‘We needed to change the mission statement of the marriage’: biographical disruptions, appraisals and revisions among couples living with endometriosis

Date
2015-12-17
Authors
Hudson, Nicky
Culley, Lorraine
Law, Caroline
Mitchell, H.
Denny, E.
Raine-Fenning, N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
The concept of biographical disruption has been widely applied in sociological explorations of chronic illness and has been subject to much theoretical scrutiny, reflection and development. However, little attention has been given to the impact of biographical disruption beyond the individual level. This article explores the concept from a dyadic perspective, utilising data from an exploratory, qualitative study (ENDOPART) that investigated the impact of endometriosis on women and their male partners. In total, 22 couples participated in in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The women and their partners were interviewed separately and, in most cases, simultaneously, by different interviewers. Data analysis was informed by an interpretivist relational approach, foregrounding the meanings participants applied to their experiences, treating interviews as accounts, and exploring partners’ accounts in relation to one another. Two analytic approaches generated several themes for exploration in the context of the concept of biographical disruption: sex and intimacy; planning for and having children; working lives and social lives. The article argues that biographical disruptions are social and inter-relational processes and discusses how couples living with endometriosis negotiated these disruptions, how they were appraised and how lives and expectations were revised as a result.
Description
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Keywords
biographical disruption, dyad, life-course, chronicity, relationality, gender, Endometriosis
Citation
Hudson, N., Culley, L., Law, C., Mitchell, H., Denny, E. and Raine-Fenning, N. (2016) ‘We needed to change the mission statement of the marriage’: biographical disruptions, appraisals and revisions amongst couples living with endometriosis. Sociology of Health and Illness, 38 (5), pp. 721–735
Research Institute
Centre for Reproduction Research (CRR)