Abstract
With approximately 20 % of pregnancies ending in loss, miscarriage is a relatively common and stressful occurrence. Because romantic partners’ coping efforts are intimately connected, the way one partner copes with the other’s miscarriage has important implications for individual and relational well-being. Grounded in the communicated sense-making (CSM) model, the current study investigated how cis-gender men in heterosexual marriages (n = 45) communicatively constructed the meaning of their wife’s miscarriage through metaphors. Analysis of interview data revealed two supra-themes—metaphors of miscarriage and metaphors of men’s role as a husband. Metaphors of lost gift, cataclysm, death of a loved one, emptiness, and chaotic movement animated husbands’ CSM about their wife’s miscarriage. Men drew upon discourses of masculinity to make sense of their role as a husband in the miscarriage process as a rock, guard, repair man, and secondary character. We explore these findings in light of the master narrative of birth and propose an expansion of the CSM model to include metaphors as a key CSM device.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Health Communication |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Health(social science)
- Communication
Cite this
Men’s Use of Metaphors to Make Sense of Their Spouse’s Miscarriage : Expanding the Communicated Sense-Making Model. / Horstman, Haley Kranstuber; Holman, Amanda; McBride, M. Chad.
In: Health Communication, 01.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Men’s Use of Metaphors to Make Sense of Their Spouse’s Miscarriage
T2 - Expanding the Communicated Sense-Making Model
AU - Horstman, Haley Kranstuber
AU - Holman, Amanda
AU - McBride, M. Chad
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - With approximately 20 % of pregnancies ending in loss, miscarriage is a relatively common and stressful occurrence. Because romantic partners’ coping efforts are intimately connected, the way one partner copes with the other’s miscarriage has important implications for individual and relational well-being. Grounded in the communicated sense-making (CSM) model, the current study investigated how cis-gender men in heterosexual marriages (n = 45) communicatively constructed the meaning of their wife’s miscarriage through metaphors. Analysis of interview data revealed two supra-themes—metaphors of miscarriage and metaphors of men’s role as a husband. Metaphors of lost gift, cataclysm, death of a loved one, emptiness, and chaotic movement animated husbands’ CSM about their wife’s miscarriage. Men drew upon discourses of masculinity to make sense of their role as a husband in the miscarriage process as a rock, guard, repair man, and secondary character. We explore these findings in light of the master narrative of birth and propose an expansion of the CSM model to include metaphors as a key CSM device.
AB - With approximately 20 % of pregnancies ending in loss, miscarriage is a relatively common and stressful occurrence. Because romantic partners’ coping efforts are intimately connected, the way one partner copes with the other’s miscarriage has important implications for individual and relational well-being. Grounded in the communicated sense-making (CSM) model, the current study investigated how cis-gender men in heterosexual marriages (n = 45) communicatively constructed the meaning of their wife’s miscarriage through metaphors. Analysis of interview data revealed two supra-themes—metaphors of miscarriage and metaphors of men’s role as a husband. Metaphors of lost gift, cataclysm, death of a loved one, emptiness, and chaotic movement animated husbands’ CSM about their wife’s miscarriage. Men drew upon discourses of masculinity to make sense of their role as a husband in the miscarriage process as a rock, guard, repair man, and secondary character. We explore these findings in light of the master narrative of birth and propose an expansion of the CSM model to include metaphors as a key CSM device.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85060950133&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10410236.2019.1570430
DO - 10.1080/10410236.2019.1570430
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85060950133
JO - Health Communication
JF - Health Communication
SN - 1041-0236
ER -