UCLA

We review three decades of literature across multiple disciplines that demonstrate the efficacy of narrative story stem methodologies (NSSM) to elicit responses that are projective of mental processes and to reveal what would otherwise be too complex or sensitive to communicate. The review synthesizes evidence for the extensive and diverse utility of NSSM. To accomplish this, we provide theoretical framing and historical background, describe assessment methods, resulting data and analytic approaches, and chart the empirical work of the past decade that relates story stem narratives to a range of developmental outcomes, and meaning-making processes. This synthesis of cross-disciplinary research provides the first comprehensive review of a truly innovative narrative methodology and includes work across periods of development, representing research that has primarily focused on children with increasing emphasis on adolescents and adults.