Family Stories Research Articles

The New Way Insurers Say No!

In the last decade states, such as New York, have taken steps to end some of the tactics used by health insurers to deny their members access to addiction treatment services. They have ended prior authorization or the ability for insurers to review and approve the need for treatment services before an individual could begin treatment. This change comes from hearing too many stories of families waiting in the treatment program parking lot with their loved one for insurer approval to enter the program. Many left after waiting hours for such approval as the person started to suffer from withdrawal, while others continued to use drugs during the wait.

Construction of Self and Family in Intergenerational Family Stories: Associations with Sociocultural Group and Familism in Female Emerging Adults

SYNOPSIS Objective. Family stories are the fabric of identity, as they anchor individuals in their familial, cultural, and societal context. However, relatively little research has examined the function of family stories in relation to sociocultural group or cultural values. Design. In the present study, we examined how emerging adult women (n = 41) engaged in retrospective storytelling of a favorite family memory based on sociocultural group (Asian American, Latina American, or European American) and familism (high or low). Results. Drawing upon narrative identity and sense-making literatures grounded within a sociocultural framework, analyses revealed that family stories consistently served to provide insight into the perspectives of others and to model positioning of relationships. Sociocultural group was associated with how family stories served as a mechanism for expressing familism values, and both sociocultural and familism groups were related to how family stories served as a source of meaning-making and identity creation. Conclusions. Our findings add to the growing literature on the nuanced ways in which sociocultural group and cultural values shape the function of family stories and have important implications for the development of identity and storytelling behaviors in emerging adulthood.

Голоси пам’яті жінок-авторок: наратив травматичного минулого в українській літературі на зламі ХХ–ХХІ століть

The article deals with the study of the representation of the traumatic past in German and Ukrainian literature. The research demonstrates the role of the “culture of memories” and its impact on the process of “overcoming the past” in the political and cultural life of the Ukrainian people. Besides, the research results show the characteristic of understanding the traumas of the past in German-speaking society. There are a lot of works of modern German literature, which are devoted to the crimes of the Nazi regime and their impact on German culture and identity. Many modern literary-critical articles explore individual and collective memory, the problem of guilt, and the difficulties of literary interpretation of the unspeakable. The work is based on research of the important works of famous scientists (T. Hundorova, Y. Polishchuk, M. Riabchuk, O. Pukhonska, M. Barabash, L. Lavrynovych, O. Yavorska, R. Holyk, K. Rutar). Ukrainian literature is analyzed as a space where post-colonial discourse manifests itself, and literary texts are an important tool for reflecting and transmitting historical events and personal and collective memories. Based on the analysis of the novels of V. Amelina “Home for Dom”, O. Zabuzhko “Museum of Abandoned Secrets” and S. Andrukhovych “Amadoka”, the authors demonstrate the traumatic past of Ukrainian individual and collective destinies. Studying such tragedies as the Holodomor, Stalinist repressions, deportations, and wars is important for the formation of national identity. These are not simple stories of Ukrainian families, but serious studies by the authors of the problem of memory. These works are an important contribution to modern Ukrainian literature, and therefore this topic is a relevant research material. In this article, the culture-historical and comparative methods are used.

Language acquisition and bilingualism in the family: A case study

This article will examine some of the variables involved in simultaneous child bilingualism. Family situations are rarely totally alike, and therefore there are no rules about how to manage the bilingual acquisition process. Some recommendations will be considered, though adaptations to each family context are necessary according to a number of factors. Among variables considered are the native languages spoken by the parents (the same or different languages), the country of residence (and if it corresponds to one of the parents’ languages or neither), the prestige attached to either of the languages, the majority or minority status in context, and attitudes shown by the protagonists of each family story and those surrounding them. More than half the world’s population uses two or more languages in everyday life, which implies that bilingualism is by no means a rare phenomenon (Van Wechem & Halbach: 2014). Yet people surrounding the families of children involved in a bilingual situation often voice concerns over the children’s future linguistic competence, worrying that they will speak neither language adequately. However, studies have shown that they are neither delayed in their linguistic development nor disadvantaged by their bilingualism, and in fact their ability to manage more than one language can become an important asset in life. Data from a case concerning three brothers will be presented, showing that their language acquisition broadly followed the same stages as in monolinguals, and that there was no cause for concern over delayed cognitive skills.

