scholarly journals Narrative Coherence of Turning Point Memories: Associations With Psychological Well-Being, Identity Functioning, and Personality Disorder Symptoms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elien Vanderveren ◽  
Annabel Bogaerts ◽  
Laurence Claes ◽  
Koen Luyckx ◽  
Dirk Hermans
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Interpersonal Functioning ◽  
Narrative Coherence ◽  
Single Event ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Unique Variance

Individuals develop a narrative identity through constructing and internalizing an evolving life story composed of significant autobiographical memories. The ability to narrate these memories in a coherent manner has been related to well-being, identity functioning, and personality pathology. Previous studies have particularly focused on coherence of life story narratives, overlooking coherence of single event memories that make up the life story. The present study addressed this gap by examining associations between narrative coherence of single turning point memories and psychological well-being, identity functioning, and personality disorder (PD) symptoms among 333 Belgian emerging adults (72.1% female; Mage = 22.56, SD = 3.13, age range = 18–30). In addition, the present study tested whether narrative coherence could predict unique variance in PD symptoms above and beyond identity and interpersonal functioning, both considered key components of personality pathology. The findings showed that narrative coherence was not significantly related to psychological well-being, but yielded significant negative associations with disturbed identity functioning and antisocial PD symptoms. Furthermore, narrative coherence predicted unique variance in antisocial PD symptoms above and beyond identity functioning, but did not predict unique variance in borderline and antisocial PD symptoms above and beyond both identity and interpersonal functioning. Collectively, these findings suggest that narrative incoherence within single event memories might be characteristic for disturbed identity functioning and antisocial personality pathology.

scholarly journals Keep Calm and Carry On: The Relations Between Narrative Coherence, Trauma, Social Support, Psychological Well-Being, and Cortisol Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauranne Vanaken ◽  
Tom Smeets ◽  
Patricia Bijttebier ◽  
Dirk Hermans
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Narrative Coherence ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Thematic Coherence

In order to explain trauma resilience, previous research has been investigating possible risk and protective factors, both on an individual and a contextual level. In this experimental study, we examined narrative coherence and social support in relation to trauma resilience. Participants were asked to write about a turning point memory, after which they did the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, our lab analog of a traumatic event. Following, half of the participants received social support, whereas the other half did not. Afterwards, all participants wrote a narrative on the traumatic event. Moment-to-moment fluctuations in psychological and physiological well-being throughout the experiment were investigated with state anxiety questionnaires and cortisol measures. Results showed that narratives of traumatic experiences were less coherent than narratives of turning point memories. However, contrary to our predictions, coherence, and, in particular, thematic coherence, related positively to anxiety levels. Possibly, particular types of thematic coherence are a non-adaptive form of coping, which reflect unfinished attempts at meaning-making and are more similar to continuous rumination than to arriving at a resolution. Furthermore, coherence at baseline could not buffer against the impact of trauma on anxiety levels in this study. Contrary to our hypotheses, social support did not have the intended beneficial effects on coherence, neither on well-being. Multiple explanations as to why our support manipulation remained ineffective are suggested. Remarkably, lower cortisol levels at baseline and after writing about the turning point memory predicted higher coherence in the trauma narratives. This may suggest that the ability to remain calm in difficult situations does relate to the ability to cope adaptively with future difficult experiences. Clinical and social implications of the present findings are discussed, and future research recommendations on the relations between narrative coherence, social support, and trauma resilience are addressed.

Remembering the Positive and Negative: Affective Themes as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being Across Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110376
Author(s):  
Frederique Corcoran ◽  
Nicole Alea
Keyword(s):  
Personal Growth ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

The current study explored the link between psychological well-being (PWB; self-acceptance, personal growth, and purpose in life) and affective themes, including redemption (positive endings for negative events), contamination (negative endings for positive events), and positive and negative affect (no change in affect) in the life stories of Caribbean adults ranging in age from 19 to 78 ( N = 105). How often the memory narrative was rehearsed, and whether or not the theme emerged after being cued in content-coded life story low, high, and turning point scenes were also considered. Affective theme alone did not predict PWB; however, when considering age, rehearsal, and cue, redemption and positive affect predicted personal growth. More work should cue meaning-making in specific ways for different age groups in order to understand why there were no associations for middle-aged adults. Efforts should also be made to understand cross-cultural differences in life stories and PWB.

