Abstract
Children’s autobiographical memories and life stories are shaped in early interactions with parents. I integrate findings from two longitudinal cohorts of New Zealand children from toddlerhood (age 1.5 years) to young adulthood (age 21 years): Origins of Memory, a longitudinal correlational study (N = 58), and Growing Memories, a longitudinal intervention study (N = 115). Findings show that mothers’ elaborative reminiscing with young children, especially open-ended elaborative questions and confirmations, is critical for children’s later autobiographical memory and narrative skills. In adolescence and young adulthood, children with highly elaborative mothers reported earlier memories. Building on their richer memory bank, they also told turning-point narratives with stronger causal links between past and present selves. Moreover, they reported better well-being. Based on these findings and those from Habermas’ MainLife study, I propose an integrative theory of life story development that details how and why mothers’ elaborative reminiscing leads to causally coherent life stories and better well-being for their young adult children through enriching their autobiographical memories.