Negotiating the Impact of Forgetting

Abstract

Dialectical and social constructionist approaches to dementia emphasize the importance of social interaction, and recent work has begun to call for a more relationship-based approach. However, little attention has yet been paid to the interactions of couples where one partner has early-stage dementia. This article describes some of the findings from an exploratory, qualitative study investigating conversational interactions between people with early-stage dementia and their spouses. Analysis of data from ten couples draws primarily on voice-relational analytic methods to explore how these couples use talk in conversation to negotiate and co-construct an account of their situation, and to outline the dimensions of resistance in this context. The findings suggest a need to attend to interaction and conversation from the very earliest stages of dementia. The concept of resistance, as evidenced in the interactions presented here, provides a framework that can assist in this endeavour.