HHS Public Access

Author manuscript
J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.
Author Manuscript

Published in final edited form as:

J Pers. 2015 August ; 83(4): 441–451. doi:10.1111/jopy.12120.

Relations Between Narrative Coherence, Identity, and

Psychological Well-being in Emerging Adulthood
Theodore E. A. Waters1 and Robyn Fivush2
1Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
2Department of Psychology, Emory University
Author Manuscript

Abstract
Objective—The hypothesis that the ability to construct a coherent account of personal
experience is reflective, or predictive, of psychological adjustment cuts across numerous domains
of psychological science. It has been argued that coherent accounts of identity are especially
adaptive. We tested these hypotheses by examining relations between narrative coherence of
personally significant autobiographical memories and three psychological well-being components
(Purpose and Meaning; Positive Self View; Positive Relationships). We also examined the
potential moderation of the relations between coherence and well-being by assessing the identity
content of each narrative.

Method—We collected two autobiographical narratives of personally significant events from 103
undergraduate students and coded them for coherence and identity content. Two additional
Author Manuscript

narratives about generic/recurring events were also collected and coded for coherence.

Results—We confirmed the prediction that constructing coherent autobiographical narratives is

related to psychological well-being. Further, we found that this relation was moderated by the
narratives’ relevance to identity and that this moderation held after controlling for narrative ability
more generally (i.e. coherence of generic/recurring events).

Conclusion—These data lend strong support to the coherent narrative identity hypothesis and
the prediction that unique events are a critical feature of identity construction in emerging
adulthood.

Keywords
coherence; identity; well-being; autobiographical memory; narrative; emerging adulthood
Author Manuscript

In recent decades psychology has seen the substantial growth of a narrative based
perspective in the development of theory and methodological tools. Narrative features
prominently in theories of cognition (e.g. Bruner, 1986; 1990), cognitive development (e.g.
Fivush & Nelson, 2006), social development (e.g. Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985),

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Theodore Waters, 51 East River Parkway, Institute of Child
Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455. [email protected].
Conflict of Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
 Waters and Fivush Page 2

personality (e.g. McAdams, 1995; 1996), consciousness (e..g Damasio, 1999), self and
Author Manuscript

identity (e.g. Brockmeier & Carbaugh, 2001; Gazzaniga 1998), emotion regulation (e.g.
Oppenheim, Nir, Warren, & Emde, 1997), and clinical and intervention research (e.g.
Pennebaker & Chung, 2011; McLeod, 1997; White & Epston, 1990).

Cutting across these domains of scientific inquiry is the fundamental assumption that how
we talk about the significant events of our lives is reflective, or predictive, of our
psychological adjustment. There is an assumed benefit to talking about our past in a
coherent way. Prevailing integrative approaches to narrative coherence define it as telling a
narrative that incorporates time and place information, presents events in an orderly fashion,
provides a resolution, and incorporates subjective perspective (e.g. Baerger & McAdams,
1999; Reese, et al., 2011). It is a longstanding hypothesis that the coherence of our accounts
of personally significant events is a critical feature of psychological health, especially when
identity construction is a salient developmental task (i.e. adolescence and emerging
Author Manuscript

adulthood).

Dating back to the earliest days of psychology, Freud (1905; 1953) famously noted in his
case study of Dora: “[that] the patient’s inability to give an ordered history of their lives …
is not merely characteristic of the neurosis. It also possesses great theoretical significance”
(pp.16). Building on these ideas, Erikson (1950; 1968) argued that the creation of a coherent
account of who we are and how we came to be that way was the critical developmental task
of adolescence. McAdams (1985) went on to suggest that the coherence of what he termed
“nuclear episodes”, single unique events happening in one time and place, were critical in
the development of psychological functioning and well-being (see also Blagov & Singer,
2004 for discussion of a similar event type).
Author Manuscript

Failure to develop this kind of coherent account of identity across the adolescent and
emerging adulthood period is thought to result in the loss of a sense of purpose and meaning
in life, a feeling of helplessness, and possibly even result in the inability/failure to develop
positive intimate relationships (e.g. Erikson, 1950; 1968; McAdams, 1993; 1996). With such
high stakes and widespread endorsement of these ideas the body of empirical evidence
directly testing these predictions is only recently emerging.

We note at the outset that our focus is on narrative coherence. There is a growing literature
examining relations between multiple aspects of narrative meaning-making and well-being
(see McLean, Pasupathi, & Pals, 2007; Park, 2010; Singer, 2004 for discussion of these
issues). This literature focuses on expression of life lessons and/or redemptive meaning
within narratives in ways that facilitate both identity growth and psychological well-being.
Complimenting this literature is the idea of coherence per se, that telling a narrative in a
Author Manuscript

well-structured format is itself a critical aspect of narrative identity. As reviewed by Reese et

al. (2011), although narrative coherence has been operationalized in many ways, three
critical dimensions emerge theoretically and empirically from this literature: chronology,
context and theme. For a narrative to be coherent, it must be told in a way that clearly
delineates the temporal order of actions (chronology), it must orient the event in time and
place (context), and it must provide enough detail and elaboration to link component actions
together in a meaningful way (theme).

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 3

Baerger and McAdams (1999) investigated relations between the narrative coherence of
Author Manuscript

adults’ life stories and several aspects of psychological well-being. They found that
individuals who told more coherent life stories reported lower levels of depression and
higher life satisfaction. Within the clinical literature, low levels of coherence in
autobiographical narratives are thought to be characteristic of psychiatric problems (e.g.
Adler, 2012; Hermans, 2006; Lysaker & Lysaker, 2006). As such, there have been several
investigation into relations between narrative coherence and psychiatric symptoms and
psychological well-being in the context of psychotherapy. Adler, Chin, Kolisetty, and
Oltmanns (2012) found the life story coherence of an adult sample was negatively associated
with Borderline Personality Disorder symptoms in a clinical sample. Further, coherence
predicted higher levels of relationship quality in a follow-up assessment six months later.
Adler, Wagner, and McAdams (2007) asked adult patients to write narratives about their
experiences in psychotherapy post-treatment. They found that the coherence of the
Author Manuscript

psychotherapy narratives was positively associated with ego development, but not with a
psychological well-being composite. Adler, Skalina, and McAdams (2008) similarly found
that the coherence of psychotherapy narratives was related to ego development, but not to
psychological well-being per se (see also Adler, Harmeling, & Walder-Biesanz, 2013).

