Applications of relational dialectics theory in cross-cultural and/or marginalized communities

As mentioned earlier, you might want to explore some cross-cultural implications of the theory.  Some resources, applying RDT to other settings:

Debalina Dutta, “Cultural Barriers and Familial Resources for Negotiation of Engineering Careers Among Young Women: Relational Dialectics Theory in an Asian Perspective,” Journal of Family Communication, Vol. 17, 2017, pp. 338-355.

Khaled Nasser, Yasmine Dabbous, and Dima Baba, “From Strangers to Spouses: Early Relational Dialectics in Arranged Marriages Among Muslim Families in Lebanon,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Vol. 44, 2013, pp. 387-406.

Kristen Norwood, “Grieving Gender: Trans-identities, Transition, and Ambiguous Loss,” Communication Monographs, Vol. 80, 2013, pp. 24-45.

Carolyn M. Prentice, “The Romantic and the Practical: Using RDT 2.0 to Analyze Competing Cross-cultural Discourses,” Ohio Communication Journal, Vol. 53, 2013, pp. 44-51.

Jessica D. Ptomey, “Evidence of a Dialogical and Dialectical Protestant-Catholic Relationship in Evangelical Responses to the Selection of Pope Francis: Applying Relational Dialectics Theory to Interreligious Public Discourse and ‘Dialogue,’” Journal of Communication & Religion, Vol. 38, 2015, pp. 118-133.

Jake Simmons, Russell Lowery-Hart, Shawn T. Wahl, and M. Chad McBride, “Understanding the African-American Student Experience in Higher Education Through a Relational Dialectics Perspective,” Communication Education, Vol. 62, 2013, pp. 376-394.

Applied, state-of-the-art research

Rebecca Amati and Annegret F. Hannawa, “Relational Dialectics Theory: Disentangling Physician-Perceived Tensions of End-of-Life Communication,” Health Communication, Vol. 29, 2014, pp. 962-973.

Christine K. Anzur, and Scott A. Myers, “‘To Meet Her, That Changed Everything’: Adult Adoptees’ Discursive Construction of the Meaning of ‘Parent’ Following Birth Parent Contact,” Journal of Family Communication, Vol. 20 (1), 2020, pp. 1–15.

Jesse Fox, Jeremy L. Osborn, and Katie M. Warber, “Relational Dialectics and Social Networking Sites: The Role of Facebook in Romantic Relationship Escalation, Maintenance, Conflict, and Dissolution,” Computers In Human Behavior, Vol. 35, 2014, pp. 527-534.

Danielle Halliwell, “Extending Relational Dialectics Theory: Exploring New Avenues of Research,” Communication Yearbook, Vol. 39, 2015, pp. 67-95.

Elizabeth A. Hintz, and Clinton L. Brown, “Childfree and ‘Bingoed’: A Relational Dialectics Theory Analysis of Meaning Creation in Online Narratives about Voluntary Childlessness,” Communication Monographs, Vol. 87 (2), 2020, pp. 244–66.

Lynne Kelly, Robert L. Duran, and Aimee E. Miller-Ott, “Helicopter Parenting and Cell-Phone Contact between Parents and Children in College,” Southern Communication Journal 82 (2), 2017, pp. 102–14.

Kristina M. Scharp, and Lindsey J. Thomas, “A Child for Every Family? Characterizations of ‘Adoptable’ Foster Children in Online Permanency Advocacy Publications,” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, Vol. 37 (7), 2020, pp. 2098–2117.

Karyn Sporer and Paige W. Toller, “Family Identity Disrupted by Mental Illness and Violence: An Application of Relational Dialectics Theory,” Southern Communication Journal, 82, 2017, pp. 85-101.

Elizabeth A. Suter and Kristen M. Norwood, “Critical Theorizing in Family Communication Studies: (Re)reading Relational Dialectics Theory 2.0,” Communication Theory, Vol. 27, 2017, pp. 290-308.

Agnieszka Wozniak, Susan Lollis, and Sheila K. Marshall, “Competing Discourses Within Parent–Adolescent Conversations,” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 31, 2014, pp. 847-867.

Erin (Sahlstein) Parcell, a former graduate student of Baxter now at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has worked extensively in the area of the dialectical challenges in long-distance relationships.  Some articles of interest to review: 

Erin M. Sahlstein, “Relating at a Distance: Negotiating Being Together and Being Apart in Long-Distance Relationships,” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, Vol. 21, 2004, pp. 689-710. 

Erin M. Sahlstein, “Making Plans: Praxis Strategies for Negotiating Uncertainty-Certainty in Long-Distance Relationships,” Western Journal of Communication, Vol. 70, 2006, pp. 147- 165.

Erin Sahlstein Parcell, and Benjamin M. A. Baker, “Relational Dialectics Theory: A New Approach for Military and Veteran?Connected Family Research,” Journal of Family Theory & Review, Vol. 10 (3), 2018, pp. 672–85

Other relevant essays by Baxter

Leslie A. Baxter, Elizabeth A. Suter, Lindsey J. Thomas, and Leah M. Seurer, “The Dialogic Construction of ‘Adoption’ in Online Foster Adoption Narratives,” Journal of Family Communication, Vol. 15, 2015, pp. 193-213.

Leslie A. Baxter and Dawn O. Braithwaite, “Relational Dialectics Theory, Applied,” in New Directions in Interpersonal Communication Research, Sandi W. Smith and Stephen R. Wilson (eds.), Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2010, pp. 48-66.

Leslie A. Baxter, Kristen M. Norwood, Bryan Asbury, and Kristina M. Scharp, “Narrating Adoption: Resisting Adoption as ‘Second Best’ in Online Stories of Domestic Adoption Told by Adoptive Parents,” Journal Of Family Communication, Vol. 14, 2014, pp. 253-269.

Dawn O. Braithwaite and Leslie A. Baxter, “‘You're My Parent But You're Not’: Dialectical Tensions in Stepchildren's Perceptions About Communicating with the Nonresidential Parent,” Journal Of Applied Communication Research, Vol. 34, 2006, pp. 30-48.

Leslie A. Baxter, Kristina M. Scharp, and Lindsey J. Thomas, “Relational Dialectics Theory,” Journal of Family Theory & Review, Vol. 13 (1), 2021, pp. 7–20.