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Cited by 1,407Risk Perception and ManagementPatient-Provider Communication in HealthcareMedia Influence and Health

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 112 of the 112 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Communication and Uncertainty Management

Brashers, Dale E.·2001·Journal of Communication
DOI 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2001.tb02892.x
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Abstract

The fundamental challenge for refining theories of communication and uncertainty is to abandon the assumption that uncertainty will produce anxiety. To better explain processes of communication and uncertainty management, we must answer questions about (a) the experience and meaning of uncertainty, (b) the role of appraisal and emotion in uncertainty management, and (c) the range of behavioral and psychological responses to uncertainty. This paper outlines and extends a theory of uncertainty management and reviews current theory and research in this area. In addition to the theoretical advances promised by this perspective, the paper describes applications to health communication practice. The drive in disease prevention to reduce uncertainty about the state of health and illness has led to a “culture of chronic illness.” Constant surveillance of people's health, combined with improved methods for screening and monitoring, virtually guarantee finding something wrong with every person, creating a society divided into the chronically ill and the worried well (i.e., those waiting to be diagnosed).

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Citations

Cites

Show all 112 references

Research works printed but not linked: 16

  1. 1995, Inscrutable goals, uncertain plans, and the production of communicative action, 1
  2. 1982, Language and social knowledge
  3. 2000,, Social support in the management of uncertainty for persons living with HIV or AIDS
  4. 1994, Introduction, xi
  5. 2000, The social context of new genetics, 173
  6. 1987, The strategic uses of ambiguity in organizations, Communication Monographs, 51, 227
  7. 1993, The paradox of accurate information increasing the fear of AIDS, 71
  8. 1998, Intentional forgetting: Interdisciplinary perspectives
  9. 1995, The uncertainty reduction and anxiety-uncertainty reduction theories of Berger, Gudykunst, and associates, 67
  10. 1990, Physicians' self-referent communication as management of uncertainty across the illness trajectory, 27
  11. 1980, Organizational and individual responses to environmental uncertainty, 102
  12. 1980, Hesitation phenomena and conversational style: Indications of uncertainty in family situations, 347
  13. 1999, Risk
  14. 1995, Coping with uncertainty: Insights from the new sciences of chaos, self-organization, and complexity
  15. 2000, Reducing uncertainty through communication during adjustment to disability, 339
  16. 1999, 26, Gene tests shed light on illness, but also hold dark side, 1

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Metadata

Authors
Brashers, D. E.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
Corresponding author
Brashers, Dale E.
Venue
Journal of Communication
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2001-09-01
Volume
51
Issue
3
Pages
477-497
ISSN
  • 0021-9916 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2466
DOI
10.1111/j.1460-2466.2001.tb02892.x
OpenAlex
W1995399706
Cited by
1,407
References
112
Citations by year
2026: 104 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 97 · 2023: 99 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 115 · 2020: 92 · 2019: 78 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 69 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 50
FWCI
27.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
doi.wiley.com/10.1002/tdm_license_1.1 (tdm, 5113 d)
Locations
Journal of Communication (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Risk Perception and Management
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Influence and Health
Keywords
uncertainty management, communication theory, anxiety, appraisal, emotions, health communication, chronic disease, disease prevention, health surveillance, screening, worried well

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