Although the studies investigating relations between coherence of autobiographical

narratives and psychological well-being discussed above represent critical advancements in
our understanding of the hypothesized relations between narrative coherence, identity, and
well-being they bring up several issues which we aim to address here. Specifically, studies:
(1) typically assume that the collected narratives are inherently relevant to identity, but
provide no independent assessment of this; (2) measure adjustment/well-being within a
relatively narrow scope, with limited measures aimed to assess the two core components of
well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic); and (3) typically do not attempt to control for general
Author Manuscript

narrative ability.

Waters, Bauer, and Fivush (2013) have argued that there are tremendous individual
differences in the extent to which “personally significant” autobiographical narratives are
used to define self/identity, so an assessment of the extent to which identity is represented in
the narrative itself may be critical if the major goal of the study is to assess the importance
of constructing coherent narrative accounts of self and identity. Second, given the use of a
relatively small set of well-being measures, the extant literature has been unable to address
the claim that coherent autobiographical narratives are associated with well-being in specific
theoretically predicted domains of adjustment, especially a greater sense of purpose and
meaning in life, positive self view, and more intimate and satisfying social relationships in a
single study. Instead, few measures are typically employed to assess different domains of
Author Manuscript

well-being in any particular study and focus largely on levels of positive affect (e.g.
depression or happiness) and/or clinical symptomology. However, relations between
narrative coherence and ego development (a feature of eudaimonic well-being) have
consistently emerged.

Although ego development is thought to be an important contributing factor to

psychological adjustment (King, Scollon, Ramsey, & Williams, 2000), it typically yields
small relations to other measures of psychological well-being in narrative studies (e.g. Adler

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 4

et al., 2007; Adler et al., 2008). We argue that the best test of the coherent narrative identity
Author Manuscript

hypothesis would include a broader swath of well-being measures aimed to assess both
hedonic and eudaimonic domains, and the use of data reduction techniques in an effort to
use empirically derived facets of psychological adjustment believed to be associated with
the construction of a coherent narrative identity.

It is plausible that relations between narrative coherence and adjustment stem from
something akin to General Intelligence or general verbal ability. As it stands, narrative
research suggests that relations between coherence and verbal intelligence/ability are modest
(e.g. Reese et al., 2011). However, these findings cannot rule out the possibility that
association between the coherence of “nuclear episodes”, believed to be critically relevant to
identity, and well-being can be explained away by a more general ability to construct
coherent narratives rooted in generalized verbal ability.
Author Manuscript

Finally, we believe it important to note that the current literature examining relations
between coherence, narrative identity and well-being is largely focused on adulthood. We
argue that an examination of the coherent narrative identity hypothesis during the
developmental period when identity construction is most salient (i.e. adolescence and
emerging adulthood) is critical for our understanding of this process as it occurs across the
lifespan.

Thus the major aim of this research was to build on the current literature examining the
hypothesized relations between narrative coherence, identity, and psychological well-being
in a sample of emerging adults. We accomplished this by (1) using a well validated and
theoretically motivated measure of narrative coherence, (2) by independently assessing the
manifestation of identity relevant content in each narrative, (3) by collecting a broad range
Author Manuscript

of well-validated and theoretically motivated well-being measures aimed at capturing the

relevant indices of psychological adjustment (i.e. hedonic and eudaimonic), and (4)
measuring coherence on a set of generic/recurring event narratives for inclusion as a
covariate in an effort to control for general narrative ability.

Based on the long tradition of theoretical work, and the extant empirical research, we
predicted that narrative coherence would be positively correlated with psychological well-
being. Further, we predicted that the interaction between narrative coherence and the extent
to which the narrative discusses changes in self-understanding and/or identity development
(identity content) would be positively associated with well-being, and account for additional
variance. Specifically, those narratives that more fully reflect an individual’s sense of
identity, and are more coherent, would be more strongly associated with measures of
psychological well-being, particularly in the case of a sense of purpose and meaning.
Author Manuscript

Method
Participants
103 undergraduate students (56 females) were recruited from introductory level social
science courses at a mid-sized private university, and given extra credit by their instructor
for participation. 41 participants self-identified as Caucasian, 32 as Asian, 16 as African

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 5

American/Black, 4 as South Asian, 2 as Hispanic, and 8 did not provide ethnicity

Author Manuscript

information, or described themselves as multi-racial. Participants ages ranged from 18–28

(M = 18.87, SD = 1.41). All participants gave informed consent as approved by the
Institutional Review Board.

Procedure
The data were collected as part of a larger study during the regularly scheduled meeting time
of four undergraduate classes, with the instructor’s permission. Only those students who
signed informed consent participated. Of the 109 students who received extra credit for
attending the data collection sessions, six asked that their data not be used for research.
These workbooks were destroyed following data collection.

Each class consisted of roughly 25 participants who were seated in a 60-person university
lecture hall. As each participant arrived they were given a narrative workbook and instructed
Author Manuscript

to write narratives about several personally significant events from their lives. For more
information on the larger study please contact the authors. Participants were also asked to
complete two sets of well-being questionnaires, one set to measure well-being in terms of
self evaluation, and the other to measure the quality and functioning of social relationships.
Participants were given 60–90 minutes to complete the workbook. The content of the
booklets was counterbalanced.

