The researcher will make sure any patient with significant results indicating serious
depression or suicidal tendencies is referred to a health care professional immediately
for further evaluation.
Data Collection
Since the data collection must include the perspective and voices of the people
being studied, the researcher will need to collect data in such a way as to represent the
people in question. Once the sample is established, the researcher will collect data
over an extended period of time, using extensive, frequent and accurate notes or
memos that incorporate the following; Participant Journals, Focus groups,
Interviews (structured and unstructured), Field research, and Observational notes.
The researcher will use a Dictaphone or audiotape to record the interview sessions for
a verbatim record. The researcher will be interviewing people who have had this
marker experience in their life and those going through it. They will be asking for a
personal description, in as much detail as they are willing to offer me. The interview
will in part have questions (or a questionnaire) that is an ordinal scale, to look at the
question of emotional stability. This is an area where there will be a range, where
answers will be quantified with "more than" or “less then”. Therefore, the results will
be ranked on an ordinal scale. The researcher would make use of the high - low
concept, related to how much the individual did or did not experienced any kind of

31. 31
emotional instability or irrational behavior or thoughts and allow them to rank
questions related to the experience from 1 - 10 (least to most emotional instability or
irrational behaviors and how close they are to the marker age). These will be used in
connection with additional descriptive comments. Questions will be asked, such as;
-Ranking from low to high, with 1 being low (not at all) and 10 being high (very
much or very often), select the appropriate number for the following:
1. How confused did you feel when approaching the marker age?
2. How different did you behave on a weekly basis prior to reaching the marker
age?
3. How much did you fear approaching the marker age?
4. How strongly did you feel the age of your parent’s death would be the age of
your own?
5. How unsettled do you (did you) feel?
6. How sure were you that you were going to die?
7. Have confident were you that about living past the marker age?
8. How much planning did you do based on a belief you might die at the marker
age?
9. How much planning did you do for time after the marker age, prior to reaching
that age?
10. How anxious did you feel about passing the marker age?
11. How depressed did you feel about reaching the marker age?

32. 32
12. How depressed did you feel about passing the marker age?
The researcher will provide the subjects with journals, and will give them basic
instructions such as, "Please write down anything you are thinking or feeling, relating
to the approaching (marker) age of your parent when they died." Also, “Please write
down any feeling or behaviors or attitudes you have about your own life right now."
Additions may be made to include statements such as, "Please write down your
thoughts and any related experiences or feelings each day." The researcher will want
them to focus on what they are going through as they approach the age of their
parent’s death, but not want to lead them, or put ideas in their minds. It is hoped that
this research will reveal or find out some pattern or similarities in what the subjects
are experiencing. The study will also look at those who have already lived through
the marker time, and interview them. It would not be a structured interview, but there
will be some basic questions to offer points from which to elaborate, such as the
sample questions below:
1) How old was your parent when they died?
2) How old were you when they died?
3) Did you feel as though the age of your parent when they died would be the age
your own life would end?
4) As you approached their age at death, how did you feel?
5) Did you feel as though life was coming to an end when you reached that age?
6) If so, how did that affect you behavior?
7) Did you find you were depressed at all?
8) Did you feel as though you had to fit in as much as you could?

33. 33
9) Would you say you behaved different then normally?
10) Would you say that you acted a bit radical or reckless?
11) Did you re-think you life, past?
12) Did you set any future goals before the marker age?
13) Did you set any goals after you passed the maker age?
The designed questions will help the subject express, and help the researcher
find out what happens during this period in their life. The researcher will also
interview people close to the subjects for additional insight. Contacting other people
close to the subjects (to whom they have been referred), might reveal radical shifts in
personality or behavior that the subject may not have seen in themselves as they were
going through the marker phenomenon. The researcher will use an assessment tools
and symptom checklists for depression and anxiety, such as Beck’s Depression
Inventory, to look for actual occurrence of depression at the time (Groth-Marnat,
2003). When patterns emerge based on the initial findings, the researcher can then
refine the observations and questions and begin to look at more specific aspects of the
phenomenon from new theories that emerge.

34. 34
CHAPTER FOUR- SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Summary and Further Exploration
Many people have a parent(s) who will die before them at a significant stage
in their life and some will experience a marker phenomenon (unconscious idea that
their life will end at same age as deceased parent). Therefore, it would be useful to
understand what happens as people approach this marker phenomenon age, and
formulate theories for future scientific research. It would be useful for social sciences
to understand general principals related to this experience. In the research purposed
in this paper, a qualitative study would be conducted using the grounded theory
method. Grounded Theory Study methodology is appropriate because very little has
been has been written or studied about this marker phenomenon, although it has been
said to exist, and therefore too little is currently known about this experience to
logically select another research method at this time. The study will observe aspects
of emotional and social life related to these adults who have lost a parent, hold that
age of death as a marker for their own, and are approaching or have past the age of
that parent at death. A theory (or theories) will be developed based on the findings.
The researcher will conduct interviews, unstructured and structured, in the population.
The researcher will interview others, outside the population but who have witnessed
the subjects’ behaviors. This study will not have to have a control group, since it will
be looking at the particular occurrence of this marker phenomenon, and will need to
have subjects with whom this phenomenon has occurred. A survey will be used to get
answers to set questions so that there is also a certain amount of routine and similarity
in the initial data collected, and questions asked. The researcher will carefully word
the interview questions in a way that catches the marker phenomenon in those who

35. 35
may not recognize that they are experiencing it or feeling it, but not word them in
such a way that leads others who have not experienced this phenomenon to believe
they have. The study will look to measure the strength of feelings, or possibly
behavioral indicators of that feeling.
This study will look for connections between one thing and another, and
recognize and make note of the behavioral indicators to those. If the subject can rank
their feelings and behaviors according to a range of choices or strengths of feelings,
along with giving some descriptive information, it will be more measurable. One
thing being observed will be the death of a parent and a sense of a marker to the end
of their life because of that, and how that feels for them. The other thing being noted
will be the experiences of the individual as they approach that marker age. The
researcher will be looking to see if there are any patterns, such as a stronger
occurrence in this phenomenon among the population who lost a parent as a child.
Grounded theory study methodology will provide results for a general
understanding how behaviors universally relate to the specific group of people who
have experienced the marker phenomenon, and generate new theories. Learning more
information on the phenomenon and developing theories could foster more research
and the development of helping facilities, which could both assist people in the future
with support or education, related to the experience. The author would then further
hypothesize that with ongoing support and awareness, perhaps via counseling, this
phenomenon can be better handled or dealt with by the individual, in a way least
likely to cause long lasting negative effects for themselves, their families or the
community as a whole.

36. 36
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