ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some of the major changes in personal narratives as adolescents begin to understand themselves and the world in more cognitively and socially complex ways. Not only do the narratives themselves become more complex, but they also begin to serve more complex functions. Single narratives are threaded together within a larger life story that provides coherence and consistency to the developing sense of self over time. While knowing the cultural life script may provide a template for developing one’s individual life story, either in conformity to or deviation from the cultural norms, two developmental abilities in particular are necessary before children can construct an overarching life narrative: temporal perspective and subjective perspective. With adolescence and the emerging ability to construct one’s own life story in these more meaning-laden ways, the chapter establishes stronger relations between adolescents’ narratives and their well-being.