Narrative elicitation and coding—Participants were asked to write four narratives

about highly significant events in their lives, two defined as “nuclear episodes” or single
unique events, and two generic or recurring events (order counterbalanced). Participants
were encouraged to provide as much detail as possible about each:
Author Manuscript

“As you write about the event you have in mind please describe, in detail, what
happened, where you were, who was involved, what you did, and what you were
thinking and feeling during the event. Also, try to convey what impact this [single
unique or recurring] event has had on you, and why it is an important event in your
life. Try to be specific and provide as much detail as you can.”

All narratives were transcribed verbatim from the written workbooks into word documents,
which were then spot checked for accuracy before coding. Narratives were coded in two
ways. First, narratives were coded for coherence based on Reese et al.’s (2011) coding
scheme. Second, narratives were coded for the extent to which the participant expressed
features of, or insights into, their identity based on Waters et al.’s (2013) self-function
coding scheme.
Author Manuscript

Narrative coherence—Narrative coherence was coded along three separate dimensions,

theme, context, and chronology. Reese et al., (2011) argued that theme, context, and
chronology each represent a theoretically, and developmentally, independent aspect of
narrative structure, each being central to overall narrative coherence. As a result, each
dimension was coded separately along a 0 to 3-point scale, 0 being the absence of the
characteristics of the particular dimension of coherence, and 3 indicating that all of the
characteristics of that dimension of coherence are present in the narrative. These scores were

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 6

then summed to create an overall coherence score that could range from 0–9 (single events,
Author Manuscript

α = .57; generic/recurring events, α = .52). Thematic coherence was defined as the extent to
which a clear topic is introduced, developed, and resolved; context as the extent to which the
narrative provides specific time and place information; and chronology as the level of
temporal sequencing in the narrative. Reliability for each coherence scale was established
between two independent coders on a subset of 60 (14.7%) narratives. Reliability analysis
for each dimension of coherence produced intraclass correlations coefficients of .80 for
theme, .96 for context, and .90 for chronology. Following reliability coding the remaining
narratives were coded by the reliable coders independently.

Identity—Each narrative was coded on the Self Function Scale (Waters et al., 2013), a 4-
point scale (Table 1) assessing the extent to which the event being narrated was relevant to
one’s identity or sense of self. The coding scheme focused on content related specifically to
aspects of identity including increased self-understanding, growth, and/or changes in
Author Manuscript

perspectives on self, contained in the narrative (e.g. “His death changed me a lot. I became
more open, understanding, started to let people in and to get to know me. I matured and
carried a heavy load…This event changed me from a boy to a man”). Each narrative
received a score on the self function scale, which was then summed across the two events to
create an Identity Content score for each participant.

Reliability was established between two independent coders on a subset of 69 (17%)

narratives. The intraclass correlation was .77. Following reliability the remaining narratives
were divided between the two coders and coded independently.

Measures: Well-being and self

Well-being derived from a positive self image, individual accomplishments, and positive
Author Manuscript

functioning, was assessed using three well validated and reliable questionnaires: 1)
Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larson, & Griffin, 1985); 2) Rosenberg Self-
Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965); and 3) Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ryff & Keyes,
1995). These scales were selected to capture well-being in both hedonic and eudaimonic
domains.

Satisfaction With Life scale—Diener et al. (1985) developed this scale to assess an
individuals’ satisfaction with their life as a whole. This brief questionnaire includes five
Likert-type items rated on a 1 to 7 scale (e.g. “In most ways my life is close to ideal”). This
scale has demonstrated good discriminant validity from other measures of well-being, and
has been established as a reliable measure of well-being (Pavot & Diener, 1993; 2008).
Author Manuscript

Self-esteem—Rosenberg (1965) developed this scale to assess individuals’ positive/

negative view of themselves. The questionnaire includes 10 statements that participants are
asked to rate from 1 to 4, “4” being strongly disagree, and “1” being strongly agree (e.g. “On
the whole, I am satisfied with myself”). This scale has well established test-retest reliability,
concurrent, predictive, and construct validity (Rosenberg, 1979).

Psychological Well-Being—Ryff and Keyes (1995) developed this scale to assess six
theoretically distinct well-being constructs: Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, Personal

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 7

Growth, Purpose in Life, Self Acceptance, and Positive Relations. The 54 item Likert-type
Author Manuscript

scale is well validated for both construct and predictive validity (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Items
include “I feel confident and positive about myself” (Self Acceptance item), “I have a sense
that I have developed a lot as a person over time” (Personal Growth item).

Measures: Well-being and positive intimate relationships

Well-being derived from positive appraisal of one’s social relationships and functioning was
assessed using three well validated and reliable questionnaires: 1) Multidimensional Scale of
Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988); 2) Social Well-Being
Scale (Keyes, 1998); and 3) Loyola Generativity Scale (McAdams & de St. Aubin, 1992).
These measures were selected to capture well-being in a more social context/domain within
two broad categories, hedonic and eudaimonic (Keyes & Magyar-Moe, 2003).
Author Manuscript

Perceived Social Support—Zimet et al. (1988) developed the Multidimensional Scale

of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) in order to assess an individual’s appraisal of the
adequacy of their social support in three domains of personal relationships; friends, family,
and romantic partners. The 12-item Likert-type scale yields three subscale scores, one for
each domain of personal relationships. These subscales have demonstrated good reliability,
construct validity, and subscale reliability (Zimet et al., 1988; Zimet, Powell, Farley,
Werkman, & Berkoff, 1990).

