Levels of Narrative Analysis in Health Psychology

TLDR

Narrative research has expanded rapidly over the past decade, yet its meaning is often assumed constant across contexts. The article examines how health and illness narratives vary across personal, interpersonal, positional, and societal levels and seeks to link these levels to foster emancipatory narratives. Narratives are analyzed at four levels: personal (expressions of lived experience), interpersonal (co‑created in dialogue), positional (reflecting social position differences), and societal (shared stories characteristic of communities). The study highlights the need to connect these levels and devise strategies that promote emancipatory narratives.

Abstract

The past 10-15 years have seen a rapid increase in the study of narrative across all the social sciences. It is sometimes assumed that narrative has the same meaning irrespective of the context in which it is expressed. This article considers different levels of narrative analysis within health psychology. Specifically, it considers the character of health and illness narratives as a function of the personal, interpersonal, positional and societal levels of analysis. At the personal level of analysis narratives are portrayed as expressions of the lived experience of the narrator. At the interpersonal level of analysis the narrative is one that is co-created in dialogue. At the positional level of analysis the analysis considers the differences in social position between the narrator and the listener. The societal level of analysis is concerned with the socially shared stories that are characteristic of certain communities or societies. The challenge is to articulate the connections between these different levels of narrative analysis and to develop strategies to promote emancipatory narratives.