Identity integration in people with acquired disabilities: A qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Adler
Keyword(s):  
Life Story ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
The Other ◽  
Narrative Strategies ◽  
Identity Integration ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Life Story Interview ◽  
Study Participants

Objective: This qualitative investigation focused on identity integration in a sample of individuals who acquired physical disabilities in adulthood. It also argues for the imporance and ethics of these methods in the broader field of scholarship on personality change following adversity.Method: 13 adults participated in the study. Participants engaged in an expanded Life Story Interview (McAdams, 2008) wherein they narrated the story of their life, including a section devoted to their story of acquiring a physical disability. In addition, participants completed questionnaires concerning their psychological well-being and maturity.Results: We identified two dimensions of narrative themes participants used in grappling with identity integration: one represented active processing of one’s life experiences and the other represented the extent to which participants described their identity as wholly transformed by the experience of acquiring a disability. When overlaid, these dimensions yielded four narrative strategies titled: Adapters, Wanderers, Drifters, and Resisters. We also observed that Adapters seemed to have better psychological well-being and maturity than the other groups.Conclusions: This study offers a foundation for future scholarship on identity among people with disabilities. It also describes the contexts in which retrospective, qualitative methods are especially appropriate for research on personality change following adversity.

TFP Extended: Development and Recent Advances

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-214
Author(s):  
John F. Clarkin ◽  
Eve Caligor ◽  
Julia Sowislo
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Interpersonal Functioning ◽  
The Core ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Recent Advances

Recent advances in the understanding of personality pathology have contributed to an emphasis on the core of personality pathology as deficits in self-functioning and interpersonal functioning at different levels of severity that must be assessed for clinical intervention. In concert with these conceptual and empirical advances, transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), an empirically supported psychodynamic treatment for borderline personality disorder, has been in constant development with extensive clinical use. This article describes an object relations model for conceptualizing and assessing levels of personality organization, a transdiagnostic approach to personality pathology, and related treatment modifications, thus expanding the utilization of TFP beyond borderline personality disorder to the full range of personality dysfunction. The core of this treatment approach is a sequential interpretive process between patient and therapist. This process takes place within the context of a structured treatment frame tailored to the unique individual with problems in self-functioning and interpersonal functioning in his/her particular environment.

Life Story Coherence and its Relation to Psychological Well-Being

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Royce Baerger ◽  
Dan P. McAdams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Reliable Measure ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Past ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Mental Well Being

Over the past few years, the concept of coherence as it applies to people's storied accounts of their lives has become an increasingly popular topic. However, theories of coherence have been slow to appear, and a comprehensive definition of the construct has yet to be presented by researchers. Moreover, almost no work has been done relating the concept of coherence to the particular form of the life story. Thus, the aims of the present study were twofold: first, to investigate whether it is possible to construct a reliable coding scheme for life story coherence, and second, to examine the relationships between life story coherence and mental health. The results of the study indicate that the life story coherence coding system is a reliable measure, and that the coherence construct is therefore amenable to quantitative analysis. The most important finding of this study was that, as predicted, life story coherence demonstrated a statistically significant relationship to psychological well-being. This finding thus lends statistical credibility to the claims of narrative psychologists, who argue that mental well-being is related to, if not the result of, a well-integrated and coherent life story.

The Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS) Scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 352-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bonino ◽  
Federica Graziano ◽  
Martina Borghi ◽  
Davide Marengo ◽  
Giorgia Molinengo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Sense Of Coherence ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Concurrent Validity ◽  
Rasch Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
And Coping

Abstract. This research developed a new scale to evaluate Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS). The aim of this study was to investigate dimensionality, item functioning, measurement invariance, and concurrent validity of the SEMS scale. Data were collected from 203 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients (mean age, 39.5 years; 66% women; 95% having a relapsing remitting form of MS). Fifteen items of the SEMS scale were submitted to patients along with measures of psychological well-being, sense of coherence, depression, and coping strategies. Data underwent Rasch analysis and correlation analysis. Rasch analysis indicates the SEMS as a multidimensional construct characterized by two correlated dimensions: goal setting and symptom management, with satisfactory reliability coefficients. Overall, the 15 items reported acceptable fit statistics; the scale demonstrated measurement invariance (with respect to gender and disease duration) and good concurrent validity (positive correlations with psychological well-being, sense of coherence, and coping strategies and negative correlations with depression). Preliminary evidence suggests that SEMS is a psychometrically sound measure to evaluate perceived self-efficacy of MS patients with moderate disability, and it would be a valuable instrument for both research and clinical applications.

Relationships Between Bidirectional Work-Family Interactions and Psychological Well-Being

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi-Chao Zhang ◽  
Oi Ling Siu ◽  
Jing Hu ◽  
Weiwei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Family Conflict ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Family Interactions ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Direct Model ◽  
Work Family

This study investigated the direct, reversed, and reciprocal relationships between bidirectional work-family conflict/work-family facilitation and psychological well-being (PWB). We administered a three-wave questionnaire survey to 260 married Chinese employees using a time lag of one month. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling analysis was conducted and demonstrated that the direct model was better than the reversed causal or the reciprocal model. Specifically, work-to-family conflict at Time 1 negatively predicted PWB at Time 2, and work-to-family conflict at Time 2 negatively predicted PWB at Time 3; further, work-to-family facilitation at Time 1 positively predicted PWB at Time 2. In addition, family-to-work facilitation at Time 1 positively predicted PWB at Time 2, and family-to-work conflict at Time 2 negatively predicted PWB at Time 3.

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