Social Well-Being Scale (SWB)—The 50-item Social Well-Being Scale developed by

Keyes (1998) was designed to assess five theoretically proposed dimensions of social well-
being based on the kinds of tasks encountered by individuals in their social networks and
communities. The five subscales include: 1) Social Integration, 2) Social Contribution, 3)
Social Coherence, 4) Social Acceptance, and 5) Social Actualization. These scales have
Author Manuscript

been well validated and show strong convergent and discriminant validity (Keyes, 1998).

Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS)—Generativity refers to both an individual’s positive

view of their relationship with their community, but also a motivation to give back to that
community. The LGS assesses generativity by asking participants to rate 20 statements on a
scale of 0–3 on how well statements apply to the individual (e.g. “I try to pass along the
knowledge I have gained through my experiences”). This scale has shown good retest
reliability, construct validity, and relations to autobiographical narratives (McAdams & de
St. Aubin, 1992).

Results
Author Manuscript

Our analyses aimed to address three major questions: 1) Is the coherence of autobiographical
narratives related to psychological well-being? 2) Is the relation between narrative
coherence and psychological well-being moderated by the extent to which the individual
uses those coherent accounts to inform identity or self-understanding? 3) Do the observed
relations change when a proxy for general narrative ability is introduced as a control? To
address these questions our analyses first focused on data reduction for the well-being
measures included in this study using principle components analysis (PCA). To foreshadow,
we obtained three components. We then examined the correlation between narrative

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 8

coherence and those three well-being components. Finally, we tested for moderation effects
Author Manuscript

of identity relevance, on the relations between coherence and psychological well-being.

Data Reduction
All 17 well-being scales/subscales were entered into an initial PCA with an oblique rotation
(Promax), allowing the components to be correlated. Following the recommendations of
MacCallum, Widaman, Zhang, and Hong (1999), and based on our sample size to variable
ratio (N:p = 6.06), all scales with an initial communality less than .6 were dropped from
analyses. Based on this criterion, the Family subscale from the MSPSS, and the Social
Actualization and Social Coherence subscales from the SWB scale were dropped and PCA
was re-run. This produced a solution of four components accounting for 74.82% of the total
variance. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2(91) = 894.25, p < .001) and the
KMO measure of sampling adequacy was well above threshold (KMO = .87). We, therefore,
Author Manuscript

considered the data reduction analysis appropriate. Component loadings are presented in
Table 2. The fourth component was dropped from analyses as it contained only one variable,
and several secondary component loadings. Once components were determined, we
calculated estimates of each component by summing Z-scores for each measure contained
within that component (Floyd & Widaman, 1995). The Integration subscale from the SWB
scale was not included in the component estimates as it was significantly cross-loaded on
components 1 and 4 (Floyd & Widaman, 1995). The three component estimates used in all
further analyses were found to be reliable (Component 1, α = .86; Component 2, α = .88;
Component 3, α = .77).

The Purpose in Life, Personal Growth, Contribution, and Generativity scales made up
Component 1. These variables indicated a sense of purpose, a belief that they are valued by
their community, and an orientation toward making contributions to their community. As a
Author Manuscript

result, this component was labeled Purpose and Meaning. Self-Esteem, Satisfaction with
Life, Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, and Self Acceptance were grouped under
Component 2. These variables indicated a positive self evaluation and a sense that the
individual is capable and in control. We labeled Component 2 as Positive Self View. Finally,
Component 3 contained the scales Positive Relations, and the Social Support subscales for
Friends and Significant Others. These scales all suggested that the relationships an
individual has are positive, reliable, and meaningful. We labeled Component 3 Positive
Relationships.

Relations Between Narrative Variables and Psychological Well-being

To test the hypothesis that narrative coherence would be related to psychological well-being
we ran a series of bivariate correlations. The results are summarized in Table 3. Narrative
Author Manuscript

coherence was significantly related to both Purpose and Meaning and Positive
Relationships, and was marginally related to Positive Self View. The Identity Content score
was not related to the well-being components.

Moderation Effects
Following the correlational analyses we tested our prediction that identity content would
moderate the relation between coherence and the three well-being components. Narrative

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 9

coherence and Identity Content scores were all centered, then an interaction term was
Author Manuscript

calculated by multiplying the two. We then examined potential moderation effects of

identity on the relations between coherence and well-being using multiple regression.
Results are summarized in Table 4. As predicted, the identity content significantly
moderated the observed relation between narrative coherence and Purpose and Meaning.
However, there was no evidence to suggest moderation for the relation between coherence
and Positive Relationships or Positive Self View. To further explore the nature of the
significant interaction between coherence and identity content, as it related to Purpose and
Meaning, we split the coherence and identity content scores each into two groups, high and
low (high = 1 SD above the mean, low = 1 SD below the mean) and plotted them in Figure 1
(see also Appendix A for narrative examples). Individuals who told coherent narratives with
high levels of identity content reported the highest levels of Purpose and Meaning, while
those individuals who told incoherent narratives with high levels of identity content reported
Author Manuscript

the lowest levels of Purpose and Meaning.

Finally, we repeated the moderation analyses but with the addition of the average narrative
coherence score obtained from the two generic/recurring event narratives produced by the
participants. We would argue that controlling for this variable allows us to isolate the effect
of coherence and identity content contained within nuclear episodes, which have been the
primary focus of theoretical and empirical work on relations between narratives and well-
being. Further, it allows us to assess the extent to which a more general narrative ability may
contribute to associations between narrative coherence, identity content, and well-being. The
results of these analyses are summarized in Table 5. The results were largely the same
following the inclusion of a narrative control at step 1 of the regression analyses. Narrative
coherence of the nuclear episodes significantly predicted Purpose and Meaning and Positive
Social Relationships well-being components. The modest association between narrative
Author Manuscript

coherence and the Positive Self View well-being component remained marginal. Further,
identity content continued to moderate the relation between coherence and Purpose and
Meaning. Of note, the coherence of the recurring/generic events did not predict well-being
and suggests that a generally coherent narrative style does not account for the associations
observed here.

