ERIC Number: EJ1010592
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Jul
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0743-5584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reflecting on a Difficult Life: Narrative Construction in Vulnerable Adolescents
McLean, Kate C.; Wood, Becky; Breen, Andrea V.
Journal of Adolescent Research, v28 n4 p431-452 Jul 2013
We examined narrative processes of identity development as they related to desistance from delinquent behavior in a sample of vulnerable adolescents. Building on a robust theoretical and empirical foundation in the field of narrative identity, we examined processes of meaning-making and agency in relation to desistance. Thirty-one adolescents were interviewed to elicit commonly studied autobiographical memories (e.g., turning points, self-defining memories). Interviews were coded for meaning-making and agency. Results showed that desistance was related to agency, but not meaning-making, which was related to higher numbers of past delinquent behaviors. Results are interpreted in terms of the possibilities for desistance and growth from a narrative perspective and are situated within a structural and cultural perspective on the development of vulnerable youth. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Interviews, Adolescent Attitudes, Self Concept, Delinquency, Personal Narratives, Biographies, Coding, Role, Responsibility, Poverty, Statistical Analysis, Correlation, Identification (Psychology), Memory, Surveys, At Risk Persons, Behavior Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Washington
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