Fishing for answers: Couples living with dementia managing trouble with recollection

ABSTRACT

Dementia affects cognitive abilities in several ways, memory dysfunction being one of the most common symptoms. Not only does this have implications for the individual diagnosed with dementia, but also for the life shared with others. Spouses in couples share memories and experiences that make up an extensive common ground that constitutes the basis for their interaction. From video-recorded interviews with 12 couples in which one of the spouses is diagnosed with dementia, this study focuses on instances where the spouse with dementia is unable to recollect information that she is presupposed to know, so-called type-1 knowable. Conversation Analysis is used to analyze how the spouses in interaction manage this problem. Two conclusions are argued for: (a) different expectations of what is, or should be, in common ground may cause communicative problems and distress, and (b) spouses without dementia may use fishing techniques as a way of managing problems regarding recalling knowledge. These techniques do not necessarily enable the person with dementia to recall the information; on the contrary they may cause embarrassment for the person with dementia. By adopting a we-perspective approach to service provision, social workers can make a difference for couples and families living with dementia.

Acknowledgments

My warmest gratitude goes to the couples that participated in this study by telling their stories. I am also grateful to several persons who commented on this text, specifically Anna Ekström, Ingrid Hellström, Lars-Christer Hydén, Anna Olaison, and Charlotta Plejert.

Ethical approval

The Regional Board for Ethical Vetting at Linköping University approved the study (2011/143-31).

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation as part of the program Dementia: Agency, Personhood and Everyday Life (Grant no. M10-0187:1).

Transcript conventions

Talk has been transcribed according to conventions developed by Jefferson (described in Atkinson & Heritage, 1984), and nonverbal interaction is transcribed according to conventions by Mondada (Broth & Mondada, 2013). All used symbols are summarized in Table 1.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation as part of the program Dementia: Agency, Personhood and Everyday Life (Grant no. M10-0187:1).