The Evidence base for ancestry talks in the community
The Emory University study found that family stories provide a sense of identity through time, and help people understand who they are in the world. Communities will benefit by showing higher levels of emotional well-being having explored their family history.
Source: Emory University, Children Benefit if They Know About Their Relatives, Study Finds
The psychologist Online Magazine reports
Some people want, or feel that they need, a sense of a wider connection to see how they fit into a larger world, both currently and historically (see Affleck & Steed, 2001).
In non-Western cultures, knowledge about previous familial generations is passed down through oral histories, thus maintaining the wider kinship. People can also feel the need for a wider social connection, Silverman et al. (1994, p.547).
A motivator for tracing one’s ancestors can be that this allows people to contact relatives they have lost touch with or to discover new relatives. Ludvigsen and Parnham (2004).
the loss of certainty, of one’s own potential, of health and the belief in one’s own immortality, or of a significant other can spur us to research our roots: Powell and Afifi (2005).
Exploring ancestry may be an attempted solution or coping mechanism. In this way, the desire to search is a move towards ‘mental health, wellness, and congruence’ (Krueger & Hanna, 1997).
Fitzhardinge (2008), suggests that it is the ‘way we make sense of’ stories that is the ‘very essence of identity’. He describes the heart of resilience as ‘the ability of a person to understand their story in such a way that it creates opportunity rather than limits it’.
Fitzhardinge (2008) advises, ‘A sense of self is constantly evolving and successful adaptation requires that narratives of self are rethought and retold periodically in ways that better fit the current developmental needs’ (p.66).