Finding Purpose in Pain: Using Logotherapy as a Method for Addressing Survivor Guilt in First‐Generation College Students

The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 is largely responsible for the significant increase in the amount of first-generation college students currently enrolled in higher education. The goal of the HEA was to expand opportunities for postsecondary education to low-income, first-generation, and minority students. First-generation college students are defined as the first individuals in their nuclear families to attend a postsecondary institution (Hsiao, 1992; Inman & Mayes, 1999). Currently, first-generation college students represent approximately 50% of all college students and roughly 34% of the students enrolled in 4-year institutions (Choy, 2002). Although there have been numerous retention models, interventions, activities, and best practices developed over the past 3 decades, very little has changed in terms of actual student persistence and attrition rates for all students (Tinto, 2007). According to Bradburn (2002), approximately one fifth of all students entering 4-year institutions leave without completing their degrees; of the students who withdraw, approximately 50% of them leave after the second semester (Pitkethly & Prosser, 2001). Unfortunately, first-generation college students are among the least likely to be retained and complete a degree (Thayer, 2000). One of the challenges that first-generation students face that is generally not addressed in the literature is the unique intrapersonal and noncognitive struggles that they experience (Hsiao, 1992). One of those unique issues that may contribute to these students' low graduation and high attrition rates is survivor guilt. Survivor guilt is defined as excessive worry about being in a better position than others, particularly parents and peers (O'Connor & Berry, 1996, 1997; O'Connor, Berry, Weiss, Schweitzer, & Sevier, 2000). Piorkowski (1983) found that survivor guilt can hinder or prevent well-being, normal progression through life, academic success, and the development of positive relationships for first-generation college students. Additionally, survivor guilt may result in an individual becoming consumed with the past, their family, the community, and peers at the expense of the present and future. This ultimately can lead to academic failure and thus may be one of the explanations for this student population's high attrition rates in college. Although there are many theoretical models that college counselors may apply when working with first-generation college students, logotherapy (Frankl, 2006) is particularly well suited for this group of students. When viewing the experience of first-generation college students through the lens of survivor guilt, what becomes clear is a tension between these students' past experience and their future possibilities. Confronting and embracing this tension is seen as a healthy method of therapeutic change when using logotherapy as a counseling intervention. By examining the values associated with this tension, the counselor and client can move toward an integrated and genuine purpose for first-generation college students' experiences and goals. Given the information outlined earlier, this article provides (a) an overview of first-generation college students' participation in higher education, (b) an outline of survivor guilt and how this factor can be detrimental to these students' ability to persist and graduate from college, (c) a description of logotherapy (Frankl, 2006) and how this approach can be implemented by college counselors to overcome the effects of survivor guilt, and (d) implications for this approach to counseling practice. First-Generation College Students' Participation in Higher Education There has been a significant amount of studies conducted that highlight why first-generation college students do not graduate at the same rate as their peers. One of the most glaring issues is that these students are less academically prepared than students who have parents who attended college (Choy, 2001). …