Narrating lives across 16 years: Developmental trajectories of coherence and relations to well-being in a lifespan sample.

IF 3.1 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2024-09-09 DOI:10.1037/dev0001775

Isabel Peters,Florian Schmiedek,Tilmann Habermas

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The ability to narrate a life coherently develops first in adolescence, but little is known about its course across adulthood and into old age. Also, the potential association of life narrative coherence with well-being has never been studied. Our aim was to investigate lifespan development of coherence and associations with well-being using data from the longitudinal MainLife study. A total of 172 urban Germans (8-80 years; 87 females) narrated their lives up to six times across 16 years (N = 803 brief entire life narratives). Most were highly educated, and the proportion of a migration background was typical for the local population. Life narratives were rated for three types of global coherence (temporal, causal-motivational, and thematic) and coded for two types of autobiographical arguments (stability maintaining and change engendering). Multilevel models were used to investigate their lifespan development and relations to well-being. While most life narrative measures increased up to emerging adulthood and then remained stable, thematic coherence continued to increase into middle adulthood. Only change-engendering autobiographical arguments slowly decreased from midlife onward. Unexpectedly, neither autobiographical arguments nor global coherence correlated significantly with well-being. Data exploration suggested an association between thematic coherence and self-continuity. We conclude that life narrative coherence may only be related to well-being if samples include cases with more extreme noncoherence (e,g., clinical disorders). Our findings add to understanding the development of the life story across the lifespan, especially in older age, and suggest studying relations of coherence, self-continuity, and well-being specifically in life crises and in clinical samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

查看原文本刊更多论文

叙述跨越 16 年的生活：在一个生命周期样本中，连贯性的发展轨迹及其与幸福感的关系。

连贯叙述人生的能力首先是在青少年时期形成的，但人们对这种能力在成年期和老年期的发展过程知之甚少。此外，生活叙事连贯性与幸福感之间的潜在联系也从未被研究过。我们的目的是利用 "主要生活 "纵向研究的数据，调查生活连贯性的寿命发展及其与幸福感的关系。共有 172 名城市德国人（8-80 岁；87 名女性）在 16 年中对自己的生活进行了多达六次的叙述（N = 803 个简短的完整生活叙述）。大多数人受过高等教育，移民背景的比例在当地人口中很典型。我们对人生叙事的三种总体连贯性（时间连贯性、因果-动机连贯性和主题连贯性）进行了评定，并对两种自传论点（维持稳定和促成变化）进行了编码。我们使用多层次模型来研究它们的生命周期发展以及与幸福感的关系。虽然大多数生活叙事测量指标在成年期之前都在增加，然后保持稳定，但主题一致性在成年中期继续增加。只有引发变化的自传论点从中年开始慢慢减少。出乎意料的是，自传性论点和整体一致性都与幸福感没有明显的相关性。数据探索表明，主题一致性与自我连续性之间存在关联。我们的结论是，只有当样本中包括更极端的不连贯性（如临床失调）时，生活叙事的连贯性才可能与幸福感相关。我们的研究结果有助于理解生命故事在整个生命周期中的发展，尤其是在老年阶段，并建议对生命危机和临床样本中的连贯性、自我连续性和幸福感之间的关系进行专门研究。(PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, 版权所有）。

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来源期刊

Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.80

自引率

2.50%

发文量

329

期刊介绍： Developmental Psychology ® publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal focuses on seminal empirical contributions. The journal occasionally publishes exceptionally strong scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development. The journal welcomes not only laboratory-based experimental studies but studies employing other rigorous methodologies, such as ethnographies, field research, and secondary analyses of large data sets. We especially seek submissions in new areas of inquiry and submissions that will address contradictory findings or controversies in the field as well as the generalizability of extant findings in new populations. Although most articles in this journal address human development, studies of other species are appropriate if they have important implications for human development. Submissions can consist of single manuscripts, proposed sections, or short reports.