Denying and Accepting a Family Member’s Illness: Uncertainty Management as a Process
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Health Communication
Abstract
Doubt is a common, yet challenging form of uncertainty to have about another’s illness. Although navigating illness uncertainty is a process of continual (re)appraisal and management, existing research narrowly examines windows of uncertainty experience. To illustrate how uncertainty management in the context of doubt is recursive, nonlinear, and ongoing, we apply a process approach to communication to uncertainty management theory. Drawing on interviews with 33 U.S. adults, our findings explicate a prominently teleological (i.e., goal-driven) process wherein participants’ uncertainty management served to accept or deny illness, depending on the extent individuals valued their own and the other’s identity and the relationship. Participants generally moved through this process along one of three trajectories: growth, stagnation, or resentment. We also observed dialectical, evolutionary, and life cycle processes in the data. Findings demonstrate the heuristic value of studying uncertainty management as a multiple motor process.
First Page
594
Last Page
607
DOI
10.1080/10410236.2021.1964713
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Recommended Citation
Thompson, Charee M.; Romo, Lynsey K.; Pulido, Manuel D.; Liao, Danni; Kriss, Lauren A.; and Babu, Sara, "Denying and Accepting a Family Member’s Illness: Uncertainty Management as a Process" (2023). Liberal Arts Faculty Publications. 25.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1964713
https://collections.uhsp.edu/liberal-arts_pubs/25