I was part of a more recent study on forgiveness where we looked at forgiveness within stepfamilies. Challenges and conflicts experienced by stepfamilies are well documented, but researchers are increasingly focusing on communication processes that facilitate resilience in these types of relationships. In other contexts, communicating forgiveness has been linked to relational healing after transgressions or adversity. In our study, we sought to better understand how stepchildren talk about the role of forgiveness in the development of positive adult stepchild–stepparent relationships. Data were drawn from interviews with adult stepchildren who have a positive relationship with a stepparent. Following an interpretive analysis, we identified five themes representing the ways forgiveness was conceptualized and enacted in these positive stepchild–stepparent relationships: forgiveness as (a) healing family connections, (b) explicit negotiation, (c) maturation and acceptance, (d) a response to vulnerability and compassion, and (e) evidence of relational growth. To read more about our study please search for Discourses of forgiveness and resilience in stepchild–stepparent relationships in the 2018 Journal of Applied Communication Research, volume 46.
Waldron, V. R., Braithwaite, D. O., Oliver, B. M., Kloeber, D. N., & Marsh, J.S. (2018). Discourses of forgiveness and resilience in stepchild–stepparent relationships. Journal ofApplied Communication Research, 46(5), 561–582.
Flashcards
Codification
is explicit communication that may involve anything from love letters, to written rules for fighting, to negotiating and writing up a marital or family contract.
Commitment
refers to an ongoing, intentional choice to maintain a relationship.
Commitment talk
refers to the verbal and nonverbal communication that supports feelings of secure connection and love
Debriefing conversations
or talk about how their day unfolded, are more likely to experience marital satisfaction
Deception
involves communicating or withholding information intentionally for the purpose of creating a false belief
Forgiveness
is defined as: (a) a relational process in which harm is acknowledged by one or both parties, (b) the harmed party extends mercy to the transgressor, (c) one or both experience a transformation of negative emotions to positive emotions, (d) the meaning of the relationship is renegotiated, and (e) reconciliation becomes possible.
Intimacy
is the outcome of an interpersonal, transactional process that involves two individuals communicating in transparent and responsive ways
Jealousy
is an aversive emotion that may involve negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, anger, sadness, and fear induced by the threat or actual loss of a relationship with another person
Love maps
which reflect a deep knowledge of mundane and intimate aspects about a partner’s psychological world.
Moral commitment
based on an obligation to the partner
Personal commitment
based on the rewards inherent to the relationship itself
Sacrifice
involves choosing to give up something in order to benefit another person. This involves a high level of commitment and effort
Self-disclosure
occurs when one person intentionally reveals personal or private information about themself to one or more persons that the others would not discover otherwise
Sexual communication
occurs when individuals exchange verbal and nonverbal messages in a mutual effort to co-create meaning about sexual beliefs, attitudes, values, and behavior
Structural commitment
based on barriers to leaving the relationship and the absence of viable alternatives
