Coherence of Personal Narratives Across the Lifespan: A Multidimensional Model and Coding Method

TLDR

Personal narratives are integral to autobiographical memory and identity, and coherent narratives are linked to positive developmental outcomes across the lifespan. The article reviews theoretical and empirical literature to introduce a new lifespan model of personal narrative coherence. The model integrates context, chronology, and theme as dimensions of coherence, and a Narrative Coherence Coding Scheme (NaCCS) was derived to operationalize these dimensions. The approach was applied to 498 narratives from ages 3 to adulthood, demonstrating its utility and highlighting its potential to guide future research on developmental foundations and benefits of narrative coherence.

Abstract

Personal narratives are integral to autobiographical memory and to identity, with coherent personal narratives being linked to positive developmental outcomes across the lifespan. In this article, we review the theoretical and empirical literature that sets the stage for a new lifespan model of personal narrative coherence. This new model integrates context, chronology, and theme as essential dimensions of personal narrative coherence, each of which relies upon different developmental achievements and has a different developmental trajectory across the lifespan. A multidimensional method of coding narrative coherence (the Narrative Coherence Coding Scheme or NaCCS) was derived from the model and is described here. The utility of this approach is demonstrated by its application to 498 narratives that were collected in six laboratories from participants ranging in age from 3 years to adulthood. The value of the model is illustrated further by a discussion of its potential to guide future research on the developmental foundations of narrative coherence and on the benefits of personal narrative coherence for different aspects of psychological functioning.