Narratives of COVID-19 Experiences: Relations to Mental Health and Identity Development

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

The expression of traumatic experiences through the form of narrative writing has been continuously linked to the overall improvement of both an individual’s psychological and physical health (Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser & Glaser, 1988; Pennebaker & Beall, 1983). Although several forms of expression exist, health benefits are achieved primarily through narrative processes (Krantz & Pennebaker, 1995). Being able to organize the events of a traumatic experience using language allows a person to understand these events and collect their thoughts and feelings about them, which in turn allows them to feel more in control of the outcome (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999). Furthermore, narratives of past events allow individuals to develop a coherent sense of identity across time, connecting their past, present and future together (Bluck & Alea, 2002). Individuals who narrate the emotional events of their lives in more self-reflective ways show better physical and psychological health (Frattaroli, 2006; Pennebaker, 1997; Pennebaker & Chung, 2007), indicating that narratives of emotional experiences play a critical role in emotional understanding and the identity development.

We examined college students’ narratives of COVID-19 experiences in relation to their psychological well-being and identity development. Participants between the ages of 18 to 25 were asked to write about their pandemic experiences using 8 prompts, such as: Describe your experience of being quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discuss your feelings and thoughts, the difficulties that you have encountered, and how the quarantine process has affected you both positively and negatively. Give as much detail as possible. Other narrative prompts focused on how relationships were affected during the pandemic (Describe in detail how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your romantic relationships, both positively and negatively), perceived increases in stress levels (Describe in detail one experience that exemplifies how your stress levels have increased or decreased since the lockdown), and personal coping strategies for increases in stress (Describe in detail how you have dealt with increased stress due to the lockdown. Give specific examples of coping strategies that you’ve used, such as exercising, counseling, working, etc. Give as much detail as possible). Participants completed the RYFF well-being questionnaire, the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale, the Identity Distress Survey, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Narratives will be examined for the use of cognitive and emotion words according to the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count. Narratives will also be coded for elaboration on a 0 to 3-point scale, with 0 being no elaboration and 3 being high elaboration. We hypothesize that participants who use more cognitive and emotion words in their narratives, and who are more elaborate in their narratives, will show better psychological health, less identity distress and less perceived stress, indicating the importance of working through traumatic experiences using narrative processes for both mental health and the development of identity.

Authors

• Widaad Zaman, University of Central Florida
  Presenting Author

• Anh Pham, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lewis Rincon Castano, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jullianna Stalbaum, University of Central Florida
  Non-Presenting Author