Unique outcomes in the narratives of young adults who experienced dating violence as adolescents / Claire Burke Draucker, Carolyn Smith, Jill Mazurczyk, Destini Thomas, Patricia Ramirez, Kim McNealy, Jade Thomas, Donna S. Martsolf

Narrative therapy, an approach based on the reauthoring of life narratives, may be a useful psychotherapeutic strategy for youth who have experienced dating violence. A cornerstone of narrative therapy is the concept of unique outcomes, which are moments that stand in contrast to a client's otherwise problem-saturated narratives. The purpose of this study was to identify and categorize unique outcomes embedded in narratives about adolescent dating violence. Text units representing unique outcomes were extracted from transcripts of interviews with 88 young adults who had experienced dating violence and were categorized using standard content analytic techniques. Six categories of unique outcome stories were identified: facing-facts stories, standing-up-for-myself stories, cutting-it-off stories, cutting-'em-loose stories, getting-back-on-track stories, and changing-it-up stories. This typology of unique outcomes can inform clinicians who work with clients who have a history of adolescent dating violence.

Nursing