Gendered Reminiscence Practices and Self-Definition in Late Adolescence

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in the emotional construction of life-threatening events (LTEs) that were chosen as self-defining by late adolescents. European American college students (41 women, 25 men) whose average age was 19 were selected from a larger sample (n = 139) because they reported at least 1 LTE among 3 self-defining memories. Memory narratives were elicited with a questionnaire (Singer & Moffitt, 1991–1992) and coded for emotional position. As expected, tough, action-packed positions were more prevalent in men's narratives, and compassionate positions were more prevalent in women's narratives. Unexpectedly, narratives that emphasized one's own vulnerability (fear or sadness) were equally prevalent for men and women, and women's emotional discourse was more conditional upon type of event, i.e., deaths vs. assaults. Findings provide the most explicit evidence to date that some gendered reminiscence practices found in prior studies of children are reflected in late adolescents' self-defining reminiscences. Implications are also discussed for a more situated understanding of gendered reminiscence pratices and for theories of identity development.     

Why recall our highs and lows: relations between memory functions, age, and well-being

This study examined whether positive and negative memories (life story high and low points) were differentially used for reminiscence functions concerning self and social aspects of reminiscing, and relations between function use and well-being in two age groups. Life story high and low points were collected from a sample of emerging (n =56) and older (n =55) adults, as well as a measure of the use of these memories for the self-functions of death preparation, identity, and problem solving, and the social functions of conversation and teach/inform, and a measure of psychological well-being. Memories were also coded for whether or not they contained a redemptive narrative structure (from emotionally negative to emotionally positive). Results showed that the endorsement of reminiscence functions did differ by memory type, with high points more often endorsed for the functions of identity, teach/inform, and conversation than low points. These main effects were qualified by memory type x age interactions. The use of these functions for each kind of memory was also related to well-being, but differentially for older and younger people, and redemptive sequencing was especially important to the well-being of the younger group. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of different emotional memories for self and well-being at different points in the lifespan.