Discussion
Our results replicate and extend previous literature linking narrative coherence and
psychological well-being. We found that the ability to produce coherent autobiographical
narratives in emerging adulthood was modestly related to psychological well-being in terms
of Positive Self View, and, importantly, extended these findings to include Purpose and
Author Manuscript

Meaning, and Positive Social Relationships. Our results provide critical empirical support
for the coherent narrative identity hypothesis (e.g. Erikson, 1950; 1968; McAdams, 1993)
during an important developmental time period for identity construction. Most intriguing,
we demonstrated that the ability to tell coherent autobiographical narratives that explicitly
address identity is linked to a higher sense of Purpose and Meaning. We did not find support
for moderation in the case of Positive Self View or Positive Social Relations. Overall, these
data suggested that it is not only important how things are narrated but also the interaction
with what is narrated (i.e. coherence with respect to our autobiographical accounts of

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 10

identity; see McAdams, 2006 for similar theoretical arguments). It is also important to note
Author Manuscript

that the relations between coherence and psychological well-being were, as argued by
McAdams and colleagues (e.g. Blagov & Singer, 2004; McAdams, 1985; 1993), specific to
narratives of nuclear episodes and was not seen for generic/recurring type events.

Although we are unable to directly address the direction of effects (narrative to well-being v.
well-being to narrative) with these data there is some research to suggest a causal role for
autobiographical narratives. We point to the expressive writing and clinical literatures which
have found that changes in narrative do precede changes in well-being, which supports the
argument that narratives play a causal role in psychological well-being (Adler, 2012; see
Pennebaker & Chung 2011, for a review of expressive writing). This suggests that the
direction of effects is from narrative to well-being, not from well-being to narrative. Given
the theoretical importance of the direction of this effect, future research should employ
longitudinal or intervention designs to more fully examine this question.
Author Manuscript

Moving beyond coherence alone, our results suggested that a significant amount of variance
can be accounted for by examining the interaction between content (i.e. identity) and quality
(i.e. coherence), even above and beyond what each construct accounts for independently.
Analytic approaches to autobiographical narrative have largely focused on one construct
domain over the other. We would argue that favoring either the content or quality may result
in leaving explainable variance on the table. Interestingly, the interaction observed between
coherence and identity content suggested that not only is it beneficial to tell coherent
narratives about identity, but that it can be detrimental to tell incoherent narratives focused
on identity (Figure 1). This fits well with Eriksonian predictions that adolescents and
emerging adults who resolve identity issues in a coherent manner develop a sense of purpose
while those who do not experience identity confusion and psychological distress. It is also
Author Manuscript

interesting, and perhaps surprising, that identity content did not predict psychological well-
being in its own right. This further supports the idea that creating a coherent explanatory
narrative framework around issues of self and identity is a crucial aspect of healthy
adjustment.

As for the specific mechanism that may underlie the observed relations/interaction between
narrative coherence, identity content, and well-being, there are several potential accounts.
One account, stemming from the clinical and developmental literatures, argues that narrative
coherence itself is not causal in terms of psychological adjustment. Instead, it is argued that
a breakdown in coherence is reflective of an inability to regulate the emotions associated
with the event being recalled (e.g. Main, 2000). According to these accounts, narrative
incoherence is an indirect indicator of ineffective coping, and this inability to cope with
Author Manuscript

experiences that challenge our understanding of self accounts for the relation between
coherence, identity, and adjustment.

Alternatively, the researchers from cognitive psychology argued for a more causal role for
narrative coherence (see Medved and Brockmeier, 2010 for a review). They argue that the
creation of a causal and explanatory framework in which to understand ourselves and our
experiences results in that experience no longer infringing on cognitive and regulatory
resources. The act of telling a coherent narrative, complete with a resolution, results in the

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 11

event essentially becoming understood and integrated into existing knowledge which frees
Author Manuscript

up cognitive and regulatory resources and reduces rumination (Schank, 1995). The telling of
a coherent narrative stops the telling of other versions of that narrative and allows the mind
to move forward. Further research is required to differentiate between these accounts of the
role of narrative coherence in psychological adjustment.

The methodology employed by this study may be useful to future research in several ways.
Currently, studies examining relations between narrative coherence and psychological well-
being do so using methodologies/coding which may only be appropriate for adults. For
example, the life story approach requires participants to produce a narrative history of their
entire lives, something quite difficult up until early adulthood (Habermas & Bluck, 2000;
McAdams, 1985; Singer, 2004). Our approach, however, is amenable to samples across
development as the coherence measure employed here was developed and validated using
developmental samples starting in childhood and moving into late adolescence and
Author Manuscript

adulthood (Reese et al., 2011). This provides the opportunity to track the relation between
coherence and well-being longitudinally beginning early in development. As well,
researchers and clinicians may benefit from examining both coherence and identity content
in autobiographical memories/narratives, as we have found a significant moderation effect
(see Boals, Steward, & Schuettler, 2010, for further discussion of this issue).

Our methods further point to the theoretical and empirical importance of broadening
operationalizations of well-being. We found that relations between narrative coherence and
psychological well-being cannot be assumed to cut across all domains of well-being. The
same can be said of the interaction observed here between coherence and identity content.
Theory and research on psychological well-being continue to emphasize the importance of
hedonic well-being (i.e. high levels of positive affectand/or low levels of psychiatric
Author Manuscript

symptomology) in healthy functioning, but also point to the positive aspects of creating
purpose and meaning and building satisfying social relationships referred to as eudaimonic
well-being (e.g. Keyes & Magyar-Moe, 2003; Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Future research would
benefit from including broader assessments of well-being in an effort to better understand
what ways narrative coherence may or may not be beneficial.

