Centrality of Event across Cultures. Emotionally Positive and Negative Events in Mexico, China, Greenland, and Denmark.

• Main Authors: Zaragoza Scherman, Alejandra, Berntsen, Dorthe
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Berntsen; Greenland; Rubin
• Online Access: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/centrality-of-event-across-cultures-emotionally-positive-and-negative-events-in-mexico-china-greenland-and-denmark(29877825-8cb2-4d46-a3c2-0307fd677fd1).html; https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/77175283/Zaragoza_et_al.pdf

During their lifetime, people experience both emotionally positive and negative events. The Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen and Rubin, 2006; Berntsen, Rubin and Siegler, 2011) measures the extent to which an event is central to someone’s identity and life story. An event becomes central when it is an important part of our identity and life story, when it changes the way we view the world in everyday life, and when we use it as a turning point in our life story. CES research has produced important findings regarding how the emotionality of a life event influences the way we incorporate an emotional event into our life story and our identity. Key findings: 1) Positive events are rated as more central to identity than negative events; 2) The extent to which highly traumatic and negative events become central to a person’s life story and identity varies as a function of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms: Participants with higher PTSD and depression scores reported that a traumatic or negative event was highly central to their identity and life story; and 3) A significant number of positive event occurred during participants’ adolescence and early adulthood, while negative events increased as participants grew older.