title: 'We needed to change the mission statement of the marriage': biographical disruptions, appraisals and revisions among couples living with endometriosis.
abstract: The concept of biographical disruption has been widely applied in sociological explorations of chronic illness and has been subject to much theoretical scrutiny, reflection and development. However, little attention has been given to the impact of biographical disruption beyond the individual level. This article explores the concept from a dyadic perspective, utilising data from an exploratory, qualitative study (ENDOPART) that investigated the impact of endometriosis on women and their male partners. In total, 22 couples participated in in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The women and their partners were interviewed separately and, in most cases, simultaneously, by different interviewers. Data analysis was informed by an interpretivist relational approach, foregrounding the meanings participants applied to their experiences, treating interviews as accounts, and exploring partners' accounts in relation to one another. Two analytic approaches generated several themes for exploration in the context of the concept of biographical disruption: sex and intimacy; planning for and having children; working lives and social lives. The article argues that biographical disruptions are social and inter-relational processes and discusses how couples living with endometriosis negotiated these disruptions, how they were appraised and how lives and expectations were revised as a result.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Nicky
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Culley
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Birmingham City University, UK.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Denny
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK.|Nurture Fertility, East Midlands Fertility Centre, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raine-Fenning
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012649:Self Concept
keywords: biographical disruption; chronicity; dyad; endometriosis; gender; life-course; relationality