Cultural Life Scripts and Life Story Events of Cis-Heterosexual and LGBQ Individuals

doi:10.1017/9781009492140.017

Chapter 14 - Cultural Life Scripts and Life Story Events of Cis-Heterosexual and LGBQ Individuals

from Part III - How Deviating Autobiographical Memories Shape the Life Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2025

Deniz Asolar and

Ali İ. Tekcan

Edited by

Christin Camia and

Annette Bohn

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Christin Camia: Affiliation:
Zayed University Abu Dhabi
Annette Bohn: Affiliation:
Aarhus University

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Summary

Cultural life scripts refer to typical life events and their expected timing within a given culture. Although life scripts tend to be substantially similar across cultures, a few studies examining subcultures (e.g., ethnicity, religious affiliation) reported some differences in event content (Bohn & Bundgaard-Nielsen, 2021) and normativity (Hatiboğlu & Habermas, 2016; Tungjitcharoen & Berntsen, 2022). Here, we report data from a study exploring life story events and life scripts of a subsection of society: LGBQ individuals in Turkey. We collected life scripts and life story events from LGBQ and cis-heterosexual adults living in Turkey. Participants also filled out questionnaires regarding well-being and life satisfaction, along with questions on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Life story–life script overlap was stronger for cis-heterosexuals than for the LGBQ group largely due to differences in life script typicality. Well-being was associated with life script positivity for cis-heterosexual participants but with life story positivity for LGBQ participants. Results are discussed in terms of life script framework and identity development.

Keywords

autobiographical memory LGBQ sexual orientation gender identity

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story
New Perspectives on Narrative Identity
, pp. 305 - 331

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009492140.017 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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