Diana Raznovich and the Performance of Performance: Gender, Jewishness, and the Conundrum of Identity

Abstract Diana Raznovich’s plays MaTRIX, Inc. (1991) and Rear Entry (1995) stage the perfor­mance of gender, inflected by ethnicity, in two Argentine families. In MaTRIX, Inc., the protagonist hires an actress to perform with her a series of mother-daughter scenarios that rely on caricatures of maternal types, including the Jewish mother. Rear Entry is a Jewish family story that challenges patriarchal demands, undermining them with counter-hegemonic performance of sexuality and gender identity. Together, these plays use humor to call into question the naturalization of gendered and sexualized power relations as they intersect with and are partially constituted by ethnic difference. The transformative potential of performance itself is a central theme in these plays, while the presumptive stability of gender and ethnicity challenges, grounds, and tempers such potential. More­over, the article concludes that performance can be only fully realized, in real life as on the stage, in the active presence of an audience or an interlocutor.

Polish Family War Stories: Perpetuating and Healing Intergenerational Trauma

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study explored the types of war stories Polish families tell and the lessons family members learn from these stories. Design. Polish adults (n = 32) were interviewed about their intergenerational family stories. Interview transcripts were analyzed using narrative thematic analysis. Results. Analyses revealed four types of war stories—survival stories, hero stories, tragedy and loss stories, and missing stories—and four lessons learned from these stories—how to live, how to be Polish, how to cope, and how to understand others. Conclusions. Findings advance narrative scholarship by integrating communicated narrative sense-making theory with the ecological systems model of family narratives. In so doing, we highlighted how macro-system meanings, values, and beliefs emerged in these family stories. Findings also show the presence and effect of silencing in intergenerational family storytelling.

Listening to the stories of others in South Africa: a sacrificial listening approach in education

ABSTRACT Pedagogical approaches that prioritize active empathetic listening have been shown to profoundly enrich the learning experience, cultivating a deep-seated mutual respect and understanding of diverse perspectives within the framework of democratic education. This study explores the potential impact of the concept of sacrificial listening providing the context of a particular educational program in South African secondary education, which is designed to enhance mutual cultural understanding and empathy amongst students and their families from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Employing a narrative analysis of interpersonal interactions and family stories, the study elucidates that such a listening approach may significantly nurture empathy, understanding, and inclusive learning environments. It illuminates the transformative capacity of embedding human narratives and active emotional sacrificial listening of others into educational practices, underscoring the imperative for meticulous implementation and support to adeptly maneuver through the complexities of sensitive, intercultural discourse.

Transformative Learning Among Organ Procurement Organization Donor Family Volunteers.

Introduction: Some family members who previously made the decision to donate a family member's organs support the organ procurement organization (OPO) through volunteer work. Volunteers were asked to describe their family's organ donation story to educate the general and medical communities about organ donation. This study explored the transformative learning experienced by volunteers during and following the organ donation consent process and throughout their volunteer work. Methods/Approach: A narrative inquiry research methodology and transformative learning theoretical framework was used and 6 volunteers were recruited to participate. Two semistructured virtual interviews were conducted. Interviews were transcribed, radically reduced, and subjected to holistic-content and holistic-form narrative analysis. Findings: Participants experienced strong emotional responses during and after the loss of their family member, characterized as a period of disorientation, which lasted for an extended period preventing transformative learning. After the OPO contacted participants regarding the opportunity to volunteer, participants experienced a period of self-examination when they reengaged with the topic of organ donation. Critical reflection occurred through the act of storytelling about their family's organ donation story during their volunteer work. Storytelling to the community facilitated making meaning of their loss and transformations. Conclusion: Volunteering for an OPO played an important role by initiating self-examination and critical reflection of their prior assumptions. Through storytelling, participants reflected on their roles and made meaning of their organ donation experiences. The act of inviting donor families to reengage with the topic of organ donation through volunteer work fostered positive permanent meaningful transformations.

Still Bad Indians

This essay on Deborah A. Miranda’s Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir, is a meditation on the significance of California Indian women’s stories of survival and resistance. I take inspiration from a few sections of Bad Indians in order to tell other California Indian stories. I respond to questions Miranda poses in her text with speculative narratives of history, stories about bears and salmon, and an old family story that leaves me with no easy way to feel. I argue that stories reassert California Indians’ presence on our homelands in spite of the ceaseless efforts of the state to remove us.

Berries of the Lost Garden: Narrating the Life and Legacy of an Iconic Architect

ABSTRACT Writing about the life and legacy of extraordinary individuals often involves navigating many layers of meaning. Growing up next door to Vartan Hovanissian, an iconic architect whose influence extended well beyond his time, profoundly shaped my childhood. My renewed fascination with his life was sparked by discovering a 1918 visual document, which rekindled my curiosity about his enduring impact. This essay intertwines personal memories with newly uncovered historical details to trace Vartan’s journey from a modest educator to a celebrated architect honoured by two monarchs. Through heartfelt family stories, warm connections with his daughter, and intriguing archival insights, I explore how Vartan’s architectural contributions transformed his era and left a lasting imprint on those around him. This narrative blends personal reflection with historical exploration, revealing the remarkable yet often overlooked aspects of his life.

