When Family Talk is Difficult: Making Sense of Nonverbal Communication at the End-of-Life

Abstract

In this article, we assess transcripts of interviews with 55 people who participated in end-of-life conversations with a family member or relationally close other. Nonverbal cues are studied often for the diverse meanings that can be given to them, and this study reports strong qualitative evidence that nonverbal cues can be understood as performing important communicative functions in this context. These perceived functions were categorized as relational messages, emotional expression, interaction management, social support, and transitioning. Many of the identified functions also had unique subtypes, and these more specific meanings were often associated with particular cues. Together, the findings help reveal the nature of sense-making for nonverbal communication family members recall at the end-of-life and ways in which survivors use that sense-making to find peace with a loved one’s death.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors appreciate the candidness and willingness of the participants who agreed to be interviewed for this study. We also appreciate coding help by Sara Docan-Morgan and Tamara Barnett and the comments by the editor and reviewers that strengthened this article.