UC Riverside

Narrative identity is an internal and storied representation of the persons’ past, present, and presumed future that represents identity. The narrative identity approach reveals how individuals story experiences within and across identity domains and how narrative themes correspond with psychological outcomes. To study how identity is embedded within larger systems of power, privilege, and oppression, integration of the narrative identity approach and an intersectional framework is needed. In the present dissertation, I used the narrative identity approach and an intersectional framework to examine the content, process, and structure of personal narratives within and across the domains of race/ethnicity, gender, and social class in relation to measures of adjustment and identity. In narrative interviews with 177 emerging adult college students, diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, and social class, narratives of (1) a self-defining memory, (2) racial/ethnic awareness, (3) social class awareness, and (4) intersectional awareness were gathered. Using inductive and deductive methods, eight themes were quantified within narratives including: (1) meaning making, (2) valence, (3) positive resolution, (4) connection to group, presence of (5) race/ethnicity, (6) gender, and (7) social class, and (8) perceived connection of identity domains. Participants also completed an online survey containing established measures of adjustment and identity as well as two novel self-report measures, which I designed to assess intersections between identity domains. Narrative themes related differentially with adjustment and identity based on narrative prompt. For example, greater meaning making related with lower life satisfaction in social class narratives but stronger identification with race/ethnicity and gender in intersectional narratives. In addition, individuals from marginalized groups tended to perceive identity domains as more connected but conflicting and evinced less positive narratives relative to individuals with privileged identities. Overall, results indicate that themes within narratives about a particular domain have implications for one’s understanding of their intersecting identities. This dissertation illustrates that the multi-method assessment of identity within and across domains using a social justice perspective is critical in understanding the experiences of individuals with oppressed and privileged identities. Discussion centers on how the narrative identity approach may be used to organize research on intersecting aspects of identity.