Overcoming a Legacy of Conflict: The Repercussive Effects of Stress and Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma Among Vietnamese Americans

The modern narrative of Vietnamese people is often strongly associated with events of the 20th century, such as the Vietnam War, but a legacy of strife in Southeast Asia spans many centuries. Enduring stress and trauma has pernicious psychological and physiological repercussions that have affected first and later generations of Vietnamese American refugees. To contextualize the present-day narrative, we review the history of Vietnam and the contemporary refugee experience in the United States. We then examine more proximal spheres of influence, including community and family. Finally, we review individual experiences of stress and trauma. We present recommendations to inform individual, group, family, and community-based counseling interventions, as well as recommendations for future research.     

Narrative of “Here-and-Now”: Cancer Survivors in a Group Psychotherapy Using SCT® (Systems-Centered Therapy)1,2

This study focused on “here-and-now” narrative and examined the process of group psychotherapy for cancer survivors using systems-centered therapy (SCT). In contemporary society, cancer survivors have a vital need for psychological support, and group psychotherapy and peer support are used as part of this need. In most of these interventions, participants are encouraged to speak freely and share their experience of cancer. This generally means speaking about “there-and-then” experience. It has been argued that one reason that narrative therapy produces a psychological effect is that the meaning of an experience changes when the experience is spoken about. SCT differs significantly from other group interventions in that it requires participants to talk about their here-and-now experience through the format of SCT's “functional subgrouping.” Functional subgrouping requires participants to listen, reflect, and build on similarities in their experience. In this study, we qualitatively examined how participants' experiences unfolded in the SCT group by directly addressing the group process. The study findings revealed that even though the participants did not directly share their cancer experiences in the group, they experienced an inexplicable sense of connectedness that had a positive psychological effect on them. They also experienced deep emotions through talking while using the SCT narrative style. In the process, the effects of the SCT narrative were discussed.     

Identity narratives of Muslim foreign workers in Japan

This article examines the identity and acculturation experience of Muslim foreign workers in Japan. The psychological impact of prolonged stay in a foreign country was studied by eliciting narratives of experiences of 24 male foreign workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Iran who had been in Japan more than 5 years. By analysing the narratives they produced, three different styles of stories emerged which explained their experiences and their attempts to maintain or construct a sense of identity. Accepting the dominant narrative of Japanese society and describing oneself as ‘almost like Japanese’ was one way. Another strategy stressed the rejection of the dominant narrative as well as attempts to maintain the original narrative of the self as educated and active young men. The third narrative showed how individuals re‐defined themselves as Muslim by incorporating religious identity into a central part of their self‐concepts, and asserting its pervasive effect on all aspects of life. This study provides a perspective for acculturation research focused on social elements of identity, and derived from experiences in a relatively mono‐cultural society recently opening to immigration and in which there is a prevailing ideology of assimilation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life story research: A relevant methodology for counsellors and psychotherapists

Aims: This paper introduces, describes and proposes life story research as an important, relevant and appropriate contribution to counselling and psychotherapy research. It shows how narrative knowledge is created and constructed through the stories people tell about their lived experiences and explores the concept of ‘narrative knowing’ (Bruner, 1986). Methods: Drawing on life story research with people who linked their history of problematic drug use with experiences of historic trauma/abuse, the paper contributes to the ongoing discussion related to the similarities/differences between therapy and research and what we might learn from each that informs the other. Implications for practice: The paper offers narrative ideas and practices as ways of researching matters of social and psychological importance. It suggests that therapists (and counselling researchers) could learn from what participants tell us about the therapeutic value of using life story methods which one participant described as helping him to face ‘out into the world, without unduly or specifically delving into, or focusing on [my] emotional state’. This learning may be particularly relevant for therapists working with traumatised clients.     

Where the Whole Thing Fell Apart

Abstract

This article examines the intersection of societal prejudice and psychological trauma. In an instrumental case study created through a layered narrative analysis, the author highlights the potentially traumatic effects of racism and discrimination, while also exploring the phenomenon of resilience in a complex ecological system. The findings suggest that the enduring and continual strain of racial prejudice may cause significant psychological distress, particularly when those experiences reinforce early negative experiences within a family; and that assessments of resilience need to consider the contribution of ecological context to psychological outcomes as well as to an individual's ability to mobilize personal resources when such a context finally shifts.     

