The Family Narratives Project

In the Family Narratives Project, we are examining patterns of family ritual and story telling that may help adolescent children as they begin their journey into adulthood. We focus on narratives because narratives are the way in which we make sense of our experiences. Narratives move beyond the simple description of experienced events to provide explanatory frameworks and emotional evaluation of what these events mean to the individual. More specifically, narratives allow us to create a shared reality. Through telling the stories of our lives, we are telling who we are and we are sharing our view of the world. We do not simply tell what happened; we explain how and why these events occurred, how we thought and felt about them and what they mean to us. It is through this discussion of emotion and evaluation that narratives take on a self-defining function. Who we are is largely defined by what we have experienced and how we have come to understand those experiences.

In this ongoing research project, we are examining multiple aspects of family interaction with a focus on family narratives. Our goal is to examine the kinds of narratives that families tell, and especially to examine the way in which families engage in narrative interactions. How are the stories jointly constructed by each family member? Who initiates these conversations and what are they about? And when talking about stressful experiences, how are emotions discussed and how does this relate to adolescent well-being?

Thus far, our research has found that family narratives are a frequent and integral part of family interaction. For example, we have examined the kinds of narratives families tell around the dinner table. Over dinner, families share the stories of their day and the stories of their past. Moreover, families are engaged in this activity, with multiple family members participating in the telling of any given story, even when it is about a single individual. The patterns also suggest that adolescents are learning important skills and developing a sense of self and identity both as an individual and as a family member by participating in these narratives.

 

Importantly, families that tell stories of their shared past around the dinner table are helping their adolescents to create healthy identities. Families that tell more shared narratives of their past have adolescents with higher self-esteem and a higher sense of self-efficacy, the idea that one is an active agent in the world. Adolescents in these families also show fewer behavior problems, including fewer internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety and fewer externalizing problems such as aggressions and delinquency. Clearly, family stories about the shared past is a positive factor in adolescent's developing identity.

In addition, the way in which emotion is discussed is critical. Narratives provide explanations and emotional evaluations for the events of our lives. Families that are able to talk more openly about emotion, especially negative emotion, facilitate well-being in their children. More specifically, we are finding that families that talk about feelings of sadness and anger, are able to express these emotions, and, importantly, to explain how and why these emotions arose and how they can be resolved, have adolescents with higher self-esteem, higher self-worth and a higher sense of social competency. What is important to stress here is that it is not just the expression of emotion that is important - simply expressing emotion in the absence of explanation and resolution can even be harmful. What is critical is that children are learning that their emotions are valid aspects of their experiences; they learn to understand how they experience specific emotions, as well as how others experience these emotions, and they learn how to resolve negative affect resulting from the unfortunate events that befall us all.

For more information, see our recent publications:

Fivush, R., Bohanek, J., Robertson, R., & Duke, M. (2004). Family narratives and the development of children's well-being. In M.W. Pratt & B.E. Fiese (Eds.). Family stories and the Lifecourse: Across Time and Generations (pp. 55-76). New York: Routledge.