Making Sense of Dissatisfaction during the Transition to Motherhood through Relational Dialectics Theory

Cronin-Fisher, Valerie; Parcell, Erin Sahlstein

doi:10.1080/15267431.2019.1590364

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Scharp and Thomas (2017) argue that, instead of dismantling the DSBM, the centrifugal discourse simply shifts it because it would be difficult for mothers to outright center themselves and deny love for their children. Indeed, a recent study by Cronin‐Fisher and Sahlstein Parcell (2019) also revealed that dissatisfied mothers did not give voice to a discourse that negated the dominant one based on similar logic. Yet, even though alienated parents were able to draw on the DPV to negate the DPN, the monologic hold of the DPN still exerted oppressive influence on what it means to be an (alienated) parent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The next theoretical advancement pertains to a potential reason why the centrifugal discourse in this study was not as robust as other documented marginalized discourses. We specifically turned to the existing RDT research and noticed that there were many instances when the centripetal discourse was hidden such that the researchers had to unfold to detail its nuances (Cronin‐Fisher & Sahlstein Parcell, 2019; Suter, Baxter, Seurer, & Thomas, 2014). The marginalized population was not inherently certain or aware of what was marginalizing them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Making meaning of parenting from the perspective of alienated parents

Scharp

Hansen

Kubler

et al. 2020

Personal Relationships

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More 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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making meaning of parenting from the perspective of alienated parents

Scharp

Hansen

Kubler

et al. 2020

Personal Relationships

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“…Several studies have focused on mothers and motherhood. For example, Suter et al (2015) examined motherhood in the talk of co‐mothers; Harrigan and Miller‐Ott (2013) studied college students' talk about their mothers; and Cronin‐Fisher and Sahlstein Parcell (2019) examined meanings constructed in talk of new mothers who were dissatisfied with their transition to motherhood. Scholars have also used RDT to study experiences of maternal depression (Scharp & Thomas, 2017; Seurer, 2015).…”

Section: Research Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They argued that these mothers were unable to give even fleeting voice to a discourse that centered self‐interests or a discourse that challenged inherent love for the child, thereby further calcifying the dominant culture of good mothering. Similarly, a study of dissatisfaction in the transition to motherhood identified how the dominant cultural discourse of motherhood was naturalized, thereby functioning to calcify it (Cronin‐Fisher & Sahlstein Parcell, 2019).…”

Section: Research Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational Dialectics Theory

Baxter

Scharp

Thomas

2021

J of Family Theo & Revie

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This 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. Relational dialectics theory (RDT) addresses the meaning-making process. As the word "dialectics" suggests, the theory's key premise is that the meaning of some phenomenon emerges in the moment through the interplay or struggle of competing possibilities of meaning. Early on, RDT referred to these opposing meaning possibilities as "contradictions" (Baxter & Montgomery, 1996), but the term "contradiction" can carry a pejorative meaning, in addition to the presumption that meaning-making is a binary between only two alternative meanings. Because of these misunderstandings, the newer iteration of RDT refers to the interplay of competing meaning systems, which are labeled

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“…According to RDT, often competing or contested norms and expectations enacted through discourse characterize relational experiences (Baxter, 2011 ). Discourses may be dominant (e.g., heteronormative discourses) or marginalized (i.e., deviating from dominant discourses) (Baxter, 2011 ; Cronin-Fisher & Parcell, 2019 ; Scharp & Thomas, 2018 ). For example, recent findings suggest that the dominant discourse of motherhood as innately desired among women may exist in contrast to the marginalized discourse of motherhood as learned, which also serves as sensemaking devices for new mothers (Cronin-Fisher & Parcell, 2019 ).…”

Section: Intimacy Discourses: Sexual Scripts and Relational Dialecticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It Strengthened My Core Relationships, and Filtered Out the Rest:” Intimacy Communication During COVID-19

Rubinsky

Cooke‐Jackson

McMahon

et al. 2021

Sexuality & Culture

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Informed by scripting theories and Relational Dialectics Theory, this qualitative study used interviews, focus groups, and friendship pods conducted during the summer of 2020 in the COVID-19 pandemic to explore how 29 cisgender women and gender minorities made sense of, communicated about, and maintained their intimate relationships during COVID-19. Findings reveal a discourse of scripted intimacy reflecting normative relational patterns such as the heterosexual life script and the discourse of co-created intimacy, both of which legitimized and challenged the existing relational scripts by generating new ideas of what intimacy could look like in a relationship. Sub-themes included tensions of stability v. growth, comfort v. discomfort, and physical risk v. relational risk. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

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Making Sense of Dissatisfaction during the Transition to Motherhood through Relational Dialectics Theory

Cited by 26 publications

References 41 publications

Making meaning of parenting from the perspective of alienated parents

Making meaning of parenting from the perspective of alienated parents

Relational Dialectics Theory

“It Strengthened My Core Relationships, and Filtered Out the Rest:” Intimacy Communication During COVID-19

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