1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Narrative Inquiry
  4. Volume 30, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 30, Issue 1
  • ISSN 1387-6740
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9935
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Narrating personal experiences helps people make sense of them and contributes to improved well-being. However, little is known about how people recount stressful experiences that are interpersonal in nature. In this study, middle-aged North American women ( = 36), with lifetime histories of victimization, provided accounts of a recent stressful interpersonal event. High Point Analysis was applied to analyze the narratives. The majority (55%) of narratives were characterized by extensive evaluative content, categorized as End at High Point. The next most common (38%) category of responses were Emotional Narratives, characterized by a concentration of evaluative statements with little or no complicating action. Thus, participants’ memories of their stressful interpersonal events were caught in an unresolved, emotionally charged, limbo. Results reveal a novel approach to analyzing narratives of interpersonal stressors, and shed light on the relationship between victimization histories and narration of interpersonal experiences.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
2020-03-10
2024-10-05

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Blake, D., Weathers, F., Nagy, L., Kaloupek, D., Charney, D., & Keane, T.
    (1998) Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-IV. National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Bohanek, J. G., Fivush, R., & Walker, E.
    (2005) Memories of positive and negative emotional events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, 51–66. doi: 10.1002/acp1064
     https://doi.org/10.1002/acp1064 [Google Scholar]
  3. Byrne, C. A., Hyman, I. E., & Scott, K. L.
    (2001) Comparisons of memories for traumatic events and other experiences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, S119–S133. doi:  10.1002/acp.837
     https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.837 [Google Scholar]
  4. Cloitre, M., Scarvalone, P., & Difede, J.
    (1997) Posttraumatic stress disorder, self- and interpersonal dysfunction among sexually retraumatized women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 437–452. 10.1002/jts.2490100309
     https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490100309 [Google Scholar]
  5. Deese, J.
    (1984) Thought into language: The psychology of a language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. De Vogli, R., Chandola, T., & Marmot, M. G.
    (2007) Negative aspects of close relationships and heart disease. JAMA Internal Medicine, 8, 1951–1957. doi: 10.1001/archinte.167.18.195
     https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.167.18.195 [Google Scholar]
  7. DiLillo, D.
    (2001) Interpersonal functioning among women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse: Empirical findings and methodological issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 553–576. 10.1016/S0272‑7358(99)00072‑0
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(99)00072-0 [Google Scholar]
  8. Ewart, C. K., & Kolodner, K. B.
    (1991) Social Competence Interview for assessing physiological reactivity in adolescents. Psychosomatic Medicine, 53, 289–304. 10.1097/00006842‑199105000‑00003
     https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199105000-00003 [Google Scholar]
  9. Foa, E. B., & Rothbaum, B. O.
    (1998) Treating the trauma of rape: Cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD. New York: Guilford Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Goodman, L. A., Corcoran, C., Turner, K., Yuan, N., & Green, B. L.
    (1998) Assessing traumatic event exposure: General issues and preliminary findings for the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 521–542. 10.1023/A:1024456713321
     https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024456713321 [Google Scholar]
  11. Jørgensen, C. R., Bernsten, D., Bech, M., Kjølbye, M., Bennedsen, B. E., & Ramsgaard, S. B.
    (2012) Identity-related autobiographical memories and cultural life scripts in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Consciousness and Cognition, 21, 788–798. doi:  10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.010
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.010 [Google Scholar]
  12. Klein, K. & Boals, A.
    (2010) Coherence and narrative structure in personal accounts of stressful events. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 256–280. 10.1521/jscp.2010.29.3.256
     https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2010.29.3.256 [Google Scholar]
  13. Labov, W.
    (1972) Language in the inner city. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G.
    (1977) The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159–174. 10.2307/2529310
     https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310 [Google Scholar]
  15. McCabe, A.
    (1996) Chameleon readers: Teaching children to appreciate all kinds of good stories. New York: McGraw Hill.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. (2017) Children’s personal narratives reflect where they come from, reveal who they are, and predict where they are going. InN. Kucirkova, C. Snow, V. Grover & C. McBride (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education (pp.308–324). Abington, U.K.: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315766027‑28
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315766027-28 [Google Scholar]
  17. McCabe, A., Hillier, A., & Shapiro, C.
    (2013) Structure of personal narratives of adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 733–738. doi:  10.1007/s10803‑012‑1585‑x
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1585-x [Google Scholar]
  18. McCabe, A., & Peterson, C.
    (1984) What makes a good story?Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 13, 457–480. 10.1007/BF01068179
     https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01068179 [Google Scholar]