In terms of narrative coding, we believe the measure used to assess identity content (Self
Function Scale; SFS) presented here represents an important contribution to the available
coding schemes employed by narrative researchers interested in self and identity. The SFS is
unique from other more prevalent narrative coding schemes (e.g. Autobiographical
Reasoning – Habermas & Bluck, 2000; Habermas & Köber, 2014; Self-Event Connections –
Banks & Salmon, 2013) that have been used to study relations between autobiographical
Author Manuscript

narratives and identity or well-being in several ways. The SFS takes the perspective that a
narrative is a representational structure and targets aspects of the narrative that reflect an
individual’s representation of self or identity (from simple traits and group memberships to
highly elaborated and nuanced accounts of identity). Autobiographical reasoning, in
contrast, can be thought of as a more domain general cognitive ability, one that supports the
kinds of content coded for with the SFS but also other kinds of narrative content (e.g. using
autobiographical memories to reason about relationships or the world). Other measures such
as the Self-Event Connections coding scheme captures the prevalence of links between an

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 12

autobiographical memory and self, but does not distinguish between levels of sophistication
Author Manuscript

of those connections, which the SFS does. Although we believe these measures to be unique
and each representing a meaningful level of narrative analysis, factor analytic work is
necessary to determine how distinct the coding schemes discussed here (as well as others)
actually are (see Waters, Shallcross, & Fivush, 2013 for discussion of these issues).

Acknowledgments
Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child
Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F32HD078250. The
content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the
National Institutes of Health.

The authors would like to thank Lawrence Barsalou, Patricia Bauer, Scott Lilienfeld, Joseph Manns, and Corey
Author Manuscript

Keyes for their thoughtful comments during the conceptualization of this project. We would also like to thank John
Shallcross, Chanie Howard, Yaa Cheremateng, and Lauren Albers for their assistance with data collection,
transcription, and coding.

References
Adler JM. Living into the story: Agency and coherence in a longitudinal study of narrative identity
development and mental health over the course of psychotherapy. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology. 2012; 102(2):367–389. [PubMed: 21910554]
Adler JM, Chin ED, Kolisetty AP, Oltmanns TF. The distinguishing characteristics of narrative
identity in adults with features of Borderline Personality Disorder: An empirical investigation.
Journal of Personality Disorders. 2012; 26:498–512. [PubMed: 22867502]
Adler JM, Harmeling LH, Walder-Biesanz I. Narrative meaning-making is associated with sudden
gains in clients' mental health under routine clinical conditions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology. 2013; 81(5):839–845. [PubMed: 23875822]
Author Manuscript

Adler JM, Skalina LM, McAdams DP. The narrative reconstruction of psychotherapy and
psychological health. Psychotherapy Research. 2008; 18(6):719–734. [PubMed: 18815950]
Adler JM, Wagner JW, McAdams DP. Personality and the coherence of psychotherapy narratives.
Journal of Research in Personality. 2007; 41(6):1179–1198.
Baerger DR, McAdams DP. Life story coehrence and its relations to psychological well-being.
Narrative Inquiry. 1999; 9(1):69–96.
Banks MV, Salmon K. Reasoning about the self in positive and negative ways: Relationship to
psychological functioning in young adulthood. Memory. 2013; 21(1):10–26. [PubMed: 22897204]
Boals A, Steward JM, Schuettler D. Advancing our understanding of posttraumatic growth by
considering event centrality. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2010; 15:518–533.
Brockmeier, J.; Carbaugh, D. Narrative and indentity: The conference and charge. In: Brockmeier, J.;
Carabaugh, D., editors. Narrative and identity: Studies in autobiography, self, and culture.
Philadelphia: John Benjamins; 2001.
Bruner, J. Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1986.
Author Manuscript

Bruner, J. Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1990.

Damasio, A. The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness. New
York: Harcourt Brace; 1999.
Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S. The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality
Assessment. 1985; 49(1):71–75. [PubMed: 16367493]
Erikson, EH. Childhood and society. New York: Norton; 1950.
Erikson, EH. Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton; 1968.
Fivush R, Nelson K. Parent-child reminiscing locates the self in the past. British Journal of
Developmental Psychology. 2006; 24:235–251.

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 13

Floyd FJ, Widaman KF. Factor analysis in the development and refinement of clinical assessment
instruments. Psychological Assessment. 1995; 7:286–299.
Author Manuscript

Freud, S. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. In: Strachey,
J., translator. Fragment of an analysis of a case of hysteria. Vol. VII. London: Hogarth Press and
the Institute of Psychoanalysis; 1905/1953. p. 16-18.
Gazzaniga, MS. The Mind’s Past. University of California Press; 1998.
Habermas T, Bluck S. Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological
Bulletin. 2000; 126:748–769. [PubMed: 10989622]
Habermas, T.; Köber, C. Autobiographical reasoning is constitutive for narrative identity: The role of
the life story for personal continuity. McLean, KC.; Syed, M., editors. The Oxford handbook of
identity development Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2014.
Hermans HJM. The self as a theater of voices: Disorganization and reorganization of a position
repertoire. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 2006; 19(2):147–169.
Keyes CLM. Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly. 1998; 61:121–140.
Keyes, CLM.; Magyar-Moe, JL. The measurement and utility of adult subjective well-being. In:
Lopez, SJ.; Snyder, CR., editors. Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and
Author Manuscript

measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2003. p. 411-425.

