Narrative Identity and Well-Being in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Developmental Review

Narrative identity refers to the dynamic life story through which individuals integrate past experiences, present self-understanding, and future expectations into a coherent sense of self. Although narrative identity is shown to be consistently associated with psychological well-being in adulthood, its role during adolescence and emerging adulthood has received relatively less attention. The present review examines the development of narrative identity across adolescence and emerging adulthood and synthesizes research investigating its associations with well-being during these periods. First, the review outlines the developmental foundations of narrative identity. Second, major characteristics of narrative identity are discussed, with particular emphasis on affective and motivational themes, autobiographical reasoning, and structural coherence. Third, the review evaluates evidence linking these narrative processes to well-being. The literature indicates that narrative identity functions as an important mechanism by which adolescents and emerging adults organize and derive meaning from past experiences and maintain a sense of self-continuity across time. However, the associations between narrative identity processes and well-being appear to vary by age. Whereas narrative identity characteristics are generally associated with positive psychological outcomes in adulthood, markers of autobiographical reasoning during early adolescence may sometimes coincide with psychological distress, becoming more adaptive later in development. Overall, literature emphasizes narrative identity as a dynamic developmental process that contributes to both identity formation and well-being across the transition to adulthood. Implications for future longitudinal research and narrative-based interventions are discussed.