“I Won’t Let the Past Destroy Me”: A Narrative Analysis of Identity Repair and Nascent Post-traumatic Growth Among Former Child Soldiers in Colombia

This study explores how former child soldiers in Colombia narrate identity repair following their experiences of conflict. Twenty-five adolescents and young people (aged 14-19) participated in participatory life-history workshops using a creative auto/biography (CAB) method. A narrative analysis of over 200 first-person multimodal texts identified four recurring plots- the Struggler, Learner, Advocate, and Survivor-each reflecting distinct, non-sequential pathways of self-reconstruction, emotional processing, and social re-engagement. These plots show how young people reimagine self and negotiate belonging amid stigma, rupture, and transition. The study proposes a Narrrative Identity Repair Compass comprising six interrelated domains: narrative coherence, self-concept (self-image and self-worth), self-efficacy (capacity to act on and shape circumstance), temporal orientation, relational positioning, and cognitive processing (narrative work integral to change). This multidimensional model conceptualises identity repair as fluid, non-linear, and relational. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) defined here as positive psychological change emerging from the struggle with major adversity is reframed as a contingent possibility shaped by reflection, relationships, and creativity. This framework offers a developmentally appropriate and context-sensitive approach to understanding how former child soldiers reconstruct meaning, repair identity, and move toward psychosocial integration following experiences of armed violence.