The Psychology of Uncertainty: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity Reconstruction During Major Life Transitions

Sakineh Rastegar Moghadam Ebrahimian

Authors

Sakineh Rastegar Moghadam Ebrahimian Assistant Professor, Department of Theology, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2032-4060

Keywords:

Uncertainty, Identity Reconstruction, Major Life Transitions, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Self-Identity, Meaning-Making, Psychological Adaptation

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore and interpret the lived experiences of uncertainty and the processes through which adults reconstruct their identities during major life transitions.

Methods and Materials: This qualitative study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants were 18 adults residing in Tehran, Iran, who had experienced a significant life transition within approximately six months to three years before participation. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to ensure direct experience of identity-relevant transitions, including divorce, occupational change, relocation, educational transition, marriage, and changes in family or social roles. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 60–90 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the systematic stages of IPA, including repeated reading, exploratory noting, development of experiential statements, clustering of related meanings, within-case analysis, and cross-case comparison. Reflexive notes, an audit trail, and repeated checking of themes against original transcripts were used to enhance analytic rigor.

Findings: Analysis generated five interrelated superordinate themes: the collapse of assumed continuity, living in an uncertain and suspended self, identity negotiation through relationships and social recognition, reclaiming agency through meaning-making, and the emergence of a reconstructed but unfinished identity. The findings indicated that major life transitions disrupted participants’ established self-narratives and identity anchors, creating a liminal state between former and emerging identities. Identity reconstruction was facilitated by reinterpretation of the transition, re-evaluation of personal values, experimentation with new roles, and supportive social recognition. Greater adaptation was characterized not by elimination of uncertainty, but by increased tolerance of ambiguity and a more flexible, revisable understanding of selfhood.

Conclusion: Identity reconstruction during major life transitions appears to be a dynamic and recursive process in which uncertainty initially destabilizes self-continuity but can subsequently promote reflection, agency, and the development of a more flexible identity capable of integrating both continuity and change.

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