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Date Permissions Signed

6-12-2012

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

McLean, Kate C.

Second Advisor

Schudlich, Tina Dawn Du Rocher

Third Advisor

Goodvin, Rebecca

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the family narratives of emerging adults. While previous studies have found that interpretative narrative content in adolescents' family narratives is related to identity development, this relation has not been explored in emerging adulthood. One hundred and fifty-eight university students, most in their first year, were asked to provide written narratives of times for the family that were happy, difficult, or transitional, as well as a narrative about themselves commonly told by the family. I examined the relationship between interpretive processing and identity within and across these narrative types, controlling for family dysfunction and factual content, as well as examining moderation by gender and family dysfunction. Results showed that interpretive processing is uniquely important for the identity development of males, and post-hoc analyses revealed that this might be in part due to romantic relationship status. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of examining narrative prompts separately and the developmental implications of the unique relationship for young men as well as exploring the concept of a master family narrative within individual families and American culture.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/qfjh-mn81

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

797971441

Subject – LCSH

Young adults--Psychological aspects; Young adults--Family relationships; Identity (Psychology); Gender identity; Families

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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