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Chapter 9 - Agency and Communion When Remembering Parents in Young Adulthood

from Part II - How the Environment of Autobiographical Memory Shapes the Life Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2025

By
Kristina Klug ,
Christin Camia  and
Michael W. Pratt
Edited by
Christin Camia  and
Annette Bohn
Christin Camia
Affiliation:
Zayed University Abu Dhabi
Annette Bohn
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
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Summary

Parental shared reminiscing and positive parenting are important for the development of autobiographical memory and narrative identity. Yet, even though parents influence the content and structure of narrative identity throughout the lifespan (Camia et al., 2021; Köber & Habermas, 2018), it is understudied whether narrative themes such as agency and communion are associated with experienced parenting and whether this sustains beyond early childhood. Therefore, we investigated the influence of parenting on agency and communion in life stories provided at ages 26 and 32. Narratives with and without parental topics scored similarly on agency and communion. However, agency in narratives with mentions of parents was supported by an increased understanding of parents and by opposing parents’ advice. Communion in narratives mentioning parents was supported by positive evaluations of the parental relationship and by an increased understanding of parents. These results suggest that parents not only are part of the content of personal narratives but also influence narrative themes well into adulthood.

Keywords

Parents’ tracesagencycommunionparentingadult child–parent relationship

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Chapter
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Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story
New Perspectives on Narrative Identity
 , pp. 176 - 195
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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