Uncertainty of Social Network Members in the Case of Communication-Debilitating Illness or Injury

Uncertainty is a consequential aspect of chronic illness for patients as well as their family and friends, yet little research has focused on how non-ill individuals experience uncertainty about the condition of someone in their social network. Thirty-one individuals with loved ones who had a communication-debilitating illness or injury (CDI) participated in one-on-one interviews about their experiences. We analyzed transcripts for participants' sources of uncertainty and for ways that they managed the uncertainty. Participants' experiences with uncertainty included questions about the condition itself and involved the impaired communication resulting from the CDI. Participants described managing uncertainty through information seeking, changing the ways they communicated with the person with the CDI, and creating schemata to help reduce uncertainty. We discuss the findings in terms of predominant conceptualizations of uncertainty in illness and address the prevalence of communication as both a significant source of uncertainty and an important means of managing uncertainty

Communicating in Complex Situations: A Normative Approach to HIV-Related Talk Among Parents Who Are HIV+

Parents with HIV/AIDS are confronted with unique challenges when discussing HIV-related information with their children. Strategies for navigating these challenges effectively have not been systematically examined. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 76 parents with HIV/AIDS who had children ages 10–18 years. Guided by O\u27Keefe and Delia\u27s definition of a complex communication situation and Goldsmith\u27s normative approach to interpersonal communication, we examined parents’ goals for discussing HIV-related information, factors that made conversations challenging, and instances where these conversational purposes conflicted with one another. Our data reveal the following parent–adolescent communication predicaments: relaying safety information about HIV while minimizing child anxiety, modeling open family communication without damaging one\u27s parental identity, and balancing parent–child relational needs amid living with an unpredictable health condition. Parents also described a variety of strategies for mitigating challenges when discussing HIV-related topics. Strategies parents perceived as effective included reframing HIV as a chronic, manageable illness; keeping talk educational; and embedding HIV-related topics within more general conversations. The theoretical and practical applications of these findings are discussed with regard to their relevance to health communication scholars and HIV care professionals

Effects of Communication-Debilitating Illnesses and Injuries On Close Relationships: A Relational Maintenance Perspective

A communication-debilitating illness or injury (CDI) presents significant challenges for patients as well as for friends and family. In a qualitative study of the effects of a CDI on close relationships, 28 individuals with loved ones who had experienced a CDI were interviewed. Participants described adjustments in communication with the patient and explained what it is like to experience a relationship with a CDI patient. Themes that emerged transcended the type of illness and relationship. Recommendations are made for further research that focuses on patients' relationships with a variety of social network members, beyond primary caregivers

The Message Design Logics of Responses to HIV Disclosures

This article uses the theory of message design logics to investigate the relative sophistication of responses to disclosure of HIV status. In Study 1, 548 college students imagined a sibling revealing an HIV-positive diagnosis. Their responses to the HIV disclosures were coded as expressive (n= 174), conventional (n= 298), or rhetorical (n= 66). Type of message produced was associated with gender and HIV aversion. In Study 2, 459 individuals living with HIV rated response messages that were taken verbatim from Study 1. Expressive messages were rated lowest in quality, and rhetorical messages were rated highest. The discussion focuses on the utility of message design logics for understanding responses to HIV disclosures and the implications for message design logics

Avoiding Communication With Partners While Coping With Breast Cancer: Implications for Health and Relationship Satisfaction

266 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Communication about cancer can be a difficult experience for women with breast cancer and their partners, and many couples avoid talking about certain topics for various reasons. Research on coping with cancer in close relationships suggests that it may be detrimental for couples to avoid communicating about cancer; however, the circumstances under which, and the mechanisms through which, topic avoidance predicts negative outcomes remain inadequately understood. This study employed a communication perspective to examine the extent to which avoiding talk about cancer, along with the multifaceted reasons why patients and their partners might avoid talk about cancer, was associated with breast cancer patients' relationship satisfaction, psychological distress, and coping behaviors. Questionnaire responses from 140 women who had recently undergone treatment for breast cancer were examined. Results indicated that the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction differed from the connection between topic avoidance and psychological distress. Certain of patients' and partners' reasons for avoidance moderated the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction, but not between topic avoidance and psychological distress. Coping mediated the association between topic avoidance and psychological distress, but not the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that it is important to take into account the motivations for topic avoidance and the coping mechanisms that patients use to understand how topic avoidance predicts relationship and psychological well-being.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Avoiding Communication With Partners While Coping With Breast Cancer: Implications for Health and Relationship Satisfaction

266 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Communication about cancer can be a difficult experience for women with breast cancer and their partners, and many couples avoid talking about certain topics for various reasons. Research on coping with cancer in close relationships suggests that it may be detrimental for couples to avoid communicating about cancer; however, the circumstances under which, and the mechanisms through which, topic avoidance predicts negative outcomes remain inadequately understood. This study employed a communication perspective to examine the extent to which avoiding talk about cancer, along with the multifaceted reasons why patients and their partners might avoid talk about cancer, was associated with breast cancer patients' relationship satisfaction, psychological distress, and coping behaviors. Questionnaire responses from 140 women who had recently undergone treatment for breast cancer were examined. Results indicated that the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction differed from the connection between topic avoidance and psychological distress. Certain of patients' and partners' reasons for avoidance moderated the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction, but not between topic avoidance and psychological distress. Coping mediated the association between topic avoidance and psychological distress, but not the association between topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that it is important to take into account the motivations for topic avoidance and the coping mechanisms that patients use to understand how topic avoidance predicts relationship and psychological well-being.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Exploring Psychosocial Support Online: A Content Analysis of Messages in an Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Community

The increased usage of online cancer support groups as a resource for health-related information and social support has sparked numerous discussions about the role of online support in healthcare. However, little is known about the role of social-networking groups focused on supporting adolescents and young adults (AYAs) dealing with cancer. The current investigation report findings from a content analysis designed to explore how AYAs use an online support group to meet their psychosocial needs. Overall, members of the community focused on exchanging emotional and informational support, coping with difficult emotions through expression, describing experiences of being an AYA dealing with cancer through language (metaphors), enacting identity through evaluations of the new normal (life with and after cancer), and communicating membership as an AYA with cancer. This study highlights the unique needs of the AYA cancer community and offers a preliminary roadmap for practitioners, and network members, such as family and friends, to attempt to meet the needs of this unique community.Advertisin