A relational turbulence theory perspective on women’s grief following miscarriage

Abstract

This study used relational turbulence theory to examine (a) how the relational impact of miscarriage corresponded with bereaved mothers’ grief responses and (b) the association between a partner’s supportive conversational behaviors and relationship qualities. The sample included 193 women who had experienced a miscarriage within the previous year. As predicted, relational uncertainty was positively associated with women’s negative appraisals of miscarriage; facilitation from a partner was positively associated with women’s negative emotions; bereaved mothers’ negative appraisals and negative emotional responses covaried; and a partner’s supportive conversational behaviors were positively associated with facilitation from a partner. Contrary to our predictions, interference from a partner was not associated with more intense negative emotions, and a partner’s supportive conversational behaviors were positively associated with relational uncertainty and interference from a partner. The discussion highlights the relational impact of miscarriage on bereaved mothers’ experiences of grief.

Relational turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic: Within-subjects mediation by romantic partner interdependence

“…The findings from this investigation extend the purview of RTT to the novel context of a global health emergency and demonstrate support for the theory's utility in the specific context of a pandemic. This research furthers a line of relatively recent scholarship which applies and tests the mechanisms of RTT when romantic partners are experiencing situations that are out of the ordinary, further illustrating RTT's efficacy in explaining both normative and nonnormative relational experiences (e.g., Tian & Solomon, 2020). With regard to the latter, some findings emerged here which appear to be unique to the particular context under study.…”

“…Extant research on relational turbulence has consistently documented that interference from a partner is correlated with negative emotions toward the partner including sadness, anger, and fear King & La Valley, 2019;Knobloch, 2008;Knobloch et al, 2007;Knobloch & Theiss, 2010;Theiss & Nagy, 2010;Tian & Solomon, 2020). These findings provide the evidentiary basis of Axiom 2 of RTT, which states "interruptions from a partner, particularly those that interfere with everyday routines, heighten affective arousal" (Solomon et al, 2016, p. 515).…”

Spousal interference and relational turbulence during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…As RTT pivots away from a focus on transitions as the catalyst for these relational processes, more recent turbulence research has tested the theory in the milieu of comparatively intense relational experiences, often those that are particularly worthy of study due to their physical and/or psychological health implications. These studies have thus far shown support for various aspects of the theory, such as in the contexts of women's grief after miscarriage (Tian & Solomon, 2020) and service members' recent return from military deployment (Knobloch & Theiss, 2011). The current study expands this body of knowledge by providing additional evidence for the causal mechanisms proposed by RTT in the as-yet untested context of a global pandemic.…”

“…Several studies have examined the salience of interference from partners and negative emotional responses (particularly anger and sadness) in romantic couples' experiences with relational turbulence, reporting that individuals experience negative emotions when their partners interfere with their daily goals (e.g., King & La Valley, 2019;Knobloch & Theiss, 2010;Tian & Solomon, 2020). These studies have repeatedly documented bivariate associations between negative emotions, interference, and turbulence, and RTT stipulates the causal mechanisms that explain these relationships.…”

Dyadic coping and discrete emotions during COVID-19: Connecting the communication theory of resilience with relational uncertainty

“…Relational uncertainty has been linked to emotion (Knobloch & Theiss, 2010;Tian & Solomon, 2020). Emotion is composed of several elements including subjective feeling, cognitive appraisals of a stimulus, physiological reactions, motor expression, and action tendencies (Nabi, 2010).…”