  19. McCabe, A., & Rollins, P. R.
    (1994) Assessment of preschool narrative skills: Prerequisite for literacy. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology: A Journal of Clinical Practice, 3, 45–56. 10.1044/1058‑0360.0301.45
     https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360.0301.45 [Google Scholar]
  20. Newsom, J. T., Nishishiba, M., Morgan, D. L., & Rook, K. S.
    (2003) The relative importance of three domains of positive and negative social exchanges: A longitudinal model with comparable measures. Psychology and Aging, 18, 746–754. doi:  10.1037/0882‑7974.18.4.746
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.18.4.746 [Google Scholar]
  21. Newton, T. L., Parker, B. C., Ho, I. K.
    (2005) Ambulatory cardiovascular functioning in healthy postmenopausal women with victimization histories. Biological Psychology, 70, 121–130. 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.12.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.12.003 [Google Scholar]
  22. Niles, A. N., Haltom, K. E. B., Lieberman, M. D., Hur, C., & Stanton, A. L.
    (2016) Writing content predicts benefit from written expressive disclosure: Evidence for repeated exposure and self-affirmation. Cognition and Emotion, 30, 258–274. doi:  10.1080/02699931.2014.995598
     https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2014.995598 [Google Scholar]
  23. Ouyang, J., & McKeown, K.
    (2014, May). Towards automatic detection of narrative structure. Paper presented at theNinth International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation. Reykjavik, Iceland.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Pennebaker, J. W.
    (1997) Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions (Rev. ed.). New York: Guilford.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. (2004) Writing to heal: A guided journal for recovering from trauma & emotional upheaval. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Pennebaker, J. W., Colder, M., & Sharp, L. K.
    (1990) Accelerating the coping process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 528–537. 10.1037/0022‑3514.58.3.528
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.58.3.528 [Google Scholar]
  27. Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D.
    (1999) Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 1243–1254. 10.1002/(SICI)1097‑4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID‑JCLP6>3.0.CO;2‑N
     https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-N [Google Scholar]
  28. Peterson, C., & McCabe, A.
    (1983) Developmental psycholinguistics: Three ways of looking at a child’s narrative. NY: Plenum. 10.1007/978‑1‑4757‑0608‑6
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0608-6 [Google Scholar]
  29. Peterson, C., Smorti, A., & Tani, F.
    (2008) Parental influences on earliest memories. Memory, 16(6), 569–578. doi:  10.1080/02687030802025984
     https://doi.org/10.1080/02687030802025984 [Google Scholar]
  30. Ramirez-Esparza, N., & Pennebaker, J. W.
    (2006) Do good stories produce good health?Narrative Inquiry, 16(1), 211–219. 10.1075/ni.16.1.26ram
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.16.1.26ram [Google Scholar]
  31. Reese, E., Haden, C. A., Baker-Ward, L., Bauer, P., Fivush, R., & Ornstein, P. A.
    (2011) Coherence of personal narratives across the lifespan: A multidimensional model and coding method. Journal of Cognitive Development, 12, 424–462. doi: 10.1080/15248372‑2011‑587854
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372-2011-587854 [Google Scholar]
  32. Resick, P. A., & Schnicke, M. K.
    (1992) Cognitive Processing Therapy for sexual assault victims. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 748–760. 10.1037/0022‑006X.60.5.748
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.60.5.748 [Google Scholar]
  33. Smyth, J., & Helm, R.
    (2003) Focused expressive writing as self-help for stress and trauma. JCLP/In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, 59, 227–235. doi:  10.1002/jclp.10144
     https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10144 [Google Scholar]
  34. Smyth, J., True, N., & Souto, J.
    (2001) Effects of writing about traumatic experiences: The necessity for narrative structuring. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 161–172. doi:  10.1521/jscp.20.2.161.22266
     https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.20.2.161.22266 [Google Scholar]
  35. Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N.
    (1998, November). Prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Research in Brief.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics
    U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) National Crime Victimization Survey. Basic Screen Questionnaire.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Westby, C., & Culatta, B.
    (2016) Telling tales: Personal event narratives and life stories. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 47(4), 260–282. doi:  10.1044/2016_LSHSS‑15‑0073
     https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_LSHSS-15-0073 [Google Scholar]
  38. Wilson, T. D.
    (2011) Redirect: Changing the stories we live by. Boston: Back Bay Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Wilson, T. D., & Linville, P. W.
    (1982) Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: Attribution therapy revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 367–376. 10.1037/0022‑3514.42.2.367
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.42.2.367 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
Loading
The narrative structure of stressful interpersonal events
Narrative Inquiry 30, 1 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
/content/journals/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
/content/journals/10.1075/ni.18088.ho
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): High Point Analysis; interpersonal encounters; stressful events

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error