Lilgendahl JP, McAdams DP. Constructing stories of self-growth: How individual differences in
patterns of autobiographical reasoning relate to well-being in midlife. Journal of personality. 2011;
79(2):391–428. [PubMed: 21395593]
Lysaker PH, Lysaker JT. A typology of narrative impoverishment in schizophrenia: Implications for
understanding the processes of establishing and sustaining dialogue in individual psychotherapy.
Counseling Psychology Quarterly. 2006; 19:57–68.
MacCallum RC, Widaman KF, Zhang S, Hong S. Sample size in factor analysis. Psychological
Methods. 1999; 4:84–99.
Main M. The organized categories of infant, child, and adult attachment: Flexible vs. inflexible
attention under attachment-related stress. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
2000; 48(4):1055–1096. [PubMed: 11212183]
Main M, Kaplan N, Cassidy J. Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of
representation. Monographs of the society for research in child development. 1985:66–104.
Author Manuscript

McAdams, DP. Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. New York:
Guilford Press; 1985.
McAdams, DP. The stories we live by. New York: Harper Collins; 1993.
McAdams DP. What do we know when we know a person? Journal of Personality. 1995; 63(3):365–
396.
McAdams DP. Personality, modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary framework for studying
persons. Psychological Inquiry. 1996; 7:295–321.
McAdams DP, de St Aubin E. A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report,
behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology. 1992; 62:1003–1015.
McAdams DP, Reynolds J, Lewis M, Patten AH, Bowman PJ. When bad things turn good and good
things turn bad: Sequences of redemption and contamination in life narrative and their relation to
psychosocial adaptation in midlife adults and in students. Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin. 2001; 27(4):474–485.
Author Manuscript

McLean KC, Pasupathi M, Pals JL. Selves creating stories creating selves: A process model of
narrative self development in adolescence and adulthood. Personality and Social Psychology
Review. 2007; 11:262–278. [PubMed: 18453464]
McLeod, J. Narrative and psychotherapy. London: Sage; 1997.
Medved, M.; Brockmeier, J. Weird stories. In: Hyvärinen, M.; Hyden, LC.; Saarenheimo, M.;
Tamboukou, M., editors. Beyond narrative coherence. Amsterdam, NL: John Benjamins; 2010. p.
17-32.

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 14

Oppenheim D, Nir A, Warren S, Emde RN. Emotion regulation in mother-child narrative co-
construction: Associations with children’s narratives and adaptation. Developmental Psychology.
Author Manuscript

1997; 33:284–294. [PubMed: 9147837]

Park CL. Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its
effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological bulletin. 2010; 136(2):257. [PubMed:
20192563]
Pavot W, Diener E. Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment. 1993; 5:164–
172.
Pavot W, Diener E. The Satisfaction With Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction.
Journal of Positive Psychology. 2008; 3:137–152.
Pennebaker, JW.; Chung, CK. Expressive writing and its links to mental and physical health. In:
Friedman, HS., editor. Oxford handbook of health psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University
Press; 2011. p. 417-437.
Reese E, Haden CH, Baker-Ward L, Bauer PJ, Fivush R, Ornstein PA. Coherence in personal
narratives: A multidimensional model. Journal of Cognition and Development. 2011; 12(4):1–38.
Ricoeur, P. Time and narrative. Vol. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, translated by
Author Manuscript

Kathleen McGlaughlin and David Pellaver; 1984.

Rosenberg, M. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press;
1965.
Rosenberg, M. Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books; 1979.
Ryff CD, Keyes CLM. The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology. 1995; 69:719–727. [PubMed: 7473027]
Schank, RC. Tell me a story: Narrative and intelligence. Northwestern Univ Press; 1995.
Singer JA. Narrative identity and meaning making across the lifespan: An introduction. Journal of
Personality. 2004; 72:437–459. [PubMed: 15102034]
Waters TEA, Bauer PJ, Fivush R. Autobiographical memory functions for single, recurring, and
extended events. Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. 2014; 28:185–195.
Waters TEA, Shallcross JF, Fivush R. The many facets of meaning making: Comparing multiple
measures of meaning making and their relations to psychological distress. Memory. 2013; 21:11–
124.
Author Manuscript

White, M.; Epston, D. Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York: Norton; 1990.
Zimet GD, Dahlem NW, Zimet SG, Farley GK. The multidimensional scale of perceived social
support. Journal of Personality Assessment. 1988; 52:30–41.
Zimet GD, Powell SS, Farley GK, Werkman S, Berkoff KA. Psychometric characteristics of the
multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment. 1990;
55:610–617. [PubMed: 2280326]

Appendix A

High Coherence and High Identity

“The most memorable event I would talk about as an international student is coming to the
United Stated for study abroad. I was only 16 years old when I was separated from my
parents at the airport and attended a high school where I was confronted with different
Author Manuscript

language, culture, and ethnic groups. I experienced a sort of cultural shock that I was afraid
to approach anyone and even participate in class. There was one friend who saved me [from]
this circumstance [and] taught me how to study, participate, make friends, and even [slang].
With this support, I was able to adjust myself to a new environment quickly and eventually I
found myself speaking a new language fluently. This event made me a person who would
not get afraid of trying new things and finding the best outcomes from it.”

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 15

“When I was in 6th grade, my grandfather on my mom’s side was diagnosed with liver
Author Manuscript

cancer. When he was diagnosed, the cancer cells had already taken up his entire liver and
many of other organs as well. The doctor told us that my grandfather would live about one
year at best. Everyone in the family was greatly despaired at first, but as the time went on,
we all tried to be the best sons/daughters /grandsons/grandaughters we could be and make
his last days as peaceful and comfortable as possible. After being diagnosed with cancer, my
grandfather, a vehement former Buddhist, accepted Christ and converted to Christianity.
And he daily devoted himself to reading the Bible and praying and deepening his
relationship with God. Witnessing his conversion, many of my family members and I
realized the reality of God and His power in our lives. My grandfather spent many months in
devotion to God while receiving chemotherapy and other medications. Months of
chemotherapy finally wore him out eventually, and he came to the point where he could not
get out of his bed. His once healthy body was left with nothing but bones and skin. His face
Author Manuscript

was dark and bony. One day, in his bed, he called me over to his bed side. He had no energy
to call me audibly, so he had to use his weakened and bony arm to call me to his side.
Seeing his withered arm calling me to his bed, I was engrossed with fear. I felt like he was
gonna breathe his last breath and leave me forever. Being so filled with terror, I ignored his
calling and left the room. And that was the last moment I got to spend with him. This last
memory of my grandfather has a significant meaning to me because it taught me what a
wicked and sinful person I am that I ignored my ill grandfather merely because of my fear.
Even till this day, it is the biggest regret of my life.”

