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

Abstract

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.

Kematian Akibat Bencana dan Pengaruhnya Pada Kondisi Psikologis Survivor:Tinjauan Teoritis Tentang Arti Penting Death Education

“…Berbagai faktor mempengaruhi kesedihan yang dialami oleh korban, antara lain bagaimana hubungan individu dengan orang yang meninggal misalnya: orangtua, anak, mitra, atau teman (Bonanno, 1999;Leahy, 1993;Meshot & Leitner, 1993), jenis kematian (Drenovsky, 1994;Ginzburg, Geron & Solomon, 2002;Levy, Martinkowski & Derby, 1994;Stamm, 1999), pengalaman terhadap kesedihan (Leming & Dickinson, 1994;Smart, 1993), dukungan masyarakat (Leming & Dickinson, 1994), norma budaya (Klapper, Moss, Moss, & Rubinstein, 1994;Stroebe, 1992), kualitas hubungan dengan yang ditinggal (Meshot & Leitner, 1993;Rubin, 1992), dan umur yang ditinggal (Moss, Moss, Rubinstein, & Resch, 1993). Sebagai tambahan, berbagai aspek internal dari individu yang ditinggalkan mempengaruhi reaksi mereka terhadap kehilangan seperti kerentanan kepribadian (Bonanno, 1999;Van Baarsen, Van Duijn, Smit, Snijders,& Knipscheer, 2002), ciri kepribadian (Goodman, Black, & Rubinstein, 1996), umur (Gilbar & Dagan, 1995;Levy et al1994;Meshot & Leitner, 1993), perilaku sosial (Van Baarsen et al 2002) dan pola kebiasaan keluarga dalam menghadapi duka cita (Book, 1996;Mcgoldrick, 1995).…”

Bereavement: A Framework for those Working with Children

“…There is an increasing interest in developing ideas using stories and narratives both to understand personal and family life changes (including secrets and losses) and for use as therapeutic techniques in clinical practice in both adult and child work (Book, 1996;J. Crocker, personal communication, 1996).…”

Communication Issues at the End of Life: Reports from Hospice Volunteers

“…Hospice volunteering presents unique communicative challenges (Egbert & Parrott, 2003), especially in the United States, where death is often avoided as a topic of conversation and as a reality in families (Book, 1996) and where the medical system is oriented to prolonging life (Hines, Moss, & McKenzie, 1997).…”