Bethea L S, Travis S S, Pecchioni L
Department of Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA.
Health Commun. 2000;12(4):361-76. doi: 10.1207/S15327027HC1204_3.
Twenty-three family caregivers were interviewed using a semistructured interview format to explore their experiences managing medication administration and providing long-term care to frail elderly family members. Content analysis of the transcripts utilized the arousal-relief theory of humor (Berlyne, 1969) to understand the frequent use of humorous anecdotes found throughout the interviews. For example, caregivers of individuals experiencing dementia often included smiles, jokes, and "punch lines" in their stories of behavioral problems that complicated medication administration schedules. Adult children frequently used humor to describe their role reversal with aged parents and the parents' forgetfulness, incontinence, or inability to dress without assistance. These accounts were placed in a taxonomy of humor response patterns that included categories for cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Second-level analysis created subcategories to reflect the function (relief or coping) that the humor served in the interview situation. It appears that humor is a useful communication tool for family caregivers that releases nervous energy about the interview process and the recall of difficult caregiving events. It is the responsibility of the interviewer to recognize the problems and issues embedded in the interview data and follow up humorous anecdotes with appropriate probes for additional information. Based on the results, a meta-humorous interaction theory is offered as an extension of the arousal-relief theory of humor.
