“My story is not my own”: A qualitative analysis of personal and collective continuity.

Abstract

The concept of personal continuity is central to most theories of identity development, and one way it can be established is through the development of narrative identity. Narrative identity is represented by a story that is built through processes of autobiographical reasoning about the past, present, and future self. Building on the substantial literature focused on individual processes of personal reflection, the present study expands beyond the examination of the individual to explore the role that socio-cultural groups, and their shared narratives, play in personal continuity. In a qualitative and descriptive study, 13 adult children of immigrants, aged 18-52, were interviewed about their personal stories, the stories of their parents, and of their social group. Social constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze the interviews to examine the relationship between personal continuity and these three levels of narrative. Participants employed three different larger narrative structures to make sense of their own experiences in a larger context: The American Immigrant Story, The Origin Story, and The American Ethnic Minority Story. Each story differed in the focus on continuity between past and present versus present and future, as well as in the socialization agents for each story (i.e., family or peers). Overall, participants can create a sense of personal continuity by seeing themselves as part of a larger, continuously developing group narrative, though there are variations in how this is accomplished. Implications include the role of group narratives in personal identity development.

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