Making sense of traumatic memories: Memory qualities and psychological symptoms in emerging adults with and without abuse histories

Abstract

This study explored the connections between multiple measures of meaning making and psychological adjustment in people with and without histories of abuse. Young adults (n =177), recollected their three most stressful memories and rated them on importance and emotional and sensory qualities. We analysed the narratives for lexical markers of meaning making and explicit references to meaning or meaning-making attempts. There was little overlap between self-reported qualities and narrative content, and they were differentially predictive of psychological symptoms and transient emotional reactions. Consistent with the PTSD literature, more salient self-report memory characteristics (e.g., visceral emotions), and negative emotion and sensation terms predicted more symptoms. The narrative indices provided the best prediction to psychological adjustment, with several meaning indices (e.g., references to positive impact) predicting reduced symptoms, particularly for the Abuse group. Contrary to meaning-making models, resolutions predicted more symptoms, suggesting that aversive feelings during memory telling may trigger on-the-spot sense making to cope with distress.

“From that Moment on My Life Changed”: Turning Points in the Healing Process for Men Recovering from Child Sexual Abuse

“…helped men make sense of their trauma. This finding is consistent with other research on men's experiences of healing from child maltreatment (including CSA) and the importance of meaning-making in the recovery process (Draucker et al, 2011;Easton et al, 2013;Easton, 2013Greenhoot, Sun, Bunnell, & Lindboe, 2013;Grossman, Sorsoli, & KiaKeating, 2006;Harvey et al, 2000;Willis et al, 2015). Furthermore, our findings underscore the importance of helping male survivors understand child abuse as the fault of the perpetrators (and not themselves).…”

The retrieval of self-defining memories is associated with the activation of specific working selves

“…It elicits emotional responses and affects mood (Beike & Wirth-Beaumont, 2005;Boals, Hathaway, & Rubin, 2011;Gillihan, Kessler, & Farah, 2007;Greenhoot, Sun, Bunnell, & Lindboe, 2013;Josephson, Singer, & Salovey, 1996;Lardi, D'Argembeau, Chanal, Ghisletta, & Van der Linden, 2010;Philippe, Koestner, Lecours, Beaulieu-Pelletier, & Bois, 2011;Philippot, Schaefer, & Herbette, 2003;Schaefer & Philippot, 2005). These emotional responses may be related to the link between memories and self-goals.…”

Participant, rater, and computer measures of coherence in posttraumatic stress disorder.

“…The NaCCs has been used to assess the development of these three components of narrative coherence across the lifespan for autobiographical memories (Chen, McNally, Wang, & Reese, 2012; Larkina & Bauer, 2012; Reese et al, 2011) and laboratory events (Bauer et al, 2012). Relevant to the current study, the NaCCs has also been used to quantify coherence in intensely positive and negative narratives in healthy undergraduates (Waters, Bohanek, Marin, & Fivush, 2013) and in narratives of stressful events in participants with and without a history of abuse (Greenhoot, Sun, Bunnel, & Lindboe, 2013). This rating scheme moves beyond components at the word or sentence level, and instead examines the coherence of the entire narrative.…”