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What He Said to Me Stuck: Adolescents’ Narratives of Grandparents and Their Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood

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Narrative Development in Adolescence

Part of the book series: Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development ((ARAD))

Abstract

Jim (age 21): “My Mom’s father – my grandfather. A very independent guy, but a very caring guy. They (grandparents) go down to Florida every winter. And our family often goes down to spend some time with them. My grandpa really loves swimming in the ocean. So he would go out floating on his back for hours at a time…When I was younger, I used to stand on the shore and watch him float out. He would disappear and come back and ask me if I wanted to go out. I did once and people were worried because I was only ten. My parents and my grandma were concerned, ‘Oh, he’s too small,’ even though I was with my grandpa. But what he said to me stuck. What he said was I need to know my own limits, my abilities. Other people are going to have their opinions and worries and concerns, but being independent is taking that stuff into consideration, but then also doing what you can.”

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this chapter and the research described herein was supported by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants to the first, second and fourth authors and to Dan P. McAdams. The authors thank the adolescents and their families for their patience and support throughout this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University, N2L 3C5, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Michael W. Pratt

  2. Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Joan E. Norris

  3. Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Heather Lawford

  4. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Mary Louise Arnold

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  1. Michael W. Pratt
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  2. Joan E. Norris
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  3. Heather Lawford
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  4. Mary Louise Arnold
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Correspondence to Michael W. Pratt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Western Washington University, High St. 516, Bellingham, 98225, USA

    Kate C. McLean

  2. Dept. Psychology, University of Utah, South 1530 East 380, Salt Lake City, 84112-0251, USA

    Monisha Pasupathi

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Pratt, M.W., Norris, J.E., Lawford, H., Arnold, M.L. (2010). What He Said to Me Stuck: Adolescents’ Narratives of Grandparents and Their Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood. In: McLean, K., Pasupathi, M. (eds) Narrative Development in Adolescence. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89825-4_5

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