Discursive Struggles in Families Formed through Visible Adoption: An Exploration of Dialectical Unity

Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the present study addressed the question: What discourses interpenetrate to reflect dialectical unity as parents communicate about their child’s adoption? Interviews with 40 parents across 31 visibly adoptive families—families with an obvious lack of biological connection—highlighted four instances of dialectical unity resulting from the following discursive struggles: (a) pride and imperfection; (b) love, constraint, and sacrifice; (c) difference, pride, and enrichment; and (d) legitimacy, expansion, similarity, and difference. Each struggle contains seemingly disparate discourses that, in combination, contribute to how parents discursively make sense of adoption. Practical implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers, educators, and members of visibly adoptive families

Discursive Struggles in Families Formed through Visible Adoption: An Exploration of Dialectical Unity

Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the present study addressed the question: What discourses interpenetrate to reflect dialectical unity as parents communicate about their child’s adoption? Interviews with 40 parents across 31 visibly adoptive families—families with an obvious lack of biological connection—highlighted four instances of dialectical unity resulting from the following discursive struggles: (a) pride and imperfection; (b) love, constraint, and sacrifice; (c) difference, pride, and enrichment; and (d) legitimacy, expansion, similarity, and difference. Each struggle contains seemingly disparate discourses that, in combination, contribute to how parents discursively make sense of adoption. Practical implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers, educators, and members of visibly adoptive families

Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes

This study investigates perceptions of family communication among members with different sexual identities. Specifically, from the perspective of heterosexual family members (N = 129), the study takes an intergroup perspective to determine how accommodative and non-accommodative communication and attitudes toward homosexuality predict intergroup anxiety and relational satisfaction with gay or lesbian family members. Further, the manner in which family communication influences attitudes toward homosexuality is examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research on heterosexual-homosexual interaction, family communication, and intergroup communication, in general

Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes

This study investigates perceptions of family communication among members with different sexual identities. Specifically, from the perspective of heterosexual family members (N = 129), the study takes an intergroup perspective to determine how accommodative and non-accommodative communication and attitudes toward homosexuality predict intergroup anxiety and relational satisfaction with gay or lesbian family members. Further, the manner in which family communication influences attitudes toward homosexuality is examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research on heterosexual-homosexual interaction, family communication, and intergroup communication, in general

The dialectical experience of the fear of missing out for U.S. American iGen emerging adult college students

FoMO, the fear of missing out, is a salient and significant experience with personal and relational consequences. This study qualitatively analyzed 35 interviews with iGen emerging adult college students about their experiences with FoMO. Framed by relational dialectics theory 2.0 (Baxter, L. A. (2011). Voicing relationships: A dialogic perspective. Sage), we found two relational-level contradictions, connection and disconnection and inclusion and exclusion, which are illuminated by the cultural-level interplay of the discourses of ‘carpe diem’ and ‘investment in the future.’ Findings indicate that through the discourse of carpe diem, participants attempt to increase the power awarded to relational and personal resources and expand what it means to invest in the future. Implications of these findings related to well-being and academic success are discussed and practical applications for institutions of higher education such as team-based learning and more holistic professional development programs are presented

An Examination of Everyday Talk in Stepfamily Systems

This study explored frequencies of everyday talk in stepfamilies and the extent to which such frequencies of talk differed according to family relationship type. Participants included a parent, stepparent, and stepchild from 114 stepfamilies. Across relationship types, stepfamily members reported catching up, joking around, and recapping the day’s events most frequently and interrogating family members least frequently. Significant differences in frequencies of everyday talk across different relational dyads emerged for all three members of the stepfamily system. However, relatively few differences emerged in stepchildren’s reported frequencies of everyday talk with their stepparents and their nonresidential parents