Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Geoffrey Nelson

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

One way to understand well-being is through the examination of narrative turning point stories, which are stories about an event or episode that represents an important change in one’s life. To better understand what contributes to the well-being of young adults, this study examined predictors in adolescence of dimensions of turning point stories in young adulthood. Standardized measures of youth’s prosocial behaviour, hyperactivity, selfesteem, family functioning and sense of community in Grade 9 were used to predict the following narrative dimensions of Grade 12 youths’ (n=96) turning point stories: affect transformation, specificity, ending resolution, personal growth, meaning-making and coherence. Results indicated that measures of adolescents’ prosocial behaviour, hyperactivity, self-esteem, and family functioning were significantly correlated with various young adult turning point story dimensions. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses indicated that prosocial behaviour and family functioning were the most significant predictors of young adult turning point story dimensions. Prosocial behaviour was positively correlated with affect transformation, meaning making, coherence, specificity, and ending resolution and family functioning was positively correlated with the dimensions of affect transformation and meaning making. The underlying mechanisms influencing how stories are narrated were also explored. Qualitative analysis of these data showed that generativity, family support and community engagement were important factors facilitating affect transformation in Grade 12 youths’ turning point stories. The findings suggest that personal, family and community factors influence how youth narrate important stories about turning points in their lives when they are older. The implications of these findings for primary prevention programs for youth are discussed.

Convocation Year

2010

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Psychology Commons

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