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

Abstract

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.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An earlier version of this article was presented at the November 2003 meeting of the National Communication Association in Miami Beach, Florida.

The authors are grateful to Dale Brashers for his guidance throughout this research, and to John Caughlin and Daena Goldsmith for their comments on this article. We also thank Allyson Bibart for assistance with data collection and analysis.

Notes

¹We say that the term almost exclusively describes the loss of an ability that existed prior to the onset of the illness or condition because two participants discussed a young child with autism. We recognize that some conditions inhibit language ability throughout childhood and into adulthood; however, the vast majority of the patients discussed in this study experienced the sudden onset and subsequent progression of a CDI due to an illness or injury.

²Although Baxter et al. (2002) examined spouses, all of the husbands lived in nursing homes.

³Thirty-one interviews were conducted in total. It was discovered that three participants were the primary caregivers and consequently, they were dropped from the analysis.

⁴One participant failed to report the duration of the patient's CDI. Therefore, n = 27 for this one question.

⁵Equipment failure prevented audio recording in two interviews. In these cases, a partial transcript was created from the researcher's notes.

⁶Pseudonyms are used to protect the participants' identities.

⁷This participant reported on her grandmother and grandfather, who both suffered strokes.