Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

The Diabetes Educator

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Health Psychology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Frey, L. R.
Right arrow Articles by Query, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Frey, L. R.
Right arrow Articles by Query, J. L., JR.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Communication Practices in the Social Construction of Health in an AIDS Kesidence

Lawrence R. Frey

Loyola University Chicago

Mara B. Adelman

Seattle University

Jim L. Query, JR.

Loyola University Chicago

Physical illness and well-being, while grounded in bodily and psychological experiences, are also constructed socially through communication practices. Significant symbols, rituals and myths, among other forms, converge to create shared meanings that help define the health/illness experience. This article first provides a conceptual framework for understanding how communication intertwines physical, psychological and collective worlds. This perspective is then contextualized by illustrating some communication practices within a residential facility for people with AIDS that help residents cope with the 'depression bind' created by the need to 'grieve efficiently' over the loss of fellow residents. In- depth interviews with residents uncover metaphors that describe this bind, the military and journey myths embedded in the language of 'fighting AIDS' and 'passing', and the remembering and 're membering' rituals of bereavement. These communication practices help residents grasp elusive meanings, discharge deep and contradictory feelings and manage the tensions of everyday life.

Key Words: AIDS • communication • health, illness • social construction

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 1, No. 3, 383-397 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/135910539600100310
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Journal of Social and Personal RelationshipsHome page
K. Greene, L. R. Frey, and V. J. Derlega
Interpersonalizing Aids: Attending to the Personal and Social Relationships of Individuals Living with Hiv and/or Aids
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2002; 19(1): 5 - 17.
[Abstract] [PDF]