Gaastarbeiter

(INTRODUCTION)

Normally, young people use a collection of memories of things that happened to them (called autobiographical memories) to develop a sense of self.

Individuals with symptoms associated with StPD/cluster A ("odd or magical thinking, strange perceptual experiences, suspiciousness toward others, and social withdrawal") may have issues with this process as a result of these symptoms.

It is hypothesized that StPD traits may be a "biographical disruption" when adolescents attach negative meaning to their symptoms. This would make StPD a significant negative part of their identity.

The authors hypothesize that important themes are agency and redemption sequences (converting negative experiences/emotions into something positive), combined with impairment of autobiographical reasoning (the process of reflecting on life experiences, developing a narrative, and linking that to the self)

(METHOD)

The authors approached various high schools in The Netherlands and acquired data from 1,542 adolescents. Consent was obtained from these adolescents and their parents.

Students filled out questionnaires and wrote these narratives on computers during class.

StPD traits were measured using the Dutch translation of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Short Version (PID-5-SF). StPD trait scores were computed based on the Alternative Model for PDs in the DSM-5. The cutoff for which group is the "high StPD traits" group was the highest 7% of scores (125 total), and the remainder (1,417) were the "low level" group.

Participants were asked to write about a turning point in their lives. This is defined as "an episode in an individual’s life story during which that person experienced a significant change in their understanding of the self."

The turning point narratives were coded on the dimensions of agency, connection of the self to the event, redemption, and STPD symptom description. Coders were blind to the hypotheses of the study and met regularly with one another to ensure consensus.

(RESULTS)

Adolescents with high vs low levels of StPD features had minimal differences regarding gender, age, and narrative word count.

Identity narratives of individuals with high levels of StPD traits had significantly lower amounts of agency and redemption, as well as higher amounts of StPD symptom descriptions.

However, the two groups connected the events to their sense of self equally.