NARRATIVES OF ORPHANED ADULTS: JOURNEY TO RESTORATION A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Dawn L. Carusi June 2006 This dissertation entitled NARRATIVES OF ORPHANED ADULTS: JOURNEY TO RESTORATION by DAWN L. CARUSI has been approved for the School of Communication Studies and the College of Communication by Jerry L. Miller Associate Professor of Communication Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, College of Communication Abstract CARUSI, DAWN L., Ph.D, June 2006, Communication Studies NARRATIVES OF ORPHANED ADULTS: JOURNEY TO RESTORATION (187 pp.) Director of Thesis: Jerry L. Miller Research on the communication of grief and loss has overlooked the stories told by adults who have lost one or both of their parents. This research applies narrative analysis to the stories told by twenty orphaned adults in search of narrative form and function. Three sets of narrative coding revealed consistencies among the narrative events, people, and themes. Most notably, the story form consisting of seven narrative constructs appears to serve the function of managing a guilt-innocence dialectic providing the narrator with a restorative story end. Conclusions suggest that the form and function of these loss narratives of orphaned adults might be compared to other loss narratives as researchers seek to identify a universal loss narrative schema. Approved: Jerry L. Miller Associate Professor of Communication Studies Acknowledgments I am profoundly grateful to the men and women who participated in this study. As they invited me to share in their stories of loss, I learned about depth of grief, the power of narrative, and the generosity of strangers. This research is written in memory of all of our lost parents. I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jerry Miller and committee members Michael Arrington, Anne Kovalchick, and Caryn Medved for providing me with insightful comments and compelling questions that led me to deeper insights and understanding. In particular, I would like to thank Jerry Miller for carefully guiding me through each step of the process and having the patience and trust to see me through. Dr. Sonja Foss and Dr. William Waters were also instrumental in the development of this dissertation. I came to the Scholars’ Retreat with the intent to sit and write; I left with a better understanding of the narratives, research, and myself as a scholar. The administrators, colleagues, and friends at Marietta College gave me the instrumental and social support necessary to complete this dissertation. President Jean Scott, Provost Sue DeWine, Department Chair Jack Hillwig and former chair Suzanne Walker granted me the gifts of understanding and time. My colleagues in The Department of Communication and Media Studies, The Happy Hour Cohort, and especially Mark and Andrea Miller gave me friendship and encouragement. Thank you to my dear friends and teachers, Jeffery Bleam, Kevin Dean, Elaine Jenks, Jon Crane, and Jay Sefton for the inspiring conversations. Finally, I am grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Graham, for serving as my teacher, friend, and mentor. Dedication This dissertation is for my sisters Gwen, Kim, and Lynn, my brother John, my sister through marriage Stacey, my niece Allison, my nephew JD and our extended family. Each of our stories has been shaped by the loss of John and Jean Carusi. I embarked on this project for all of us and dedicate it to the memory of Mom and Dad. vi Table of Contents Page Abstract..............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Dedication........................................................................................................................... v Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Overview......................................................................................................................... 4 Justification for Population............................................................................................. 5 Narrative Turn in Bereavement Research....................................................................... 8 Chapter Two: Review of Literature .................................................................................. 10 Bereavement ................................................................................................................. 10 Models of Grief......................................................................................................... 12 Classifications of Unique Grief Experiences............................................................ 15 Disenfranchised Grief ........................................................................................... 15 Stifled Grief .......................................................................................................... 17 Complicated Grief................................................................................................. 17 Ambiguous Loss ................................................................................................... 18 Culture........................................................................................................................... 19 Culture, Gender and Emotion ................................................................................... 21 Orphaned Adults ........................................................................................................... 25 Narrative ....................................................................................................................... 28 Bereavement Narratives............................................................................................ 35 Research Question ........................................................................................................ 37 Chapter Three: Methodology............................................................................................ 38 Justification................................................................................................................... 38 Step One: Definition of Study Object........................................................................... 42 Step Two: Researcher’s Perspectives Used as Guides to Initial Data Collection......... 42 Step Three: Collection of Data ..................................................................................... 44 Participants................................................................................................................ 47 Step Four: Coding of Data ............................................................................................ 58 Step Five: Identification of Variables and their Characteristics ................................... 61 Step Six: Presentation of Propositions.......................................................................... 63 Presentation Limitations ........................................................................................... 64 Step Seven: Development of a Conceptual Framework from the Propositions............ 66 Chapter Four: Narrative Analysis ..................................................................................... 67 Introduction................................................................................................................... 67 Schematic Construct One: Guilt ................................................................................... 69 Caregivers Guilt........................................................................................................ 69 Moments Before Death Guilt.................................................................................... 77 Funeral Guilt ............................................................................................................. 82 Inheritance Guilt ....................................................................................................... 86 Parent Relationship Guilt.......................................................................................... 90 Schematic Construct Two: Justification and Villain .................................................... 98 vii Surviving Parent as Villain ....................................................................................... 99 Deceased Parent as Villain...................................................................................... 100 Schematic Construct Three: Good Deeds Argument.................................................. 103 Righting the Wrong................................................................................................. 106 Schematic Construct Four: Positive Memories........................................................... 114 Schematic Construct Five: Message from Beyond..................................................... 118 Schematic Construct Six: Philosophy......................................................................... 127 Schematic Construct Seven: Restorative Statement ................................................... 132 Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion ...................................................................... 135 Discussion of Narrative Analysis...............................................................................