Coherence and content of conflict-based narratives: Associations to family risk and maladjustment.

Abstract

This study examined the role of structural and content characteristics of children's conflict-based narratives (coherence, positive and aggressive themes) in the association between early childhood family risk and children's internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of 193 children (97 girls, 96 boys) aged 3 to 5 years (M = 3.85, SD = .48). Parents participated in an interview on family related risk factors; teachers and parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; children completed conflict-based narratives based on the MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB). We specifically investigated the mediating and moderating role of narrative coherence and content themes in the association between family risk and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Children's narrative coherence was associated with better adjustment, and had a buffering effect on the negative relation between family risk on children's internalizing problems. Positive themes were negatively associated with externalizing problems. Telling narratives with many positive and negative themes buffered the negative association of family risk and teacher-reported externalizing problems. In sum, the findings suggest that in children, being able to tell coherent and enriched narratives may buffer the impact of family risk on their symptoms, and being able to produce positive themes rather than aggressive themes is associated with lower externalizing problems.

Maternal stress and internalizing symptoms in preschoolers: The moderating role of narrative coherence.

“…Our results do not correspond to findings of previous studies, which have shown negative associations between narrative coherence and children's symptoms (e.g., Muller et al, 2014;von Klitzing et al, 2000). However, Muller et al (2014) found asso ciations only with teacher reports on internalizing symptoms but not with parent reports. In another study by our research group, narrative coherence and internalizing symptoms (multi-informant report parent, teacher, and child) were also unrelated (Stadelmann, 2006).…”

“…These findings sup port the notion of attachment theory that children's representations develop over time within the parent-child relationship, and that the organization of experiences, as reflected in narrative coher ence, can be negatively affected by inadequate caregiving (Oppen heim & Waters, 1995). However, in other studies, family risk factors such as parental anxiety (Warren, Emde, & Sroufe, 2000), the mother's experience of domestic violence as an adult and as a child (Schechter et al, 2007), or an accumulated family risk (Muller et al, 2014) were not found to be significantly associated with children's narrative coherence. Some of the family risk fac tors assessed in these studies might be more distal or short-term stressors that affect not (yet) children's narrative coherence.…”

The Importance of Memory Specificity and Memory Coherence for the Self: Linking Two Characteristics of Autobiographical Memory

“…Individuals who experience difficulty with narrating about personal experiences in a coherent manner show more internalizing as well as externalizing symptoms. More specifically, memory incoherence has been associated with depressive symptoms, behavioral problems, and PTSD (e.g., Foa et al, 1995 ; von Klitzing et al, 2000 ; von Klitzing et al, 2007 ; Müller et al, 2014 ; Stadelmann et al, 2015 ). Additionally, a pattern of incoherence has been observed in patients suffering from a borderline personality disorder, eating disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder ( Rasmussen et al, 2017 ).…”

“…As we discussed earlier, memory coherence enables creating meaning out of a negative or stressful event and regulating the related cognitions and emotions. As a result, it can be argued that memory coherence protects the individual from the damaging effects negative life experiences can have on well-being, making incoherent persons more vulnerable ( Müller et al, 2014 ; Stadelmann et al, 2015 ). However, there are still some outstanding questions and inconsistencies regarding the association between memory coherence and psychopathology, which we will discuss in more detail below.…”

Narrative Coherence and Identity: Associations With Psychological Well-Being and Internalizing Symptoms

“…Accordingly, the coherence of young adults’ autobiographical narratives of personally significant events has been found to be positively associated with psychological well-being, with the experience of purpose and meaning in life, and with maintaining positive relationships (Waters and Fivush, 2015), and negatively associated with depressive symptoms (Vanderveren et al., 2019). In children, higher coherence has also found to be associated with less internalizing and externalizing problems (von Klitzing et al., 2000; Müller et al., 2014). Moreover, some studies showed that high narrative coherence can buffer the negative impact of adverse life experiences and family risk factors (Müller et al., 2014; Stadelmann et al., 2015).…”