The challenges of final conversations: dialectical tensions during end-of-life family communication

• Keeley, Maureen P. ^[1] ; Generous, Mark A. ^[2]
  1. [1] Texas State University

     Texas State University

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Arizona State University

     Arizona State University

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Southern communication journal, ISSN 1041-794X, Vol. 80, nº 5, 2015, págs. 377-387
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This study examines how participants recall the challenges they encountered during final conversations they had with a family member who has since died. We use relational dialectics as a theoretical framework to interpret participants’ responses. The dialectical tensions evident in these conversations are influenced primarily by a chronemic pressure: the impending death. The overarching tensions discovered were acceptance–denial and openness–closedness (including expression of emotion–concealment of emotion). Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.