Life's little (and big) lessons: Identity statuses and meaning-making in the turning point narratives of emerging adults.
Abstract
A longitudinal study examined relations between 2 approaches to identity development: the identity status model and the narrative life story model. Turning point narratives were collected from emerging adults at age 23 years. Identity statuses were collected at several points across adolescence and emerging adulthood, as were measures of generativity and optimism. Narratives were coded for the sophistication of meaning-making reported, the event type in the narrative, and the emotional tone of the narrative. Meaning-making was defined as connecting the turning point to some aspect of or understanding of oneself. Results showed that less sophisticated meaning was associated particularly with the less advanced diffusion and foreclosure statuses, and that more sophisticated meaning was associated with an overall identity maturity index. Meaning was also positively associated with generativity and optimism at age 23, with stories focused on mortality experiences, and with a redemptive story sequence. Meaning was negatively associated with achievement stories. Results are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in the 2 approaches to identity development and the elaboration of meaning-making as an important component of narrative identity.
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The three dimensions relate differently to psychological outcomes: motivational/affective themes link to well-being, and autobiographical reasoning links to generativity, wisdom, and ego integrity.
“The three dimensions differentially relate to important psychological outcomes, with motivational and affective themes linked to well-being (Adler et al., 2016; McLean et al., 2020), and autobiographical reasoning linked to developmental processes such as generativity, wisdom, and ego integrity (Adler et al., 2016; McLean & Pratt, 2006; Pals, 2006).”
From Narrative identity in the psychosis spectrum: A systematic review and developmental model (2021) · cites this paper as McLean & Pratt, 2006
Young adults who used more elaborated and sophisticated forms of meaning-making in narrating turning points tended to score higher on an overall identity maturity index.
“In another study linking development to narrative processing, McLean and Pratt (2006) found that young adults who used more elaborated and sophisticated forms of meaning-making in narrating turning points in their lives tended also to score higher on an overall identity maturity index.”
From The Problem of Meaning in Personality Psychology from the Standpoints of Dispositional Traits, Characteristic Adaptations, and Life Stories (2010) · cites this paper as McLean and Pratt, 2006
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“While characteristics of narratives are important to meaning, individual differences in personality may also be associated with the kinds of narratives one constructs (e.g., McAdams et al., 2004; Pals, in press).”
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- Authors
- McLean, K. C., & Pratt, M. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Wilfrid Laurier University (CA)
- ORCID
- McLean, Kate C.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 714-722
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2108297983
- Cited by
- 610
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 20.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Ego Development and Educational Practices
- Keywords
- identity status, identity construction, meaning-making, emerging adults, narrative identity, generativity, optimism, diffusion, foreclosure, mortality experience, redemptive narratives, life stories
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Awareness, Concept Formation, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Identity Crisis, Individuation, Internal-External Control, Life Change Events, Male, Motivation, Personality Development, Surveys and Questionnaires, Mental Recall, Self Concept, Personal Construct Theory
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