Creative recovery: Narrative creativity mitigates identity distress among young adults with cancer.

Young adults with cancer are at a heightened risk for experiencing identity distress, with adverse consequence on their satisfaction with life (SwL). This study examines the contributions of two resources thought to mitigate identity distress: parental warmth and narrative creativity. 164 young adults divided into three groups: (a) group (no history of life-threatening medical illness); (b) group, and (c) group (currently in treatment) completed measures of SwL, identity distress, parental warmth, and narrative creativity. The cancer group was associated with higher identity distress and there was a strong contribution of identity distress in decreased SwL across groups. Narrative creativity had a significant, direct effect on reduced identity distress, indirectly increasing SwL across groups. These findings highlight the potential of creativity to decrease identity distress and in turn, improve SwL among patients with cancer.