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A constructivist grounded theory of family distancing emerged from the narrative accounts of 52 adult children in the process of estrangement from their parents. The grounded theory conceptualizes estrangement as a continuum comprised of eight components: (1) communication quality, (2) communication quantity, (3) physical distance, (4) presence/absence of emotion, (5) positive/negative affect, (6) reconciliation/desire to be a family, (7) role reciprocity, and (8) legal action. In addition, 10 communicative behaviors are identified that can help family members move along the estrangement continuum toward greater distance or maintain their position. Together they interplay to constitute a holistic picture of the estrangement process. Scholarly uses, theoretical implications, and practical applications will be discussed.

Disclosing a family disruption like estrangement might be an important first step in garnering supportive communication, yet disclosure also might come with costs. Grounded in the disclosure literatures, this study illuminates the conditions under which adult children disclose estrangement from parents to their social networks and the perceived reactions of social network members to such disclosures. Findings from a thematic analysis of 52 narrative interviews reveal that adult children go to great lengths to keep their estrangement private, but disclose (a) when others witnessed conflict, (b) when asked, (c) when disclosure was indirect, and (d) when (they perceived) it would benefit others. Reactions to disclosure were rarely ambivalent, and adult children primarily felt unsupported by their network. Practical applications are discussed.

Abstract
The present study explores how former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are often referred to as Mormons, construct their identities. Framed in an interpretive narrative approach, 150 online exit stories of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that voluntarily left the Church were qualitatively analyzed. Findings reveal five prominent identities: (1) the disenfranchised victim, (2) the redeemed spiritualist, (3) the liberated self, (4) the (wo)men of science, and (5) the Mormon in name only. Results suggest that membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inextricably connected to individual identity. Thus, exiting the Church is much more than leaving an organization. Future implications for research will be discussed.

AbstractIn this study, the tension adoptees feel between learning information about their past and protecting themselves from negative or unwanted information about their birth/adoption was explored. Specifically, communication privacy management theory was used to explore adoptee preferences for information during a potential reunion with their birth mother/family. Findings suggest adoptees' preferences for information ownership and control correspond to the following privacy rules: (a) permeably boundary privacy rules, (b) privacy rule calibrations of boundary access, (c) protection privacy rules, and (d) privacy rules restricting boundary access. In addition, adoptees often expressed that they would like their birth mothers to serve as information guardians, revealing desired information and concealing unwanted disclosures. By assuming this guardian role, birth mothers and adoptees might have less stressful reunions, especially if both parties have similar expectations for information preferences.

AbstractThis article first provides an overview and brief history of relational dialectics theory (RDT) before turning to a presentation of RDT's basic tenets and theoretical utility. In addition, it also examines how RDT has been applied in studying family contexts and offers suggestions for future directions of RDT‐based research.

"Continuing its engaging and readable approach, this second edition presents an overview of the major theories within the discipline of communication studies inclusive of the three major paradigms of social scientific, interpretive, and critical. Each member of the author team writes from his or her area of expertise, giving readers further insight into how the theory is applied to research within communication studies. With extensive pedagogical features, the text underscores key concepts and links them to students' own communication studies scholarship and everyday lives. Key updates for this edition include updated examples and discussions around theories to give students a deeper understanding; explorations of Black Lives Matter and intersectionality; new pedagogical features in line with Bloom's taxonomy. This book is ideal as a core text for undergraduate courses in communication theory. Online resources also accompany the text: an instructor manual, test bank, lecture slides, and author introduction videos. Please visit www.routledge.com/9781032015194 to access the materials"--

Almost everyone experiences homesickness at some point in their life, regardless of their age. Given the deleterious outcomes associated with homesickness, this study explores what homesick individuals miss about their homes, what their homes mean to them, and how individuals seek support when they are homesick. Thirty-four in-depth interviews were collected, and results from a content analysis indicate that there are 12 distinct content areas that individuals miss about their homes. Results suggest that activities (100%), family (97%), feelings (100%), and places (97%) are the most salient for homesick individuals. Furthermore, a thematic analysis reveals that "home" is generally synonymous with a comfortable and safe environment. Although the majority of participants reported that they did not seek social support when they were homesick, those who sought support did so both directly and indirectly. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