Personal and Intergenerational Narratives of Transgression and Pride in Emerging Adulthood: Links to Gender and Well‐Being

Intergenerational narratives, stories parents share with children about their own youthful experiences, may facilitate the understanding of challenging life experiences and be related to psychological well‐being; yet, little research has examined what young people know of their parents' self‐challenging and self‐enhancing experiences and how they interpret them. Research examining intergenerational narratives has observed relations between adolescents' narratives and their psychological well‐being, but these relations may depend upon gender and narrative type. In the current study, 94 college students provided intergenerational and personal narratives of transgression and pride experiences. Narratives were coded for emotional, cognitive, and evaluative content. Results show that transgression and pride narratives differed in content, and that women provided more interpretative content than men. Stories about mothers contained more interpretative content than fathers, but this pattern varied by participant gender. Finally, relations to well‐being were observed, especially for cognitive content in stories of participants' same‐gender parent. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.StartCopTextStartCopTextStartCopTextCopyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disruption and reconstruction: narrative insights into the experience of family members caring for a relative diagnosed with serious mental illness.

The findings of a study investigating carers' accounts about serious mental illness occurring in their family are presented. The narrative form is a primary means of ordering, structuring, and communicating illness experiences, reflecting some of the processes that carers intend to master and understand. Psychotic episodes entail a frightening disruption that forces carers to face fundamental existential, moral, and psychological issues because they call into question the continuity of lives and life-projects. This study has explored how carers articulate the consequences of a devastating experience and turn it into a meaningful event that can in some way be incorporated into the course of their life. Two types of narrative structure were identified. In stories of restitution or reparation, the experience of the event is transformed into phenomena having meaning, occupying a place in carers' lives. In chaotic and frozen narratives, the illness remains a series of random events. The effects on coping of these two narrative types were explored, as well as gender-related themes and beliefs about mastery and control. Therapeutic implications are discussed and also possible connections to other research constructs (for example, Expressed Emotion). It is argued that the concept of illness must be approached from a systemic, multidetermined perspective that includes our narrative constructions.     

Enhancing Family Resilience Through Family Narrative Co-construction

We draw upon family resilience and narrative theory to describe an evidence-based method for intervening with military families who are impacted by multiple wartime deployments and psychological, stress-related, or physical parental injuries. Conceptual models of familial resilience provide a guide for understanding the mechanics of how families respond and recover from exposure to extreme events, and underscore the role of specific family processes and interaction patterns in promoting resilient capabilities. Leading family theorists propose that the family’s ability to make meaning of stressful and traumatic events and nurture protective beliefs are critical aspects of resilient adaptation. We first review general theoretical and empirical research contributions to understanding family resilience, giving special attention to the circumstances, challenges, needs, and strengths of American military families. Therapeutic narrative studies illustrate the processes through which family members acquire meaning-making capacities, and point to the essential role of parents’ in facilitating discussions of stressful experiences and co-constructing coherent and meaningful narratives. This helps children to make sense of these experiences and develop capacities for emotion regulation and coping. Family-based narrative approaches provide a structured opportunity to elicit parents’ and children’s individual narratives, assemble divergent storylines into a shared family narrative, and thereby enhance members’ capacity to make meaning of stressful experiences and adopt beliefs that support adaptation and growth. We discuss how family narratives can help to bridge intra-familial estrangements and re-engage communication and support processes that have been undermined by stress, trauma, or loss. We conclude by describing a family-based narrative intervention currently in use with thousands of military children and families across the USA.     

Validation of the Narrative Emplotment Scale and its correlations with well‐being and psychological adjustment

Two studies examined correlates of the Narrative Emplotment Scale (NES), which measures the extent to which individuals perceive chance events and unchosen experiences as meaningfully connected. In Study 1 (N=99), the NES demonstrated adequate test–retest stability and good internal reliability. The scale was positively related to paranormal beliefs, mystical experiences, and absorption. In Study 2 (N=342), personality measures indicative of external locus of control, intrinsic religiosity, well‐being, satisfaction with life, and a measure of frequency of coincidence experience were all positively correlated with narrative emplotment, providing further support for the construct validity of the scale. In terms of the question of whether meaning making is predictive of better or worse psychological adjustment, analyses indicated that the relationship between narrative emplotment and psychological adjustment was moderated by individual differences in coping strategies. Path analysis indicated that emplotment was a mediator of the pathway between religiosity and well‐being. Emplotment had a negative effect on well‐being through chance locus of control. These analyses suggest that this type of meaning‐making is an important variable for understanding religious/spiritual beliefs and their influence on psychological adjustment.     