Low Coherence and High Identity

“This may be shallow, but getting my driver’s license has to be a single event that is
important to me. I regard my license as a physical symbol of my coming of age, because
Author Manuscript

driving safely is a thing that requires great responsibility and maturity. It is also a symbol of
freedom, as I was lucky enough to have my own car. Before, where I had to ask my parents
to drive me, walk or take the bus (or other means of transportation), now I could go out any
time that I felt like it. Driving is almost an escape mechanism for me, because I feel free and
unbound.”

“One of the experiences that I had that had huge influence on me was my parents’ divorce.
When I first heard about it, I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. I often saw my
parents arguing and I would be the one who always [tried] to make things ok and settle
things down between them. This event made me think deeper even though I was like 6th or
7th grader, and I would say I was bit more mature than other kids that were around my age.
Also, I was an outgoing and confident kid that didn’t fear that much, however this event
Author Manuscript

made me change into [a] more shy and quiet guy. But now I try to be more friendly and
outgoing to other people because that’s what people did to me when I was in big depression
and going through the hard times.”

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 16
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript

Figure 1.
Depiction of the interaction between narrative coherence and identity content in relation to
the Purpose and Meaning psychological well-being component. High represents all
individuals scoring 1 SD above the mean, Low represents all individuals scoring 1 SD below
the mean.
Author Manuscript

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 17

Table 1

Identity Content coding scheme.

Author Manuscript

0– No content suggesting the memory functions to define or enhance identity

1– Any mention of self enhancing or self deprecation due to reflection or remembering the experience, any mention of similarity or
difference of self and other, any labeling of self as a member of a group, identification with an individual or group without further
elaboration, identification of personal goals, or explicit mention of personal traits.
2– Any mention of a turning point, milestone, eye opening experience, change in perspective regarding identity –OR – elaboration on the
content listed in scoring criteria for a “1”
3– Elaboration on why event/experience was a turning point, milestone, eye opening experience, or an explanation of how an experience led
to a change in perspective in relation to identity –OR–elaboration of the impact of the event on identity –OR- elaboration of change in
personal goals or attitudes relevant to identity.
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 18

Table 2

Component Loadings for Well-being Measures Using PCA with Promax Rotation
Author Manuscript

Component Component Component Component

1 2 3 4
Rosenberg Self-Esteem .875
Satisfaction with Life .806
Psychological Well-being
    Autonomy .818
    Environmental
.683
Mastery
    Self Acceptance .742
    Positive Relations .406
    Purpose in Life .658
    Personal Growth .832
Author Manuscript

Perceived Social Support

    Friends .931
    Significant Other .937
Social Well-being
    Contribution .935
    Acceptance .910
Generativity .773
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Waters and Fivush Page 19

Table 3

Bivariate Correlations Examining Relations Between Narrative Coherence and Identity Content to
Author Manuscript

Psychological Well-being Components

Purpose and Positive Self Positive

Meaning View Relationships
Coherence .22* .19† .35***
Identity
.13 −.04 .06
Content

Note: n's ranged from 99–102.

†
p < . 10
*
p < .05,
**
p < .01,
Author Manuscript

***
p < .001
Author Manuscript
Author Manuscript

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

 Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript

Table 4

Regression Analysis Examining Moderation of Coherence to Well-being Relations by Identity Content

Purpose and Meaning (n = 96) Positive Self View (n = 98) Positive Relationships (n = 98)

Predictor ΔR2 β Predictor ΔR2 β Predictor ΔR2 β

Waters and Fivush

Step 1 .060† Step 1 .034 Step 1 .121**

    Coherence .206*     Coherence .180†     Coherence .343***
    Identity Content .124     Identity Content −.053     Identity Content .041
Step 2 .060* Step 2 .005 Step 2 .000

    Coh*Identity .248*     Coh*Identity .074     Coh*Identity .011

Total R2: 120** Total R2: .040 Total R2: 121**

†
p < .10;
*
p < .05;
**
p < .01;

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.

Page 20
 Waters and Fivush Page 21

Table 5

Regression Analyses Examining Associations Between Narrative Coherence and Psychological Well-being
Author Manuscript

and Moderation by Identity Content in Nuclear Episodes with Coherence Control

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

β β β

DV: Purpose and Meaning (n = 96)

    Coherence Control (generic events) −.016 −.060 −.109
    Coherence .220* .195†
    Idenitity Content .120 .093
    Coh*Identity .267**
ΔR2 .000 .064* .067**
Total R2 .000 .064 .131*
Author Manuscript

DV: Positive Self View (n = 98)

    Coherence Control (generic events) .063 .014 .001
    Coherence .176† .172

    Idenitity Content −.052 −.059

    Coh*Identity .074
ΔR2 .004 .030 .005
Total R2 .004 .034 .040
DV: Positive Social Realtionships (n = 98)
    Coherence Control (generic events) .025 −.068 −.071
    Coherence .361*** .359***
    Idenitity Content .037 .035
    Coh*Identity −.016
Author Manuscript

ΔR2 .001 .124** .000

Total R2 .001 .125** .125*

Note.
†
Note. p < .10;
*
p < .05;
**
p < .01;
***
p < .001.

DV = Dependent Variable in regression model; Coherence Control = Mean centered coherence score of the two generic/recurring event narratives.
Author Manuscript

J Pers. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 August 01.