Unfolding narrative meaning over time: The contributions of mother–daughter conversations of difficulty on daughter narrative sense-making and well-being

Recent narrative theorizing suggests that humans process their difficult experiences by not only creating stories—called individual narrative sense-making (NSM)—but also by telling those stories with others—called communicated narrative sense-making (CNSM). The present study investigated the relationship between individual and communicated NSM to understand the effects of interpersonal communication on intrapersonal meaning-making and well-being. In this longitudinal, laboratory-based study, 62 mother–daughter pairs wrote and discussed stories of daughters’ difficulty. Findings revealed that CNSM—particularly turn-taking, coherence, and daughters’ perspective-taking—predicted increased positivity in daughters’ stories over time, suggesting that CNSM contributes to “re-authoring” of individual stories. Limited effects emerged for CNSM and well-being. Findings expanded knowledge about the interconnections between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication, and well-being.     

Reducing political polarization through narrative writing

ABSTRACT

This study proposes two complementary writing activities designed to reduce affective polarization and malevolent outgroup attributions. The strategies draw on narrative theorizing and intergroup contact theory. Our intervention is low cost and can be effectively administrated in educational settings to combat the deleterious effects of political polarization. In this four-group between-subjects randomized experiment (n?=?179), we found that a first-person perspective taking narrative writing exercise and a common ingroup cooperative narrative writing exercise both reduced political polarization and, thereby, reduced malevolent outgroup attributions. Our results revealed that both activities improved affect toward and perceived similarity with a noxious member of the political outgroup and, as a result, reduced affective political polarization. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of our findings and encourage educators to adopt activities modeled after our interventions in their classrooms.     

Expanding the conceptual and empirical boundaries of family communication patterns: The development and validation of an Expanded Conformity Orientation Scale

Family communication patterns theory (FCPT) explores how family members communicate to create a shared social reality via conversation and conformity orientations. Recently, scholars have noted that the current conceptualization and operationalization of conformity orientation is unnecessarily narrow in scope by representing conformity as controlling and repressive, rather than as cultivating homogenous attitudes, beliefs, and values among family members. To address these concerns, we tested the factor structure of the most common measure in FCPT research, the Revised Family Communication Patterns scale (Study One). Based on theoretical and methodological concerns that emerged from Study One, we then created and validated a new scale in Study Two – the Expanded Conformity Orientation Scale (ECOS). Findings from Study Two demonstrated concurrent and discriminant validity. Implications for the use of the ECOS in future studies are discussed.     

The Communication Privacy Management of Adopted Individuals in Their Social Networks: Disclosure Decisions in Light of the Discourse of Biological Normativity

Although adoptees are often stigmatized for their nonnormative identity, adopted individuals must communicate with nonfamily members to integrate their adoptive identity into their definition of self. In the current study, adult adoptees (n = 25) were interviewed about their processes for disclosing their adoptive status in their social networks. Drawing upon communication privacy management (CPM) theory, inductive analyses demonstrated that adoptees created motivational and contextual criteria to enact privacy rules surrounding adoption. Adoptees maintained privacy to avoid messages of “difference,” insensitive comments, imperviousness, and negative opinions about adoption. Adoptees disclosed about their adoption to build relational closeness and to educate/advocate for adoption. These privacy decisions were undergirded by the societal assumption that families are biologically linked or the discourse of biological normativity (Suter et al., 2014).     

Communicated Meaning-Making in Foster Families: Relationships Between Foster Parents’ Entrance Narratives and Foster Child Well-Being

Guided by narrative theorizing, the present study analyzed the ways foster parents create and tell foster entrance narratives (FENs) to their foster child. Thematic and content analyses of 101 foster parents’ FENs illuminated nine emergent themes—birth parent consequences, deep connection, special, untold, birth parent learning, temporary, pragmatic, forever, and better off. Structural equation modeling revealed significant relationships between FEN themes and foster parents’ perceptions of foster child adjustment and foster parent–child relational closeness. Findings demonstrate the way foster parents narratively manage birth parent identity, how FENs clarify family boundaries, and the impact of (not) telling FENs on relationships outside the family.