The Changing Impact and Challenges of Familial Estrangement

Abstract

This study explored the experience of family estrangement, focusing on the estrangement’s nature (voluntary or involuntary) and approach (direct or indirect), to understand the experiences of individuals who no longer actively speak to family members, as described from the participants’ subjective perspectives. Current family estrangement research focuses on participants based in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia and this study provides a unique opportunity to view the experiences of estrangement in the Republic of Ireland. A qualitative approach was adopted, with data collected from five adults who are currently estranged from one or more family members for a period no less than 12 months. Specifically, thematic analysis was used to investigate patterns that accurately reflect the experiences of those estranged. The findings indicated that the experience can change over extended periods, with emotions such as anger and sadness and feelings of upset and stress that were present at the time of estrangement becoming less prevalent after a period ranging from 18 months to 10 years. Later experiences of estrangement were characterized by less stress, though sadness was still present for some and anger was present in situations where limited contact with estranged parties continued.