Stress resilience: Narrative identity may buffer the longitudinal effects of chronic caregiving stress on mental health and telomere shortening

Mason, Ashley E.; Adler, Jonathan M.; Puterman, Eli; Lakmazaheri, Ava; Epel, Elissa S.

doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2018.12.010

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Results did not confirm our prediction, as coherence could not predict the increase in anxiety levels from before to the peak of the traumatic event. Although contrary to our predictions and some literature (Mason et al, 2019 ; Vanderveren et al, 2020a ), there is another line of literature that indeed suggests that prior psychological adjustment is one of the smaller predictors of PTSD symptoms after trauma exposure (Ozer et al, 2003 ). Future research could further investigate possible buffering effects, since they could be a major point for primary prevention, thereby protecting people before harmful events take place.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, in preschool children, higher coherence in story-stem narratives buffered against the impact of maternal stress to prevent development of internalizing symptoms (Stadelmann et al, 2015 ). In a study of Mason et al ( 2019 ), the ability of mothers to form an integrated narrative of their parenting experiences could forecast their psychological and biological trauma resilience, in terms of lower parenting stress and less telomere shortening. Similarly, in a recent study of Vanderveren et al ( 2020a ), baseline narrative coherence could predict future coping with the stressful experience of failing on exams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When money is limited, a caregiver child-often a daughtermay become stressed from multiple obligations. Caregiver stress has been known to negatively affect health (Bennett, Fagundes, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2013;Epel et al, 2004), although recent research suggests that narrative identity about caregiving that highlights a sense of meaning can lessen these effects (Mason et al, 2019). If the adult child sees caregiving as a spiritual opportunity and not just a burden, the outcome may be more positive, both psychologically and physically.…”

Section: Caring For Vulnerable Eldersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healing Intergenerational Wounds: An Integrative Relational–Neurobiological Approach

Fishbane

2019

Family Process

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Old resentments and unfinished business from the family of origin can constrain adults in current relationships with parents or siblings and negatively affect relationships with partners or children. This article explores how old wounds get reactivated in current relationships and contribute to the intergenerational transmission of painful legacies and trauma. Building on intergenerational family theory and interpersonal neurobiology, the dynamics of reactivity and pathways for growth are explored. While much of the time the human brain is on autopilot, driven by habits and emotional reactivity, we are capable of bringing prefrontal thoughtfulness and choice to close relationships. Rather than being victims of parents or our past, we can become authors of our own relational life. Interventions are offered to help adult clients “wake from the spell of childhood,” heal intergenerational wounds, and “grow up” relationships with family of origin. The damage caused by parent‐blaming in therapy is explored and contrasted with Ivan Boszormenyi‐Nagy's emphasis on rejunctive action and cultivating resources of trustworthiness in intergenerational relationships. The family is considered both in its cultural context—including stressors and resources for resilience—and in its life cycle context. Aging in the intergenerational family is discussed, focusing on ways adult children and their parents can grow and flourish with the challenges at this time of life. Throughout, the theme of relational ethics—how we can live according to our values and “reach for our best self” in intergenerational relationships—informs the discussion.

show abstract

“…For example, integrating negative past experiences into one's life story appears to be beneficial for adults' well-being (e.g., Adler et al, 2016;Bauer & McAdams, 2004;King & Raspin, 2004;Lilgendahl & McAdams, 2011;McAdams, 2001;Pals, 2006), and integration of multicultural identities into a coherent whole is positively related to mental health (e.g., Chen, Benet-Martínez, Wu, Lam, & Bond, 2012; Yampolsky, Amiot, & de la Sablonnière, IDENTITY INTEGRATION ACROSS ADULTHOOD 6 2016). Furthermore, identity integration may serve as a buffer for the biological impacts of chronic stress in adulthood (Mason et al, 2019).…”

Section: Why Is Identity Integration Important For Adults?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Review of Identity Integration Across Adulthood

Mitchell¹,

Jm²,

Carlsson³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Though Erikson recognized identity development as a lifelong project, most research on identity has focused on adolescents and emerging adults. Less is known about how the identity formed in adolescence is maintained and adapted across the adult lifespan. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a conceptual review and elaboration of Erikson's (1968) theory focused on identity integration, a construct that is particularly relevant to adult identity development. Identity integration describes the process of bringing together various aspects of one's self into a coherent whole, and the sense of self-continuity and wholeness that emerges as a result of these processes. Informed by the identity and lifespan development literatures, we present a conceptual framework that describes how identity integration is maintained across the adult lifespan, and how it is re-established when changing life circumstances present threats to an individual's identity. These maintenance and re-establishment processes help to support adults' well-being and adaptation to major life transitions and stressful events. This conceptual framework is intended to facilitate research on identity integration in adulthood, a time of life that has been less often studied in the identity literature, but that can involve identity dynamics that are just as critical as those in adolescence.

show abstract

Stress resilience: Narrative identity may buffer the longitudinal effects of chronic caregiving stress on mental health and telomere shortening

Cited by 30 publications

References 50 publications

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

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

Healing Intergenerational Wounds: An Integrative Relational–Neurobiological Approach

A Conceptual Review of Identity Integration Across Adulthood

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About