Personal narratives as maps of the social ecosystem

The experiences of grandparents who have limited or no contact with their grandchildren

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The matrilineal advantage theory suggests that paternal grandparents are more at risk of having little or no contact with their grandchildren. However, there is significant family diversity within Australia and we wished to understand the experiences of a wide range of grandparents in order to determine if the matrilineal theory can be effectively used in practice to identify those grandparents most at risk for estrangement.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A convenience group of grandparents with little or no contact with grandchildren (n=38) told their stories in their own words using narratives obtained through interview or writing.

RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS

We found that paternal grandparents, as per the matrilineal advantage theory, were more likely to be estranged from their grandchildren when their son divorced, particularly when he was not the resident parent or when he re-partnered. However, in contrast, we found that maternal grandparents who experienced conflict in their relationship with their daughter were also at risk for estrangement. This occurred even when grandparents had previously been highly involved in the lives of their grandchildren. Some estrangements appeared to result from a cultural bias towards the nuclear family form. We argue that practitioners need not only to expand their understanding of the risk categories for estrangement, they also need to actively support parents and grandparents in creating and maintaining wider family support networks in order to improve family resilience.

The Psychologica-Bildungsroman: Exploring Narrative Identity, Audience Effect and Genre in Autobiographies of Trainee-Psychologists

Applicants to training courses in professional psychology are routinely required to submit an autobiography or life story as part of the selection process. What we are curious about is when several autobiographies, despite each presenting their own idiosyncratic identity, share commonalities. Nine autobiographies of successful applicants to a training course in professional psychology were analysed using an experience centred approach to narrative analysis. Specific influence of audience effect, development of a narrative identity, and genre were focused on in the analysis. We conclude that narratives represent a specific form of the Bildungsroman as a coming-of-age into the profession of psychology and propose that autobiography as part of the selection process can be utilised effectively as a precursor to the training of professional psychologists.

Dynamics of emotional expression in autobiographic speech of patients with anorexia nervosa

Emotional disturbances in persons with anorexia nervosa have mainly been documented using static descriptions. This study presents the temporal organisation of emotional expression in autobiographical speech of anorexic patients and thereby provides a first attempt to quantify the dynamics of emotions in patients' speech. The temporal pattern of emotional expression for persons with anorexia nervosa was studied after transforming the autobiographical narratives of 14 patients and 13 matched controls into symbolic sequences of positive, negative, and neutral emotional expressions. These symbolic sequences of emotional states and silences were analyzed using static and dynamic indices. Static indices showed that patients with anorexia nervosa expressed more negative emotions and fewer neutral states than control participants. Dynamic indices showed in patients' speech a cycle of negative emotions and silence. These results showed specific dynamics of emotional expression in persons with anorexia nervosa characterised by the presence of negative emotional perseveration. The possible clinical implications of these findings are discussed.