The development of a dyadic family life review intervention for the Asian diaspora: A practice article.

Intergenerational family conflict is a commonly identified issue in the Asian diaspora; however, there are limited interventions designed to address this concern. Given this gap in the literature, the authors present a practice article outlining the conceptualization, development, and delivery of a dyadic life review intervention called (Re)Cultivating Family Stories (RFS). RFS is a clinician-facilitated family intervention designed to promote connection and foster successive communication through the joint activity of developing a family story. Life review is a structured approach for reminiscing and evaluating one's life experiences and includes dyadic variants. RFS builds on dyadic life review by facilitating collaborative dialogs between a parent and adult offspring, incorporating culturally responsive elements, and focusing on developing family stories. This article provides an overview of the intervention and its theoretical foundations, along with formative feedback from a field test. Considerations for future implementation and research directions are described.

TRADITIONS AND INNOVATIONS IN THE REPRESENTATION OF THE "LITTLE MAN" IN R. SENCHIN'S FAMILY SAGA "THE YELTYSHEVS"

In R.Senchin's family story "The Yeltyshevs," the portrayal of the "little man" is presented in a novel manner, representing one of the most enduring and ideologically profound themes in 19th-century Russian literature. A meticulous examination of the saga's text, augmented by an analysis of literary scholars' and critics' conclusions, reveals that the "little man" is increasingly not merely a victim of circumstances, but rather an individual attempting to conform to societal norms, ultimately becoming a source of difficulties for both others and his family. In contemporary fiction of new realism, the "little man" transcends the role of a mere societal archetype of suffering, evolving into a protagonist accountable for both family and others. R.Senchin examines the moment at which anindividual relinquishes such obligation.

Emotion, memory and storytelling: postmemorial emotion work in Vietnamese American graphic narratives

The article demonstrates how graphic narratives become a medium for managing inherited emotions in Vietnamese American second-generation works, GB Tran’s Vietnamerica and Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. Highlighting the intergenerational transmission of emotions in Vietnamese American families through parental stories about the Vietnam War, the article argues that the authors’ attempts to represent these family stories transform graphic literature into a medium for postmemorial emotion work. While drawing theoretical insights from the sociology of emotions, the study employs textual analysis to thematically close read Vietnamerica and The Best We Could Do to understand the graphic strategies that aid emotion work. The graphic recreation of stories, which are narrativised versions of their inherited trauma memories, can offer potential trauma resolution and autobiographical clarity while fostering communal bonding. The analysis finds that in the works, emotion work is facilitated by various literary strategies, such as affective genealogies, affective geographies, affective pasts, and postmemorial re-embodiment. In a broader sense, the study concludes that graphic narrative strategies can aid in postmemorial emotion work for second-generation refugees grappling with inherited trauma, incoherent autobiographical knowledge, and detachment from the community or family.

Intergenerational Transmission of Wisdom Through Family Narratives: A Qualitative Analysis of Emerging Adults' Perspective

Family narratives are a medium for the intergenerational transmission of life wisdom, which may influence recipient’s beliefs system and behaviors. Despite a growing body of knowledge on wisdom, emerging adults remain insufficiently researched as to what wisdom from their perspective was conveyed to them through stories. The aim was to identify what wisdom emerging adults perceive in the narratives told them by their parents about themselves. The study was conducted in Poland. Convenience sampling was used. 42 emerging adults (33 female, 8 male, 1 non-binary) ranging from 19 to 22 years participated in the study. Participants were asked to write stories about their parents, separately, about mother and father when they were young. These were supposed to be stories both containing wisdom and told them by their parents. Then they were asked to describe what wisdom was contained in the recalled story and what they learned from it. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Twelve participants were not able to recall a story about one of their parents. They completed one part of the written task and explained the reasons for not knowing the story about the other. These responses were included in the analysis. The thematic analysis identifies the following main themes: transmission of life lessons, transmission of values, family myths, forms of wisdom transmitting. The wisdom read by emerging adults from the recalled stories took the form of advice, encouragement, warning and reprimand. They were usually expressed indirectly. It required effort to read the hidden message and give it meaning. The study showed the importance of family stories in the upbringing process and preparation for adulthood. In the face of the following changes in lifestyles and family communication, the results may be used to support and educate families in deepening intra-family relationships.

