Creating something new from past experiences—The meaning of change in repeated narratives

Abstract

Objective: Narrative identity is an essential level of personality, and to develop, the life narrative should entail both stability and change. In this study, we examine the meaning of change in repeated narratives about occupational experiences. Method: Fifty-nine individuals were interviewed at age 25, 29, and 33. In these interviews 544 narratives and 142 sets of repeated narratives were identified, of these 39 sets of repeated narratives had changed between interviews. A thematic narrative analysis was conducted focusing on the meaning of change in repeated narratives. Results: The analysis resulted in five narrative themes: Gaining insights about one's identity, transforming views of past challenges, increasing agency, increasing motivation for occupational commitments, and accentuating competence and importance. In the context of occupational experiences, the results from the narrative themes illuminate how narrators repeatedly engage with the same narrative to elaborate their narrative identity. Conclusion: This study presents a novel method for capturing identity development, which show that changes in repeated narratives can entail important information about identity growth as well as the way narrators create new stories of their previous experiences in order to continue to make sense of their lives.