"I'm Mother! I Can Take Care of Myself!": A Contrapuntal Analysis of Older Parents' Relational Talk with Their Adult Children

Abstract

While definitions of close relationships impact older individuals' self-identity and feelings of aging (Hummert, 1990, 1994), little is known about how older parents socially construct the relational changes that occur with their adult children in late life. Therefore, this study used Relational Dialectics Theory to identify the cultural and relational discourses older parents invoke to make meaning of relational changes with their adult children. Among other findings, our study found that participants emphasized independence and openness by engaging in a single-voiced monologue. Additionally, participants gave voice to a discursive struggle between anticipating death and sustaining life by engaging in (a) hidden polemical interplay, (b) antagonistic struggles, and (c) aesthetic moments. Implications and areas for future research are discussed. © 2014 Copyright Southern States Communication Association.