Childhood Memory of Adult History. Holocaust Trauma and Migration in Z. Oryszyn’s novel «Saving Atlantis»

Zyta Oryszyn’s (b. 1940) novel «Saving Atlantis» (2012), like almost all of her work, is born of a sense of guilt – a desire to «cover with words» the pain caused by childhood memories of the trauma of participation (unwitting complicity in the expulsion of Germans from the Regainde Lands), the trauma of witnessing (the Holocaust) and the trauma of inheritance (family memory of forced migration). Children’s consciousness, adapting to adult reality, accommodates the experience of power and powerlessness, of invader, victim and witness. From this position, the novel explores – in all its fragmentation – the autobiographical memory of the former German space functioning in the paradigm of violence, a space traumatising and generating a sense of unrootedness. The dramatic stories of several families, told from different perspectives, intersect and intertwine, forming a sorrowful labyrinth of fear, resentment, orphanhood, humiliation, and insurmountable alienness.

Remembering the Holocaust in a Digital Age: Katja Petrowskaja at the End of Europe

This paper reads Katja Petrowskaja’s autofictional collection of family stories, Vielleicht Esther (2014), as a commentary on the digitization of Holocaust memory. Contributing to a new understanding of Petrowskaja’s engagement with postmemory, it considers how digital media shapes human recollection practices. The paper argues that digital media allows Petrowskaja’s narrator to explore new forms of diasporic commemoration while undermining her attempts to share memories through intersubjective storytelling. Illuminating this impasse, Petrowskaja critiques the isolating logic of search algorithms under what Shoshana Zuboff calls “surveillance capitalism.” At the same time, she explores an ethical application of algorithms, using databases to link distant memories and witness accounts. The last section of the paper discusses Petrowskaja’s essays on photography in a digital age, which interweave reflections on the war in Ukraine and the European refugee crisis with Jewish history. The paper ultimately addresses how diasporas take shape on the internet and asks how digital Holocaust memory might support future politics of hospitality in Europe.

The GETAID: 40 years of a family story in IBD.

The Groupe d'Etude sur les Affections Inflammatoires Digestives (GETAID) was founded in Paris in 1983 by Professor R Modigliani and colleagues. From the beginning, the aim of this international (France, Belgium and Switzerland), multicentre, French-speaking group was to address clinical questions raised by patients or physicians in their daily practice or the inflammatory bowel diseases community, by focusing on clinical research on treatments through randomised controlled trials, prospective cohorts and cross-sectional studies, quantifying the severity of various facets of the disease when necessary for these studies. This approach very innovative has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in inflammatory bowel diseases by publishing more than 120 original articles in peer-reviewed journals throughout the GETAID 40-year history, most of them in top publications in gastroenterology and hepatology journals. In this paper, we will see what GETAID's contribution has been over the last four decades, review reasons for success and forthcoming challenges.

Critical Windows: Perspectives of Parents of Children and Youth with Special Educational Needs Regarding Social Wellbeing During COVID19

ABSTRACT In the spring of 2020, schools across the globe closed as a public health measure to address the growing COVID-19 pandemic. For children and youth with special educational needs (SEN) who rely on specific additional supports and services, and who were more likely than their peers to experience a lack of school success even before COVID-19, gaps in academic and social development are likely to be magnified. The current study explored the perspectives of 36 Canadian parents of children and youth with SEN regarding the impact of COVID-19 on social wellbeing during the first wave in the spring of 2020. Thematic analysis was conducted of the in-depth interviews, and two key narratives were created in order to tell the stories of families. These narratives provide evidence of the five major themes that were identified, namely: a) pathways to friends, b) isolated and disconnected, c) developmental concerns, d) siblings as peer proxies, and e) role of schools. We discuss these themes in relation to the growing body of research documenting the impacts of COVID-19 on the social lives of children and youth.

Telling a scientific story and governing the population: The Kallikak story and the historical mutations of the eugenic discourse.

In this article, we follow the trails of 20th-century psychologist Henry Herbert Goddard's influential study of the Kallikak family. Goddard's study is treated as a scientific story with two interlocking dimensions: One is the actual story of the Kallikak family, with literary elements such as setting, plot, and characters. The other dimension is the broader eugenic discourse, a powerful scientific narrative that calls for action in relation to society and the population. The purpose of the article is twofold. Firstly, to analyze the forming and articulations of this story and to explore some of the consequences for governing the population that it has made possible. Secondly, to explore some aspects of what a Foucauldian analytics of government can contribute with in relation to Goddard's work and the eugenic discourse from the early 20th century to today. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Transgressing Racial Lines in the Name of Love: An Afro-Chinese Family Story in China

Transgressing Racial Lines in the Name of Love: An Afro-Chinese Family Story in China