An Investigation of the Coherence of Oral Narratives: Associations With Mental Health, Social Support and the Coherence of Written Narratives

Abstract

Research QuestionsIn a first research question, we examined whether the relations that are generally observed between the coherence of written autobiographical narratives and outcomes of mental health and social support, can be replicated for the coherence of oral narratives. Second, we studied whether the coherence of oral narratives is related to the coherence of written narratives.MethodsPearson correlations and t-tests were calculated on data of two separate studies to examine the research questions.ResultsFirst, only thematic coherence of oral narratives was significantly, although moderately, negatively associated to symptoms of depression, anxiety and negative social interactions. Second, the coherence of oral narratives was higher than the coherence of written narratives. Only the thematic coherence of oral narratives was positively associated with thematic and total coherence of written narratives. Furthermore, correlations between written and oral narratives were stronger for negative narratives as compared to positive narratives.DiscussionThe ability to elaborate emotionally and make meaning out of important life events in oral narratives is, to a certain extent, related to better mental health and more social support. Furthermore, thematic coherence may be a relatively stable feature of individuals’ narrative styles that is reflected in narratives of different modalities. Nonetheless, these topics need to be further researched to overcome present limitations.

Narrative identity informs psychological adjustment: Considering three themes captured across five time points and two event valences

“…Coherence was also routinely correlated with adjustment measures. Narrative coherence in the presentation of uplifting, HP events and coherence in the presentation of challenging, LP events was associated with greater well‐being across time points, in line with broader research on both coherence (Vanaken et al., 2021; Waters & Fivush, 2015) and narrative identity (Graci et al., 2018; McLean et al., 2020).…”

“…More specifically, structural coherence measures the extent to which the narrative orients in time and place presents a chronologically clear unfolding of events and provides structural connections through causal and thematic links throughout the narrative. We note that other forms of coherence have been theorized, including emotional coherence and textual complexity (e.g., Adler et al., 2018; see Reese et al., 2011, for a review), but there is emerging evidence that structural coherence as defined here is a critical index for well‐being (Vanaken et al., 2021). Motivation is most often defined in the narrative identity literature as agency and communion (Frimer et al., 2011; McAdams et al., 1996), but we chose to examine only agency, as this is the narrative dimension that has been most related to well‐being in previous research (e.g., Adler, 2012).…”

Early Impacts of College, Interrupted: Considering First-Year Students’ Narratives About COVID and Reports of Adjustment During College Shutdowns

“…Narrative structure reflects the very foundations of storytelling (see Fivush et al, 2017), so coherence may be a foundational narrative skill that varies individually but is not disrupted by specific stressful events. In support of this interpretation, individual differences in narrative structure assessed 2 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic continued to predict young adults' coherence in narratives about COVID (Vanaken, Bijttebier, & Hermans, 2021). Although coherence may be quite consistent across individuals' narration of different experiences, it is inconsistently related to outcome.…”

Reduced calibration between subjective and objective measures of episodic future thinking in alcohol use disorder

“…It should also be noted that, unlike other studies about EFT in AUD (e.g., Athamneh et al, 2021; Voss et al, 2021), we asked participants to describe imagined future events orally rather than in written format. The extent to which the mode of production of autobiographical narratives influences their characteristics remains unclear, with mixed evidence regarding similarities and differences between oral and written narratives (Lyubomirsky et al, 2006; Vanaken et al, 2021). Nevertheless, it would be interesting in future studies to investigate whether the present results can be replicated when future events are described in written narratives.…”