Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T18:22:26.660Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Love and Death: Relational Metaphors Following the Death of a Child

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2014

Laura R. Umphrey  and
Joanne Cacciatore
Laura R. Umphrey*
Affiliation:
School of Communication, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Joanne Cacciatore
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE TO: Laura R. Umphrey, School of Communication, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ 86011USA. E-mail: laura.umphrey@nau.edu
Get access

Abstract

Recognised as one of the most painful human experiences, the purpose of this study was to uncover the relational and metaphorical themes embodied in bereaved parent narratives following the death of a child. Using a grounded approach, 420 narratives were analysed. Results of the study found (a) relational trajectory, (b) grief/coping, and (c) communication as prominent relational themes. In the present study, bereaved parents often described their conjugal relationship metaphorically as being in motion, as a living organism, and as on a journey. Grief was primarily described metaphorically as a type of journey. Communication was metaphorically described in terms of being open or closed. Discovering the experiences of bereaved parents adds to our knowledge about how the stress of child death impacts relational resiliency. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

bereavementchild deathgriefcommunicationmetaphor
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 5 , 2014 , e4
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baxter, L.A. (2003). Relationship metaphors. In Ponzetti (Ed.), International encyclopedia of marriage and family (pp. 1309–1312). New York: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Baxter, L.A. (2004). Relationships as dialogues. Personal Relationships, 11, 1–22.Google Scholar
Baxter, L.A. (2006). Relational dialectics theory: Multivocal dialogues of family communication. In Braithwaite, D.O. & Baxter, L.A. (Eds.), Engaging theories in family communication: Multiple perspectives (pp. 130–145). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, L.A., & Montgomery, B.M. (1996). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Cacciatore, J., Lacasse, J., Lietz, C., & McPherson, J. (in press). A parent's TEARS: Main results of the Traumatic Experiences and Resiliency Study. OMEGA: Journal of Death & Dying.Google Scholar
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory method: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13, 3–21.Google Scholar
Doughty, E.A. (2009). Investigating adaptive grieving styles: A Delphi study. Death Studies, 33, 462–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geary, J. (2011). I is an other: The secret life of metaphor and how it shapes the way we see the world. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Gersie, A. (1992). Storymaking in bereavement: Dragons fight in the meadow. London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
Gersie, A., & King, N. (1989). Storymaking in education and therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Graves, D. (2009). Talking with bereaved people: An approach for structured and sensitive communication. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Hooghe, A., Neimeyer, R.A., & Rober, P. (2012). ‘Cycling around an emotional core of sadness’: Emotion regulation in a couple after the loss of a child. Qualitative Health Research, 22 (9), 1220–1231. doi:10.1177/1049732312449209Google Scholar
Hooghe, A., Neimeyer, R.A., & Rober, P. (2011). The complexity of couple communication in bereavement: An illustrative case study. Death Studies, 35, 905–924.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In Ortony, A. (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202–251). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lohan, J.A., & Murphy, S.A. (2006). Mental distress and family functioning among married parents bereaved by a child's sudden death. OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 52 (4), 295–305.Google Scholar
Martin, T.L., & Doka, K.J. (2000). Men don't cry . . . women do: Transcending gender stereotypes of grief. Philadelphia: Brunner-Mazel.Google Scholar
Metaphor [Def. 1]. (2012). Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor.Google Scholar
Oliva, A., Jiminez, J.M., & Parra, A. (2009). Protective effect of supportive family relationships and the influence of stressful life events on adolescent adjustment. Anxiety Stress Coping, 22 (2), 137–152.Google Scholar
Owen, W.F. (1985). Thematic metaphors in relational communication: A conceptual framework. The Western Journal of Speech Communication, 49, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, W.F. (1990). Delimiting relational metaphors. Communication Studies, 41 (1), 35–53.Google Scholar
Rosenblatt, P.C. (2000). Parent grief: Narratives of loss and relationship. Philadelphia: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Rosenblatt, P. (2008). Recovery following bereavement: Metaphor, phenomenology, and culture. Death Studies, 32, 6–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmitt, R. (2005). Systematic metaphor analysis as a method of qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 10 (2), 358–394.Google Scholar
Schwartz-Borden, G. (1992). Metaphor: Visual aid in grief work. OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 25 (3), 239–248.Google Scholar
Spall, B., Read, S., & Chantry, D. (2001). Metaphor: Exploring its origins and therapeutic use in death, dying and bereavement. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 7 (7), 345–353.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Toller, P.W. (2005). Negotiation of dialectical contradictions by parents who have experienced the death of a child. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 33, 46–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toller, P., & Braithwaite, D. (2009). Grieving together and apart: Bereaved parents’ contradictions of marital interaction. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 37 (3), 257–277.Google Scholar
Umphrey, L., & Cacciatore, J. (2011). Coping with the ultimate deprivation: Narrative themes in a parental bereavement support group. OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 63 (2), 141–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VandeCreek, L. (1985). Building metaphors and extending models of grief. The Hospice Journal, 1 (2), 79–90.Google Scholar
Young, E. (2008). Figures of grief: Metaphors from a bereavement writing group. OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 56 (4), 359–367.Google Scholar