ObjectiveTo identify first‐year undergraduate students' concerns about college and examine how family support and resilience influence the relationships between family communication patterns and adjustment to college.BackgroundNearly half of undergraduate college students in the United States do not graduate within 6 years. Low graduation rates come at high costs to students and universities. A deeper understanding of the family factors that contribute to adjustment concerns may provide retention‐focused intervention opportunities.MethodSurvey data collected from precollege students (N = 2,252) were used to test a moderated mediation model in which family communication patterns are associated with adjustment concerns through resilience and family support.ResultsConversation orientation was related to higher family support, whereas conformity was related to lower resilience and family support. Interaction results indicate that the effects of conversation orientation on some adjustment concerns depended on conformity ratings. Resilience mediated the relationship between the orientations and adjustment concerns.ConclusionConversation and conformity orientation play a role in perceptions of family support, student resilience, and an array of concerns held by students as they enter college.ImplicationsParents may play an important role in helping their child adjust to college through the family communication environments they create and reinforce from childhood and through the support they provide during the transition to college.

Close relationships have norms and expectations regarding the communication of support; however, recent research has illuminated the varied reasons why would-be supporters at times choose to forgo supporting those who are facing difficulties. One such reason is the perception that the other person is undeserving of support. The researchers conducted 28 semi-structured interviews with those who withheld support because they did not believe the other person deserved support. The researchers analyzed the transcripts using thematic narrative analysis, which yielded three identities that nonsupporters construct for themselves and five identities they constructed for those who were undeserving of support. Additionally, certain self-identities tended to co-occur (i.e., align) with certain undeserving identities. These findings provide practical insight into the dilemma of not providing support to others, as well as further support for narrative research that contends people create identities for both the self and others.

AbstractMore than 13% of parents identify as being alienated by at least one of their children. Parental alienation often occurs after divorce when one parent (un)intentionally persuades his or her children to distance themselves from or reject the other parent. This study, couched in relational dialectics theory, explores the meaning of parenting from the perspective of 40 alienated parents. This analysis yielded two competing discourses: the culturally dominant discourse of parental norms (DPN) and the culturally marginalized discourse of parental victimization (DPV). Throughout the narrative interviews, the DPV resisted the DPN in four ways (diachronic separation, entertaining, countering, and negating). This study's findings provide insights into the perspective of the alienated parents, advance what we know about family distancing, and provide practical implications.

Framed by uncertainty management theory, the present study explores the uncertainty issues and management practices of undergraduate student parents. Results from 40 narrative interviews reveal seven sources of uncertainty, eight management practices, and two uncertainty trade-offs. Findings reveal that having two interrelated identities (student and parent) not only exacerbate some uncertainties but create completely new ones. This intersectionality also holds implications for management practices. Theoretical implications and practical applications are discussed.

Queer adolescents experience compounding complications especially when they are estranged from their parents. Findings from a sample of 40 estranged queer adolescents revealed four triggers, five resilience processes, and three co-occurring relationships between the triggers and processes. Based on these findings, we advance the communication theory of resilience by (a) illustrating resilience enactments with an adolescent population, (b) introducing a new facet of putting alternative logics to work, and (c) arguing how access to LGBTQ+ vocabulary and embeddedness within the LGBTQ+ community can facilitate more and less resilient enactments. We also extend a new qualitative method, thematic co-occurrence analysis, to illuminate thematic ubiquity and inverse relationships between themes. Practical applications for primary/secondary school curriculum, counselors, and public policy are discussed.

In this study, we examined whether or not exposure to a humorous surround campaign in Iowa (United States) could produce a multiplicative effect based on Intermedia Theory. Until You're Ready, AvoidtheStork.com© was designed to prevent unintended pregnancies among young women. In the case of unintended pregnancy, interpersonal sharing is important because women's contraceptive decisions are influenced by what others, including their friends, think about the health issue. In a sample of college students ( n = 594), cross-sectional survey results indicated that campaign exposure and humor were significant predictors of talking with and/or showing the campaign to others. Based on our results, we suggest that campaign practitioners should consider humor-based campaigns as a way to generate not only exposure-based effects but also conversation-based effects. Specifically, humor-based campaigns can increase the reach of a campaign through sharing.