Variation in caregivers' references to their toddlers: Child-directed speech in Vanuatu and Canada.

The authors examined similarities and differences in Canadian and ni-Vanuatu caregivers' child-directed speech to their toddlers (N = 35, Mage : 21 months, 20 girls). Speech samples were collected (2013-2016) during free play and analyzed with a focus on describing parents' references to their toddlers. Canadian caregivers referred significantly more to toddlers' tangible characteristics (relative risk, RR = 2.12) and internal states (RR = 2.31), whereas ni-Vanuatu caregivers referred more to actions (RR = 2.04). When referring to internal states, Canadian mothers referred significantly more to mind-minded states, whereas ni-Vanuatu caregivers referred more to body-minded states (RR = 7.98). These findings are interpreted as capturing meaningful differences in toddlers' opportunities to attend to themselves. Implications for self-concept development are discussed.

An examination of trauma narratives: Narrative rumination, self-reflection, and identity in young adulthood.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma has the potential to challenge the self and identity development in ways unlike other personal experiences and, undoubtedly, necessitates meaning-making. The purpose of this study is to expand understanding of how young adults make meaning of traumatic experiences and how those processes, either adaptive self-reflection, meaning-making, or narrative rumination, relate to identity development. METHODS: Using qualitative methods and self-report measures, we examined reflective and ruminative narrative processes in 32 trauma narratives written by a sample of young adults. Narratives were examined as a function of identity status (measured by the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire; Balistreri, Busch-Rossnagel, & Geisinger, 1995) and level of identity distress (measured by the Identity Distress Survey; Berman, Montgomery, & Kurtines, 2004). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: s: The narrative analysis suggested that young adults who constructed their narratives in adaptive self-reflective ways that were absent of rumination made meaning of their traumatic experience is ways that reflected an integrated sense of self. In contrast, those young adults who constructed their narrative in ruminative ways, characterized by brooding, self-doubt or criticism had unsuccessful meaning-making efforts. A combination of identity commitment (i.e., achieved and foreclosed) and low identity distress led to meaning-making and positive identity formation, whereas moratorium and diffused and high identity distress related to narrative rumination and either an absence of meaning-making or a fragmented sense of self. The findings suggest that narrative patterns differ across identity statuses and, more so, high and low reported identity distress. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Rumination and self-reflection in stress narratives and relations to psychological functioning.

The longitudinal study aims to expand what is known about the costs and benefits of narrating stressful experiences by exploring changes in rumination within the narrative process and comparing it to changes in self-reflection. Rumination (e.g., brooding, self-criticism, and negative emotions) and self-reflection were measured in stress narratives of 56 college students. There were several goals: (1) examine changes in narrative rumination and narrative self-reflection over 3 days of writing, (2) examine the relations among the changes in narrative rumination variables and narrative self-reflection and (3) examine how changes in narrative rumination and narrative self-reflection relate to multiple measures of psychological functioning. Overall, individuals increased self-reflection over the 3-day writing task. Individuals who increased ruminative brooding across the 3 days of writing showed lower ego identity development (short term and long term) and self-esteem (short term), while increased self-criticism was positively correlated with identity distress (short term). Implications of the different aspects of narrative rumination, specifically in the context of stressful experiences, are discussed.

Family narrative interaction and children's sense of self.

Family narratives about the shared past may be a particularly significant site for preadolescents' emerging sense of self both as an individual and as a member of a unified family. We examined the relations between family narrative interaction style when reminiscing and preadolescents' sense of self. Results indicated three narrative interaction styles that describe the extent to which families discuss or fail to discuss their past in integrated and validating ways. Specifically, conversations with a coordinated perspective incorporated information from all members and were related to higher self-esteem, especially in girls. Conversations with an individual perspective, in which family members took turns telling their thoughts and feelings about the event without integration among the perspectives, were associated with a more external locus of control, especially in boys. Conversations with an imposed perspective, in which one family member was in charge of the conversation or in which unpleasant exchanges between members occurred, were not associated with either self-esteem or locus of control. Implications of these narrative interaction styles for children's developing sense of self are discussed.