Generating Aesthetic Capital: Prospects from Autobiographical Narratives

This paper explores how refugees in the UK perceive the relation between their experience of migration and their psychosocial health. Autobiographical narrative interviews were carried out with fifteen refugees residing in the UK. The findings reveal a contrast between the negative stereotypes concerning refugees’ psychosocial health and the participants’ own perceptions. Two of the three emerging narratives suggest a more balanced view of refugees’ psychosocial health, since- in contrast to the stereotypes- most participants did not perceive this through the lens of ‘vulnerability’. The third narrative revealed that a hostile social context can negatively shape refugees’ perceptions of their psychosocial health. This runs counter to the stereotype of refugees as being exclusively responsible for their ‘passiveness’ and therefore for the problems they face.

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Ronald Lockley and the Archipelagic Imagination

10.1093/oso/9780198795155.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Damian Walford Davies

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Social History ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Field Studies ◽

The Novel ◽

Autobiographical Narratives ◽

The Arts ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

Dynamic Research

Ronald Lockley (1903–2000), distinguished naturalist, pioneering conservationist, author in multiple genres, and paradigmatic modern ‘island dweller’, played a crucial role in defining our sense of Welsh and wider archipelagic ‘islandness’. Drawing on ‘nissology’—a dynamic ‘research frontier’ that brings together the arts, sciences, and social sciences to scrutinize not only islands ‘in their own terms’, but also the complex cultural condition of islandness—this chapter offers an analysis of how Welsh island space is mediated through Lockley’s plethora of discourses, from autobiographical narratives of island existence to definitive field studies and scientific papers, to works of popular anthropology, social history, and the novel Seal Woman (1974). It demonstrates how Lockley’s construction of a series of relational Welsh identities is linked to wider British and global archipelagic locations of culture.

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Narrative coherence of autobiographical memories in women with borderline personality disorder and associations with childhood adversity

Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation ◽

10.1186/s40479-021-00159-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Glenn Bendstrup ◽

Erik Simonsen ◽

Mickey T. Kongerslev ◽

Mie S. Jørgensen ◽

Lea S. Petersen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Childhood Trauma ◽

Childhood Adversity ◽

Narrative Structure ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Autobiographical Narratives ◽

Narrative Coherence ◽

Autobiographical Memories ◽

Tentative Evidence

Abstract Background People suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) seem to have incoherent autobiographical narratives. Tentative evidence suggests that reduced narrative coherence of autobiographical memories is associated with insecure attachment. However, it remains unknown whether incoherent autobiographical narratives in people with BPD are coupled to experiences of childhood trauma, which is highly prevalent in BPD. Method We examined if written autobiographical memories in 26 female participants with BPD had reduced narrative coherence relative to 28 healthy female controls and whether more incoherent narratives were associated with childhood trauma. Results As hypothesized, results showed that compared to controls, the autobiographical memories in participants with BPD had reduced narrative coherence, specifically inadequate orientation about the narrative and lack of narrative structure. More self-reported childhood adversity was coupled to lower orientation across groups whereas increased childhood adversity showed a specific relationship to lowered narrative structure in BPD participants. Conclusion Women with BPD had incoherent autobiographical narratives, and reduced narrative coherence was associated with more self-reported childhood adversity, which appeared to explain the group differences.

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The Path to Adulthood: A Mixed-Methods Approach to the Exploration of the Experiences of Unaccompanied Minors in Portugal

Journal of Refugee Studies ◽

10.1093/jrs/feab033 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carla Moleiro ◽

Sandra Roberto

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Residential Care ◽

Host Country ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Autobiographical Narratives ◽

Unaccompanied Minors ◽

Mixed Methods Approach ◽

Age Of Majority ◽

The Voice

Abstract Unaccompanied minors who reach the age of majority often experience this transition as a complex stage. Insecurity and helplessness may arise and, in some cases, survival without the support of the institutions and services that previously protected them as minors in the host country may mean becoming at risk for social exclusion. The objective of the present study was to characterize unaccompanied minors in Portugal (N = 67) and understand the processes of transition into the age of majority, using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews on autobiographical narratives) methodologies were used as a means of acknowledging the voice of minors/young adults in their trajectories and experiences. Two groups were included, with minors (in residential care) and youths who had already reached adulthood (living independently). Results illustrate diverse reasons for arrival in Portugal and distinct strengths and struggles in the integration experiences, with both positive and negative aspects being identified in the transition to autonomy.

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