ABSTRACT
This study investigates the communicative tensions inherent to the experience of disenfranchised grief among family members of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). In the context of a family member with SUD, 98 adult-affected family members (AFMs) described their struggles with disenfranchised grief, a form of grief characterized by deprivation of support or recognition from others. The results of a deductive, qualitative analysis guided by relational dialectics theory (RDT; Baxter & Montgomery, 1996) indicated that AFMs traverse the dialectical poles of integration-separation, stability-change, and expression-non-expression both within the relationship (internally) and with those “on the outside” (externally). Additionally, AFMs grappled with a tension cited in previous work examining contradictions among spouses managing adult dementia: presence-absence (Baxter etal., 2002). The findings (a) illuminate the disenfranchised grief experienced by AFMs, (b) unpack the interactional implications of this unique form of suffering by situating disenfranchised grief as a communicative phenomenon, and (c) call for increased social and clinical support for AFMs experiencing disenfranchised grief.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).