Family communication and the role of gossip: Cognitive and relational challenges in dementia

The role of gossip in social and kinship groups has been well established over the past three decades. However, there is little research that explores this type of talk in interactions involving individuals with dementia. Drawing on interviews with caregivers and conversations involving four women with dementia, we will (a) review comments from caregivers related to the sense of loss they experience because they are no longer able to engage in gossip with their family member, (b) consider the discursive challenges of gossip in relation to the cognitive processing load and (c) present evidence that people with moderate to late-stage dementia still engage in gossip but due to compromised cognitive functions their contributions do not always match the expectations of neurotypical interlocutors.