The Relationships Among Rumination, Narrative Coherence, and Well-Being in a Community Sample of Adolescents

<p>The ability to tell a coherent autobiographical narrative, in particular the ability to link life events to ones sense of self (causal coherence) and to develop a consistent theme and achieve a sense of resolution in one’s memory narratives (thematic coherence), is related to increased well-being in adults. In contrast, in early-adolescence, increased causal and thematic coherence are associated with decreased psychological well-being but the reason for this is unclear. The current study examined whether rumination mediated the relationships between narrative coherence and both life satisfaction and depression in a community sample of 190 adolescents (mean age = 16.31 years). Contrary to prediction, causal and thematic coherence were positively related to life satisfaction and negatively related to depression. Participants were less proficient in causal than thematic coherence, and rumination was a weak mediator of the relationships between causal, but not thematic, coherence and both life satisfaction and depression. In contrast, thematic coherence was found to moderate the relationship between rumination and life satisfaction for the whole sample, and also the relationship between rumination and depression for male participants with a moderate to high tendency to ruminate. Results indirectly support the theory that rumination mediates the negative relationship between narrative coherence and well-being found in early adolescence. By mid-adolescence however, individuals appear to be proficient in the use of narrative coherence and this increased proficiency may help to improve their well-being. Longitudinal research examining the relationships among narrative coherence, rumination, and well-being throughout adolescence is needed to better understand the unique ways in which causal and thematic coherence serve to influence adolescents’ psychological functioning.</p>