Self-Event Connections in Life Stories, Self-Concept Clarity, and Dissociation: Examining Their Relations with Symptoms of Psychopathology

2017/10/09 by Tine Holm, Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen · 42 citations
Psychology · #CLARITY #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Clinical psychology #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Coping (psychology) #Developmental psychology #Dissociation (chemistry) #Identity, Memory, and Therapy #Narrative #Psychology #Psychopathology #Self #Self-concept #Social psychology

paper · open access · doi:10.1177/0276236617733839

published in Imagination Cognition and Personality 37(3), 293-317 (SAGE Publishing)

crossref issued 2017/10/09 · crossref published 2017/10/09 · crossref published-online 2017/10/09 · openalex publication_date 2017/10/09 · crossref created 2017/10/09 · crossref published-print 2018/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/29 · crossref indexed 2026/08/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Constructing a coherent life story through the formation of self-event connections may help maintain unity in the self. We examined how positive and negative self-event connections were related to symptoms of psychopathology when controlling for two other measures of self-unity: self-concept clarity and dissociation. While most studies of life stories use content coding, we used a self-report method and hence provide a rationale for this method. One hundred five young adults identified life story chapters and rated them on self-event connections, including questions of positive or negative self-change and self-stability connections. They also completed scales measuring self-concept clarity, dissociation, and symptoms. Higher ratings of positive and lower ratings of negative self-event connections in life stories were related to fewer symptoms of psychopathology. Positive self-change was related to fewer symptoms when controlling for self-concept clarity and dissociation. The results suggest that positive and negative self-event connections are differentially related to symptoms of psychopathology. In addition, the results indicate that self-report measures of life stories may be a useful supplement to coding of narratives.

Citations

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