How Does the Family Narrative Influence the Individual's Ability to Communicate about Death

Bibliographic Data

ID13630412
AuthorsPatricia L Book (Arizona State University, Tempe, corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume33
Issue4
Pages323-341
Publication date1996-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/3j4e-2x29-yeve-jh14
OpenAlexW2076617504
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited2

Adults often report that there was little or no discussion of death in their homes when they were children. Although many families have a rich history of narratives, stories about death may be overlooked by family members. This study utilizes symbolic interactionism, rules theory and silence theory to examine the impact of family narratives on individual women's perspective of death. Interviews with three women provide insight into their perspectives of death based on family death communication, reactions to death, perceptions of death and the connection between life and death. Although the women reported that their families had no narratives or discussions concerning death, each person developed attitudes toward death similar to those of family members. Communication regarding death occurred through impressions and silence expressed by families through implicit and explicit rules. Przemilczec, the failure to say something, was apparent in each woman's narrative, as perspectives were also formed from what was not said regarding death

Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Narrative · Perception · Perspective (graphical · Silence · Sociology · Symbolic interactionism · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Gender Studies · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology

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