Skip to Main Content
Frequently Asked Questions
Submit an ETD
Global Search Box
Need Help?
Keyword Search
Participating Institutions
Advanced Search
School Logo
Files
File List
Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until September 01, 2026
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
“The Expectation – That Was What Made My Depression So Bad”: A Communicative Approach to Examining Identity Tensions in Mothers Who Experienced Postpartum Depression
Author Info
Weikle, Kelly M
ORCID® Identifier
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0032-6428
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1651485443916594
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2022, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
Abstract
In this dissertation, I explore the experience of postpartum depression from a communicative identity standpoint. I use the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI; Hecht et al., 2005) to explore and discuss identity frames and gaps in women who experienced postpartum depression and present dominant and alternate discourses about motherhood evident in those identity frames and gaps. I conducted my research through an interpretive framework, where I used phronetic iterative analysis (Tracy, 2020) in interviewing 16 women who had experienced postpartum depression. In Chapter 1, I discuss postpartum depression, including the risk factors and outcomes associated with postpartum depression and my personal experience with the illness. In Chapter 2, I provide my rationale for the study, where I discuss the socially constructed concept of motherhood, identity challenges women face during postpartum depression, the intergroup communication framework, and the Communication Theory of Identity. Then, I present my research questions. In Chapter 3, I provide an overview of the methodology I used to address my research questions. In Chapters 4 and 5, I present my findings. Chapter 4 centers on the experience of postpartum depression, identity layers and gaps framed in CTI, and how postpartum depression is lasting within identity. Chapter 5 centers on dominate and alternate discourses circulating in women’s experiences of identity. In Chapter 6, I present my implications, including implications for the Communication Theory of Identity, theoretical implications for mothering and postpartum depression research, and practical implications. Additionally, I share my study limitations and provide suggestions for future research. Finally, in the Afterward, I share more about my personal experience.
Committee
Angela M. Hosek (Advisor)
Risa Whitson (Committee Member)
China Billotte Verhoff (Committee Member)
Laura Black (Committee Member)
Pages
246 p.
Subject Headings
Communication
;
Families and Family Life
;
Mental Health
Keywords
Communication Theory of Identity
;
postpartum depression
;
motherhood
;
identity
;
intergroup communication
;
identity gaps
;
family communication
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Weikle, K. M. (2022).
“The Expectation – That Was What Made My Depression So Bad”: A Communicative Approach to Examining Identity Tensions in Mothers Who Experienced Postpartum Depression
[Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1651485443916594
APA Style (7th edition)
Weikle, Kelly.
“The Expectation – That Was What Made My Depression So Bad”: A Communicative Approach to Examining Identity Tensions in Mothers Who Experienced Postpartum Depression.
2022. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1651485443916594.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Weikle, Kelly. "“The Expectation – That Was What Made My Depression So Bad”: A Communicative Approach to Examining Identity Tensions in Mothers Who Experienced Postpartum Depression." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1651485443916594
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
Abstract Footer
Document number:
ohiou1651485443916594
Copyright Info
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.