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This essay explores the relation between emotion and imagination in sociology. While scholars have noted that imagination is under-theorised as a sociological concept, attention to sociological texts, most closely C. Wright Mill's The Sociological Imagination , reveals the interplay of feeling and imagining across personal and social scales. I draw from Mills to explore the role of emotional speculation in qualitative survey data about experiences of family estrangement. In the survey responses, people articulated the limits of what they and others could imagine about familial relationships. This paper therefore identifies a lens to pursue further analyses of the imaginative capacities of emotion in intimate life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A constructivist grounded theory of family distancing emerged from the narrative accounts of 52 adult children in the process of estrangement from their parents. The grounded theory conceptualizes estrangement as a continuum comprised of eight components: (1) communication quality, (2) communication quantity, (3) physical distance, (4) presence/absence of emotion, (5) positive/negative affect, (6) reconciliation/desire to be a family, (7) role reciprocity, and (8) legal action. In addition, 10 communicative behaviors are identified that can help family members move along the estrangement continuum toward greater distance or maintain their position. Together they interplay to constitute a holistic picture of the estrangement process. Scholarly uses, theoretical implications, and practical applications will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a mixed method survey that was administered to a group of Australian palliative care social workers (n = 27). Specifically, it aimed to investigate the ways that social workers understood and worked with clients who were estranged from family at the end of life. Respondents suggested that estrangement potentially impacted clients emotionally, practically, and existentially. They were challenged to make clear assessments, provide emotional support, encourage news ways of thinking about estrangement, to manage practical issues, work with the client’s family, and monitor their own professional role. Theories and models of intervention and levels of training are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framed in the uncertainty literature, the present study explores the uncertainty issues and management practices of adult children who are in the estrangement process with their parents. Results from 52 narrative interviews reveal six types of uncertainty and six management processes. Taken together, results suggest that the estrangement process is marked by chronic uncertainty that can serve multiple functions. Theoretical implications and practical applications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 25 adult children who initiated or maintained estrangement from one or both parents. Participants often stated that they initiated or maintained estrangement to provide relief and space to heal from a difficult relationship, but it was also experienced as a considerable loss that impacted them across the lifespan. They missed having a family and the benefits of such a relationship, including emotional, financial and physical support. However, the majority stated that they did not miss ‘their own family’ or the person they were estranged from, often taking active measures to keep the estrangement status intact. Estrangement also appeared to affect participant’s experiences of other relationships with non-estranged family members, work colleagues, and potential partners and friends. These findings suggest social work practice that is focused on understanding and addressing grief reactions, a critical examination of family, stress reduction, and reconnection to safe and trusting relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]