Narrative Coherence and Identity: Associations With Psychological Well-Being and Internalizing Symptoms

There are considerable differences in the ways in which individuals remember and try to make meaning out of past personal experiences. One autobiographical memory characteristic that has been receiving growing attention is narrative coherence, or the extent to which an individual is able to construct coherent accounts of their autobiographical memories. Previously, differences in narrative coherence have been found to be related to well-being, with more coherent individuals displaying higher levels of well-being. This study aimed to extend previous findings by examining the associations between narrative coherence, identity functioning, psychological well-being, and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 395 American young adults (ages 18–30). We examined whether these associations differed within individuals as a function of the identity-relevance of the memory. In line with our prediction, narrative coherence was positively related to healthy identity functioning. However, the hypothesis that narrative coherence would be positively related to psychological well-being and negatively related to internalizing symptoms was only partially confirmed (i.e. only for personal growth and anxiety symptoms). These findings indicate that the relation between coherence and well-being might be more complex than originally assumed. Contrary to our predictions, it was not significantly more beneficial for an individual to narrate about a memory with high identity-relevance compared to a memory with low identity-relevance. Thus, it might be the individual’s general ability to include identity content within their narratives of personal experiences that moderates the association between coherence and well-being, rather than the identity-relevance of the specific memory. In the current study, we also found a significant gender effect, with women being more coherent than men. Furthermore, exploratory analyses indicated that being more coherence was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms and fewer identity-related struggles in men, but not in women. Possible explanations for the observed gender differences are discussed. Future longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to further clarify the link between narrative coherence, identity, and well-being

Pre-sleep arousal can be associated with efficient processing of sleep-related information

© 2018 Background and objectives: Cognitive bias to sleep-related information is thought to be a core feature of sleep disturbances. The bias may enhance pre-sleep arousal, such as excessive worry about sleeplessness, which prevents people from initiating normal sleep onset. The present study focused on (a) attention bias toward sleep-related stimuli and (b) difficulty in updating working memory for sleep-related stimuli as two possible mechanisms underlying pre-sleep cognitive arousal. Method: Participants (n = 61, a community sample) completed a dot-probe task (with sleep-related and matched control word stimuli) and a 1-back and 2-back task (with sleep-related and non-sleep-related pictorial stimuli). Results: For the dot-probe task, the results showed no significant association between pre-sleep cognitive arousal and sleep-related attention bias. However, the results of the 2-back task suggest that pre-sleep arousal is associated with decreased interference by sleep-related stimuli in maintaining non-sleep-related information. That is, individuals with higher levels of pre-sleep arousal are more efficient at processing sleep-related materials. Limitations: The non-clinical nature of the sample may limit the clinical implications of the findings. Conclusions: Although the current results cannot be explained by the extant cognitive theories of insomnia, we offer an alternative explanation based on the idea of worry as mental habit: mental processes that occur frequently (e.g., repetitive thoughts about sleep) require less cognitive resource. Therefore, sleep-related information may be processed easily without consuming much cognitive effort.status: publishe

The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being, education and clinical practice of general practice trainees and trainers : a national cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has changed General Practice (GP) education as well as GP clinical activities. These changes have had an impact on the well-being of medical trainees and the role of GP plays in the society. We have therefore aimed to investigate the impact that COVID-19 has had on GP trainees and trainers in four domains: education, workload, practice organization and the role of GP in society. Design: a cross-sectional study design was used. METHODS: The Interuniversity Centre for the Education of General Practitioners sent an online survey with close-ended and open-ended questions to all GP trainees and trainers in Flanders, active in the period March – September 2020. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the quantitative data and thematic analysis for the qualitative data. RESULTS: 216 (response 25%) GP trainees and 311 (response 26%) trainers participated. GP trainees (63%, N = 136) and trainers (76%, N = 236) reported new learning opportunities since the COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of telehealth consulting and changing guidelines required new communication and organizational skills. Most of the GP trainees (75%, n = 162) and trainers (71%, n = 221) experienced more stress at work and an overload of administrative work. The unfamiliarity with a new infectious disease and the fact that COVID-19 care compromised general GP clinical activities, created insecurity among GP trainers and trainees. Moreover, GP trainees felt that general GP activities were insufficiently covered during the COVID-19 pandemic for their training in GP. GP trainers and trainees experienced mutual support, and secondary support came from other direct colleagues. Measures such as reducing the writing of medical certificates and financial support for administrative and (para) medical support can help to reprioritize the core of GP care. COVID-19 has enhanced the use of digital learning over peer-to-peer learning and lectures. However, GP trainees and trainers preferred blended learning educational activities. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 has created learning opportunities such as telehealth consulting and a flexible organization structure. To ensure quality GP education during the pandemic and beyond, regular GP care should remain the core activity of GP trainees and trainers and a balance between all different learning methods should be found. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03174-4