Article published In:
Narrative Inquiry: Online-First ArticlesLove, actually
Cultural narratives expressed in emerging adults’ stories of romantic relationships
Individuals create both personal and culturally shared meaning through narratives; however, sparse research has
explored the specific ways in which individuals might use such cultural narratives in creating meaning from developmentally
important experiences. In this study, we examine how emerging adults narrate positive romantic relationships, both because
emerging adulthood is critical for the development of intimacy and because romantic relationship narratives are pervasive in
cultural media. Thematic analysis of 31 narratives from mostly European-descent students attending a private liberal arts
university in the Southeast US (mean age 19; 16 self-identified females) revealed three major narrative arcs, Love Grows,
Firecrackers and Fairytale, which varied in coherence, coda, and mutuality of the relationship, but
did not differ by gender. Further examination and discussion of these narratives suggest how emerging adults are making sense of
their first romantic relationships in ways that inform efforts to educate and intervene to promote healthy and positive
relationships.
Keywords: narrative, emerging adulthood, romance, master narratives
Article outline
- Introduction
- Narratives and narrative identity
- Cultural narratives of romance and intimacy
- Emerging adulthood, intimacy and narrative
- The current study
- Method
- Procedures and participants
- Selection of narratives for this study
- Data analysis
- Procedures and participants
- Results and discussion
- Love grows
- Expression of core love grows metaphor
- Coda
- Mutuality
- Love grows: Secondary arcs
- Firecrackers
- Expression of core firecrackers metaphor
- Coda
- Mutuality
- Firecrackers: Secondary Arcs
- Fairytale
- Expression of core fairytale metaphor
- Coda
- Mutuality
- Fairytale: Secondary Arcs
- Infrequent narrative arcs: Safe haven and forbidden fruit
- Double codes
- Love grows
- Conclusions
- Limitations
- Practical implications and future directions
-
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