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Coping with traumatic memories: Second World War veterans' experiences of social support in relation to the narrative coherence of war memories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2009

KAREN J. BURNELL ,
PETER G. COLEMAN  and
NIGEL HUNT
KAREN J. BURNELL*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
PETER G. COLEMAN
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
NIGEL HUNT
Affiliation:
Institute of Work, Health and Organisations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Karen Burnell, Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London, 67–73 Riding House Street, 1st floor Charles Bell House, LondonW1W 7EJ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper reports a qualitative study that used narrative analysis to explore how social support helps many armed-services veterans cope with traumatic memories. The analysis was carried out on two levels, that of narrative form (level of narrative coherence), argued to be indicative of reconciliation, and narrative content (themes of social support), which allowed exploration of the types of social support experienced by veterans with coherent, reconciled and incoherent narratives. Ten British male Second World War veterans were interviewed regarding their war experiences, presence of traumatic memories, and experiences of social support from comrades, family and society. Different patterns of support were qualitatively related to coherent, reconciled and incoherent narratives. Veterans with coherent narratives were no less likely to have experienced traumatic events than those with reconciled or incoherent narratives, but they reported more positive perceptions of their war experience and of the war's outcomes, more positive experiences of communication with family in later life, and more positive perceptions of societal opinion. The results are discussed in relation to how veterans can be supported by family and friends to reconcile their traumatic memories, thus to lessen the burden in later life when vital support resources may be unavailable.

Keywords

narrative analysisnarrative coherencesocial supportreconciliationSecond World Warveterans
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 57 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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