Rumination and self-reflection in stress narratives and relations to psychological functioning

The longitudinal study aims to expand what is known about the costs and benefits of narrating stressful experiences by exploring changes in rumination within the narrative process and comparing it to changes in self-reflection. Rumination (e.g., brooding, self-criticism, and negative emotions) and self-reflection were measured in stress narratives of 56 college students. There were several goals: (1) examine changes in narrative rumination and narrative self-reflection over 3 days of writing, (2) examine the relations among the changes in narrative rumination variables and narrative self-reflection and (3) examine how changes in narrative rumination and narrative self-reflection relate to multiple measures of psychological functioning. Overall, individuals increased self-reflection over the 3-day writing task. Individuals who increased ruminative brooding across the 3 days of writing showed lower ego identity development (short term and long term) and self-esteem (short term), while increased self-criticism was positively correlated with identity distress (short term). Implications of the different aspects of narrative rumination, specifically in the context of stressful experiences, are discussed.     

When Narrative Transportation Narrows Attention: Changes in Attentional Focus During Suspenseful Film Viewing

The construct of narrative transportation captures the psychological processes that occur when people experience an engaging narrative. Attention is an essential component of this construct: People often report feeling that they have focused attention into a narrative world, and disengaged attention from the physical environment. The goal of our research was to test if people’s attention is captured in a dynamic fashion over the course of narrative experiences. To achieve this goal, we used excerpts from narrative films. One way in which filmmakers command viewers’ attention is by generating suspense, which arises when viewers confront potential negative outcomes. In our experiments, we tested the hypothesis that hot spots, moments at which potential negative outcomes are emphasized, will narrow the viewer’s attentional focus compared to cold spots, moments that do not emphasize negative outcomes. We measured attentional tuning through latencies in reaction time to audio probes as participants viewed suspenseful film excerpts. We also administered post-viewing recognition memory tests for still images taken from hot and cold spots. Across three experiments, participants missed more probes and exhibited slower reaction times during suspenseful hot spots than cold spots. These findings provide evidence for changes in attentional tuning as people view film narratives.     

The Revision and Expansion of Self‐Theory through Preparedness

The present paper examines the psychological pathways by which accumulating experiences of possible self‐revision ultimately lead to revision of the core selves that define a broader personal narrative. In so doing, we expand the notion of naïve ‘self‐theories’ by identifying self‐serving attributions and possible selves as critical components that extend or undermine the core self‐theories of a unique personal narrative written (and revised) over a lifetime. Ultimately, we advance preparedness as the motivational force that drives the road from possible to core self‐revision over time.     

Coronavirus: does its activation of archetypes of evil cause added psychological suffering?

Fear and grief caused by the pandemic have produced a powerful unconscious narrative in the collective psyche that the coronavirus is driven by an innately evil, and possibly divine, force. The resulting archetypal dimension of fear causes an extra layer of psychological suffering in individuals. This paper discusses how and why this narrative was created and why it is so compelling by looking at 1) the myth-making nature of the human psyche, 2) the psychodynamics of fear that drive the narrative, 3) the properties of the coronavirus and the pandemic that activate negative poles of some archetypes, in particular, archetypes of evil, and 4) asking how analytical psychology can help ease psychological suffering caused by these negative narratives, where one possibility is to invoke the transcendent function. The author’s personal experiences as both biochemist and analytical psychologist elucidate how the transcendent function can promote healing.     

