TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing a model of narrative analysis to investigate the role of social support in coping with traumatic war memories
AU - Burnell, Karen
AU - Hunt, Nigel
AU - Coleman, Peter
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Within clinical and health psychology, narrative is used to understand how people make meaning of events that challenge one's believes about the self and the world e.g. the diagnosis of an illness or the experience of a traumatic event. This paper introduces a model of narrative analysis that can provide insight into the ways in which people make meaning of traumatic events and the types of resources that aid or hinder this process. The model, an adaptation of grounded narrative analysis (Murray, 2003), was applied at two levels (narrative form and narrative content) to the narratives of British male veterans of World War II (WWII) and post WWII veterans up to and including the Iraq war (2003-). Narrative form concerned the coherence of the narrative, which was defined as an oriented, structured, affectively consistent, and integrated narrative, indicative of the reconciliation. Narrative content focused on the social support experiences of the veterans. Through this two level analysis, it was possible to make theoretical links between the types of social support that aid the meaning making process and help veterans to reconcile their experiences.
AB - Within clinical and health psychology, narrative is used to understand how people make meaning of events that challenge one's believes about the self and the world e.g. the diagnosis of an illness or the experience of a traumatic event. This paper introduces a model of narrative analysis that can provide insight into the ways in which people make meaning of traumatic events and the types of resources that aid or hinder this process. The model, an adaptation of grounded narrative analysis (Murray, 2003), was applied at two levels (narrative form and narrative content) to the narratives of British male veterans of World War II (WWII) and post WWII veterans up to and including the Iraq war (2003-). Narrative form concerned the coherence of the narrative, which was defined as an oriented, structured, affectively consistent, and integrated narrative, indicative of the reconciliation. Narrative content focused on the social support experiences of the veterans. Through this two level analysis, it was possible to make theoretical links between the types of social support that aid the meaning making process and help veterans to reconcile their experiences.
U2 - 10.1075/ni.19.1.06bur
DO - 10.1075/ni.19.1.06bur
M3 - Article
SN - 1387-6740
VL - 19
SP - 91
EP - 105
JO - Narrative Inquiry
JF - Narrative Inquiry
IS - 1
ER -