Narrative Coherence in Online Stories Told by Members of the Adoption Triad

Abstract

Two hundred ninety-eight online narratives told by adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth mothers were rated for their narrative coherence, which consisted of five dimensions: sequential organization, orientation, causal explanation, congruence of affect with content, and sense-making. Overall, mean ratings across all adoption triad members suggested more incoherence than coherence, but relative differences were found among triad members. Adoptive parents scored the highest on sequential organization, orientation, and causal explanation. Birth mothers scored the highest on congruence of affect with content. Narrative coherence has been systematically correlated in the literature with psychological adjustment, and the implications of the study are discussed for their insights into how well adoption triad members have adjusted to the challenges associated with adoption.

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