心理学中话语分析的立场与方法

研究区分了两种不同的“话语”定义,它们各自引申出一类“话语分析”。最为常见的是话语的描述性定义——“话语是建构某个对象的意义、表征或陈述系统”;另一种是功能性定义——“话语即做事”;“话语即行动”;“话语即实践”。话语分析在心理学中首先是一种研究立场,其次是一类研究方法。作为研究立场,话语分析悬置了心理、人格等传统心理学构念;解构了实证研究的客观性原则;重新调整了心理学的研究目标。作为研究方法,心理学中的话语分析有修辞研究、隐喻研究、叙事研究等多种形式     

Autobiographical memory for shame or guilt provoking events: Association with psychological symptoms

The diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specify that a qualifying traumatic stressor must incite extreme peritraumatic fear, horror, or helplessness. However, research suggests that events inciting guilt or shame may be associated with PTSD. We devised a web-based survey in which non-clinical participants identified an event associated with shame or guilt and completed questionnaire measures of shame, guilt, PTSD, and depression. In addition, we assessed characteristics of memory for the event, including visual perspective and the centrality of the memory to the participant’s autobiographical narrative (CES). Shame predicted depression and PTSD symptoms. There was no association between guilt and psychological symptoms after controlling statistically for the effects of shame. CES predicted the severity of depression and PTSD symptoms. In addition, CES mediated the moderating effect of visual perspective on the relationship between emotional intensity and PTSD symptoms. Our results suggest shame is capable of eliciting the intrusive and distressing memories characteristic of PTSD. Furthermore, our results suggest aversive emotional events are associated with psychological distress when memory for those events becomes central to one’s identity and autobiographical narrative.     

Processes of appraisal and coping in the development and maintenance of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

This article examines the role of appraisal and coping strategies in relation to women's subjective negotiation of premenstrual changes, drawing on a series of narrative interviews conducted with women who met diagnostic criteria for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). The major themes that emerged from the interviews were: the PMDD sufferer as split; over‐responsibility is linked to PMDD; PMDD = lack of control; methods of coping; attributions for symptoms; and PMDD as a relational issue. This article draws on each of these narrative themes, in order to illustrate three interrelated psychological processes of appraisal and coping central to the development and maintenance of ‘PMDD’ or ‘PMS’ (Premenstrual Syndrome). The first process is awareness of changes in psychological or physical experiences, ability to cope, or reactivity to others, premenstrually. The second process involves expectations and perceptions of premenstrual changes. The third is women's response and ways of coping. This study thus stands in contrast to research positioned within a positivist epistemological framework, where PMDD is viewed as a fixed entity; and women's subjective experience of premenstrual changes, is marginalized or negated. It is argued that premenstrual changes evolve in the context of an ongoing interaction between internal experiences, perceptions, reactions, relationships, and cultural expectations, that differ between women, across menstrual cycles, and can shift within a specific cycle: described as a material‐discursive‐intrapsychic interaction. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulatory Fit,Processing Fluency,and Narrative Persuasion

For millennia, people have used narratives to inform and persuade. However, little social psychological research addresses how and when narrative persuasion occurs, perhaps because narratives are complex stimuli that are difficult to vary without significantly changing the plot or characters. Existing research suggests that regulatory fit and/or processing fluency can be varied easily and in ways completely exterior to narrative content but that nonetheless affect how much narratives engage, transport, and persuade. We review research on narrative transportation and persuasion and then discuss regulatory fit and its relationship to processing fluency. Afterward, we discuss how regulatory fit and processing fluency may affect psychological engagement, transportation, and persuasion via narratives.     

The Political Is Personal: Narrating 9/11 and Psychological Well-Being

ABSTRACT Making meaning out of negative experiences is one of the primary psychological challenges in the wake of adversity. Much of the empirical attention that psychologists have paid to meaning making has focused on personal hardships, but national tragedies similarly pose a challenge to meaning making. In the present study, which is grounded in the theoretical tradition of the narrative study of lives, a nationally representative sample of 395 adults wrote accounts about the 9/11 terrorist attacks approximately 2 months after 9/11. Accounts were coded for 3 narrative themes: closure, redemption, and contamination. Psychological well-being was significantly related to accounts that were high in closure and national redemption and, among those more directly exposed to the attacks, accounts high in redemptive imagery. Psychological distress was significantly related to accounts that were low in closure and high in themes of personal contamination. Understanding the narrative styles that characterize personal accounts of political events has important ramifications for the study of the socially embedded individual.