Redemption in a single low point story longitudinally predicts well-being: The incremental validity of life story elements

Advancing a Three-Tier Personality Framework for Posttraumatic Growth

Adversity has been assumed to foster positive personality change under certain conditions. In this article, we examine this assumption within the context of the three-tier personality framework integrating traits, characteristic adaptations, and narrative identity to provide a comprehensive understanding of personality growth. We first review findings on how adverse events affect personality on each of these three levels. Second, we summarize knowledge on event-based and person-based predictors of personality change in the face of adversity. Third, we specify affective, behavioral, and cognitive processes that explain personality change across levels of personality. Innovatively, our proposed process model addresses change at all three levels of personality, as well as similarities and differences in processes across the levels. We conclude by discussing unresolved issues, asking critical questions, and posing challenging hypotheses for testing this framework.

Remembering the Positive and Negative: Affective Themes as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being Across Adulthood

The current study explored the link between psychological well-being (PWB; self-acceptance, personal growth, and purpose in life) and affective themes, including redemption (positive endings for negative events), contamination (negative endings for positive events), and positive and negative affect (no change in affect) in the life stories of Caribbean adults ranging in age from 19 to 78 (N = 105). How often the memory narrative was rehearsed, and whether or not the theme emerged after being cued in content-coded life story low, high, and turning point scenes were also considered. Affective theme alone did not predict PWB; however, when considering age, rehearsal, and cue, redemption and positive affect predicted personal growth. More work should cue meaning-making in specific ways for different age groups in order to understand why there were no associations for middle-aged adults. Efforts should also be made to understand cross-cultural differences in life stories and PWB.

Revisiting Redemption: A Life Span Developmental Account of the Functions of Narrative Redemption

We propose an interdisciplinary developmental model of narrative redemption. Although redemption is one of the most thoroughly studied constructs in the narrative identity literature, research to date has not sufficiently addressed the qualitative structures of redemption, which in turn has led to a lack of attention to the developmental functions that redemption serves in different periods of the life span. Based on a review of existing perspectives on redemption across a variety of disciplines, we propose 2 forms of redemption – return and emergent – that correspond to the dual functions of the life story – stability and change. These forms of redemption also interact with the thematic focus of the narrative, which constitutes the second component of our model. Namely, narratives may emphasize either situation themes or identity themes. We use this revised conceptualization of the structures of redemption to explore the developmental functions of redemption, both theoretically and through narrative examples. We conclude that redemption is an autobiographical tool that can be adapted for different psychosocial functions across the life span.

The redemption and contamination research form: exploring relations with narrative identity, personality traits, response styles, and life satisfaction

Narrative identity is typically assessed by collecting participants' autobiographical scenes and then coding these stories for themes including redemption (negative beginning, positive ending) and contamination (positive beginning, negative ending). Complimenting this approach, we introduce a self-report measure capturing the degree to which individuals explicitly view their lives and social worlds in redemptive and contaminated ways - the Redemption and Contamination Research Form (RCRF). In Studies 1 and 2, participants completed the RCRF and a measure of life satisfaction. In Study 2, participants also provided three autobiographical scenes, later coded for redemption and contamination. Across studies, our novel self-rated redemptive mindset variable corresponded positively with life satisfaction and, in Study 2, the redemption present in scenes. Relations remained significant after considering several covariates (e.g., traits, response styles). These results, which illustrate the utility of self-rated redemptive mindsets, carry implications for the multi-method assessment of constructs indigenous to narrative identity.