Nine male subjects, ages 22 to 58, were randomly chosen for the study. Their length of time in the paraplegic state varied from 2 months to 24 years. Frankl's existential frame of reference was used, and phenomenological methodology was applied. The Test Purpose of Life (1968) of Crumbaugh and Maholick was applied to the subjects. Also, a semi-structured interview and a self-report were used. The author analyzed the results qualitatively according to individual physiognomies. More than half the subjects (five) had an existential emptiness that undermined any formulation for the meaning of their lives. In less than half the subjects (four) the meaning of life stemmed from the value of the family and work. 10 references