Feeling misunderstood: a concept analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Feeling misunderstood.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to analyze the concept of feeling misunderstood to explicate the antecedents, attributes, and consequences of this phenomenon.


METHODS
A comprehensive review of literature, from 1957 to 2005, was completed with the keywords feeling misunderstood to guide the search.


CONCLUSIONS
Three defining attributes of feeling misunderstood were identified: (a) disquietude; (b) discordant perceptions; and (c) heightened cognizance of emotions. Antecedents, including presence of an issue, communication barrier, and unexpected response from receiver, are explicated, along with the consequences, or transformations in behavior.
Condon
Barbara Backer
BB
South Dakota State University, College of Nursing, SD, USA. barb.condon@briarcliff.edu
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001364:Awareness; D003071:Cognition; D003144:Communication Barriers; D032882:Comprehension; D003210:Concept Formation; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012650:Self Disclosure