Boyle, G. and Warren, L.A. (2015) Showing how they feel: the emotional reflexivity of people with dementia. Families, Relationships and Societies. ISSN 2046-7443
Abstract
This article explores whether people with dementia demonstrate emotional reflexivity within their personal relationships. Previous research has suggested that they may lose their capacity for reflection as the disease progresses. In turn, it has also been assumed that they lack the reflexive abilities necessary to exercise agency within their daily lives. The authors draw on findings from a qualitative study of everyday decision-making by people with dementia and their spouses undertaken in England. The sample consisted of 21 couples, but to enable emotional reflexivity to be examined in depth, this article focuses on the emotional communication of six people with more advanced dementia. The research found that even when their abilities for deliberation, discourse and social interaction were limited, they could nonetheless demonstrate emotional reflexivity. As they also exhibited a capacity for imaginative agency, this suggests that intersubjectivity can be preserved in dementia even when social skills are apparently lost.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits adaptation, alteration, reproduction and distribution without further permission provided the original work is attributed. The derivative works do not need to be licensed on the same terms. |
Keywords: | agency; dementia; emotions; reflexivity; social relationships |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2015 10:07 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2016 02:03 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/204674315X14328175376100 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Policy Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1332/204674315X14328175376100 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:87238 |