Strengthening self-continuity to reduce depressive symptoms and derailment: A multiphasic mixed-methods randomized...

Emerging adulthood is a critical period for identity formation and heightened vulnerability to depression. Given that disruptions in identity continuity and coherence-captured by the construct derailment-are linked to elevated depressive symptoms, strengthening temporal-identity processes may offer a path for symptom relief. We tested a narrative journaling intervention targeting self-continuity to reduce depressive symptoms among emerging adults.

In Phase 1, we examined baseline associations among derailment, self-continuity, and depressive symptoms in a community sample (N = 242). In Phase 2, eligible participants (N = 112) were randomized to a derailment-focused intervention or neutral reflective journaling control condition, with outcomes assessed during the intervention and at 2 week and 2 month postintervention. In Phase 3, we conducted an exploratory thematic analysis of responses within the experimental condition.

Relative to controls, participants in the experimental condition reported lower derailment, higher self-continuity, and lower depressive symptoms, with group differences maintained at 2 month postintervention. An autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis yielded a pattern consistent with an indirect association between intervention assignment and both downstream depressive symptoms and derailment through early gains in self-continuity. Exploratory thematic analyses indicated that participants reporting larger symptom decreases described narratives characterized by reflective self-evaluation, whereas those reporting minimal changes more often described fragmented narratives and ruminative brooding.

Findings provide evidence that a derailment-focused journaling intervention may reduce depressive symptoms and derailment. Early gains in self-continuity represent a plausible candidate process and a target for future mechanistic tests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).