Article in:
Narrative Inquiry: Online-First Articles

The power of narrative

The emotional impact of the life story interview

| Northwestern University
| Northwestern University
| Northwestern University
| Northwestern University

Much of the research on narrative identity has used the Life Story Interview (LSI) to better understand the person through the story they construct of their life. However, the effect that the LSI has on participants has not yet been examined. Study 1 looked at 163 middle-aged adults who completed a measure of self-reported positive and negative affect both immediately before and after being interviewed. Results indicated that participants experienced a significant increase in positive affect and that this mood boost was experienced regardless of background, personality, and mental health. Study 2 involved a qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts of the 20 participants who experienced the most and the least benefit from the interview, with results indicating three emerging themes (identity development, identity fulfillment, the storied self) that appear to reflect two forms of storytelling: autobiographical versus episodic.

Keywords: narrative identity, autobiographical reasoning, emotion, personality, expressive writing, narrative therapy
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Study 1
    • Method
      • Participants
        • Self-report measures
        • Personality Traits
        • Depression
        • Life Satisfaction
        • Positive and negative affect
      • Life-story interviews
    • Results
  • Study 2
    • Method
      • Participants
      • Method of Analysis
    • Results
      • Identity Development
      • Identity Fulfillment
      • The Storied Self
  • Discussion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 31 March 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19109.tur
References
Adler, J. M.
(2012) 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 Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 102(2), 367. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Adler, J. M., Dunlop, W. L., Fivush, R., Lilgendahl, J. L., Lodi-Smith, J., … & Syed, M.
(2017) Research methods for studying narrative identity: A primer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 81, 519–527. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Adler, J. M., Harmeling, L. H., & Walder-Biesanz, I.
(2013) Narrative meaning making is associated with sudden gains in psychotherapy clients’ mental health under routine clinical conditions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81(5), 839. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Adler, J. M., Skalina, L. M., & McAdams, D. P.
(2008) The narrative reconstruction of psychotherapy and psychological health. Psychotherapy Research, 18(6), 719–734. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Adler, J. M., Turner, A. F., Brookshier, K. M., Monahan, C., Walder-Biesanz, I., Harmeling, L. H., & Oltmanns, T. F.
(2015) Variation in narrative identity is associated with trajectories of mental health over several years. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(3), 476. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K.
(1996) Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory–II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.Google Scholar
Brewer, W. F.
(1986) What is autobiographical memory? In D. C. Rubin (Ed.), Autobiographical memory (pp. 25–49). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. S.
(1990) Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R.
(1985) The NEO personality inventory. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D.
(2004) The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): Construct validity, measurement properties and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43(3), 245–265. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Didion, J.
(1979) The white album. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S.
(1985) The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L.
(2013) Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 497–527. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dunlop, W. L., & Walker, L. J.
(2013) The life story: Its development and relation to narration and personal identity. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37(3), 235–247. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2015) Cross-cultural variability in self-continuity warranting strategies. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 34(3), 300–315. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, E. M., Sloan, D. M., & Marx, B. P.
(2005) Getting to the heart of the matter: Written disclosure, gender, and heart rate. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67(3), 413. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Frisina, P. G., Borod, J. C., & Lepore, S. J.
(2004) A meta-analysis of the effects of written emotional disclosure on the health outcomes of clinical populations. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192(9), 629–634. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Glass, O., Dreusicke, M., Evans, J., Bechard, E., & Wolever, R. Q.
(2019) Expressive writing to improve resilience to trauma: A clinical feasibility trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 341, 240–246. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Guo, J., Klevan, M., & McAdams, D. P.
(2016) Personality traits, ego development, and the redemptive self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 421, 1551–1563. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Habermas, T., & Bluck, S.
(2000) Getting a life: the emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 748. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Habermas, T., & Köber, C.
(2015) Autobiographical reasoning is constitutive for narrative identity: The role of the life story for personal continuity. In K. C. McLean & M. U. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of identity development (149–165). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hirai, M., Skidmore, S. T., Clum, G. A., & Dolma, S.
(2012) An investigation of the efficacy of online expressive writing for trauma-related psychological distress in Hispanic individuals. Behavior Therapy, 43(4), 812–824. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T.
(1998) Narrative research: Reading, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lilgendahl, J. P., & McAdams, D. P.
(2011) Constructing stories of self-growth: How individual differences in patterns of autobiographical reasoning relate to well-being in midlife. Journal of Personality, 79(2), 391–428. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lopes, R. T., Gonçalves, M. M., Machado, P. P., Sinai, D., Bento, T., & Salgado, J.
(2014) Narrative Therapy vs. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for moderate depression: Empirical evidence from a controlled clinical trial. Psychotherapy Research, 24(6), 662–674. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McAdams, D. P.
(1996) Personality, modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary framework for studying persons. Psychological Inquiry, 7(4), 295–321. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2008) The Life Story Interview. Retrieved July 20, 2018, from https://​www​.sesp​.northwestern​.edu​/foley​/instruments​/interview/
(2013) The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by (revised and expanded edition). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
McAdams, D. P., & Guo, J.
(2015) Narrating the generative life. Psychological Science, 26(4), 475–483. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McAdams, D. P., & Janis, L.
(2004) Narrative identity and narrative therapy. In L. E. Angus & J. McLeod (Eds.), The handbook of narrative and psychotherapy (pp. 159–173). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McAdams, D. P., & Manczak, E.
(2015) Personality and the life story. In M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology. Washington, DC: APA Books. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C.
(2013) Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McLean, K. C., & Mansfield, C. D.
(2011) To reason or not to reason: Is autobiographical reasoning always beneficial?. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 2011(131), 85–97. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. U.
(Eds.) (2015) The Oxford handbook of identity development. Oxford University Press, USA. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
McLean, K. C., Syed, M., Pasupathi, M., Adler, J. M., Dunlop, W. L., Drustrup, D., Fivush, R., Graci, M. E., Lilgendahl, J. P., Lodi-Smith, J., McAdams, D. P., & McCoy, T. P.
(2020) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1191, 920–944. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Meshberg-Cohen, S., Svikis, D., & McMahon, T. J.
(2014) Expressive writing as a therapeutic process for drug-dependent women. Substance Abuse, 35(1), 80–88. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, A.
(2000) What is narrative therapy? Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.Google Scholar
Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K.
(1986) Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 274. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D.
(1999) Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(10), 1243–1254. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Prebble, S. C., Addis, D. R., & Tippett, L. J.
(2013) Autobiographical memory and sense of self. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 815–840. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Richert, A. J.
(2006) Narrative psychology and psychotherapy integration. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 16(1), 84. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Roelofs, J., van Breukelen, G., de Graaf, L. E., Beck, A. T., Arntz, A., & Huibers, M. J.
(2013) Norms for the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in a large Dutch community sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 35(1), 93–98. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schaal, S., Elbert, T., & Neuner, F.
(2009) Narrative exposure therapy versus interpersonal psychotherapy. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 78(5), 298–306. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Suhr, M., Risch, A. K., & Wilz, G.
(2017) Maintaining mental health through positive writing: Effects of a resource diary on depression and emotion regulation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(12), 1586–1598. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tappan, M. B.
(1997) Interpretive psychology: Stories, circles, and understanding lived experience. Journal of Social Issues, 531, 645–656. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A.
(1988) Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
White, M., & Epston, D.
(1990) Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York: Norton.Google Scholar