Validating the Narrative Identity Self-Evaluation Scale in Japan: Links with Subjective Well-Being and Content-Coded Narrative Identity

This study validated the Narrative Identity Self-Evaluation (NISE) scale among Japanese adults through two interconnected studies. In Study 1, a total of 1,500 Japanese adults (aged 18–60 years) completed the NISE alongside measures of subjective well-being and self-concept clarity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the NISE’s four-factor structure – autobiographical reasoning, desire for structure, positive themes, and narrative disturbance – within the Japanese context. Path analysis further revealed that positive themes were consistently linked to greater subjective well-being and self-concept clarity, whereas narrative disturbance predicted poorer subjective well-being. In Study 2, associations between self-reported NISE scores and turning-point narratives were examined in a sample of 90 Japanese adults (aged 20–60 years), using a broad range of content-coded narrative characteristics. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the positive themes subscale of the NISE was uniquely associated with narrative identity variables derived from content-coding, such as emotional valence, agency, and growth. Collectively, these findings highlight the role of self-evaluated narrative qualities, linking them to both subjective well-being and the construction of life turning points, and suggesting their value as a complement to traditional narrative coding methods, also within the Japanese context.