Coping with Breast Cancer across Adulthood: Emotional Support Communication in the Mother–Daughter Bond

Abstract

Women diagnosed with breast cancer encounter traumatic changes and their ability to cope is tied to support they receive from their families. Women describe the mother–daughter relationship as a significant potential source of this support. Forty diagnosed women in young, middle, and later adulthood and 38 of their mothers/daughters were interviewed to capture how communication functioned both adaptively and maladaptively in their adjustment. Findings highlight differences in women's communication preferences related to development.

Keywords:

• Mother–Daughter Communication
• Breast Cancer
• Emotional Support Communication
• Human Development
• Family Communication

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a National Institute on Aging (NIA) training grant, Interdisciplinary Training in Gerontology, #T32 AG00048 and grants from the Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality and Penn State's College of Liberal Arts. A previous version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association in San Diego 2009. Thank you to Heather Canary, PhD for her helpful comments at this presentation. I am extremely grateful to Drs. Jon Nussbaum, Michelle Miller-Day, Dennis Gouran, and Melissa Hardy for their insightful guidance and critique of this research. I also acknowledge and thank Aileen S. Galley, ACSW, LSW; Susann E. Schetter, DO; Anne Bobb, BSN, RN, CWOCN; Shanna K. Gillette, BS, RTR(M); and Diane Sholder, RN, BSN, OCN for their recruitment assistance. Thank you also to the anonymous reviewers for the generous directions. I am especially appreciative to all of the mothers and daughters who so graciously opened up their lives to me.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carla L. Fisher

Carla L. Fisher is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Arizona State University