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It's all in the details: An investigation of the subcomponents of narrative coherence in relation to mental health
Author(s) -
Vanaken Lauranne,
Vanderveren Elien,
Waters Theodore E. A.,
Bijttebier Patricia,
Fivush Robyn,
Hermans Dirk
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.3859
Subject(s) - narrative , psychology , mental health , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , coding (social sciences) , psychological intervention , cognitive psychology , cognition , social psychology , psychotherapist , sociology , linguistics , psychiatry , social science , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
The coherence of autobiographical narratives is suggested to be reflective of individuals' mental health. However, inconsistencies in results are regularly observed. Therefore, in this study, the Narrative Coherence Coding Scheme (NaCCS) by Reese et al. ( Journal of Cognition and Development , 12, 424–462) was deconstructed and every dimension of coherence was recoded into singular constituting subcomponents. Our new fine‐grained scoring scheme allowed us to investigate which particular subcomponents of coherence may be important in the relation to mental health. Data showed that both structural as well as thematic elements of coherence, with in particular the number of emotional elaborations, were important in the association with mental health. Therefore, we recommend for future research to use this specific coding scheme, including most notably the number of emotional elaborations, in order to obtain the most accurate prediction of mental health, to test the replicability of these preliminary findings and to guide targets for narrative‐based interventions.