Cultural differences in autobiographical memories are linked to differences in self-understanding and well-being. This study investigated how vicarious memories of family events, expressed in intergenerational narratives, are also important for well-being. New Zealand adolescents (N = 263) from three cultural groups (Chinese, Māori, and European; 12–21 years) told narratives about their mothers’ and fathers’ childhood. Narratives were coded for event valence, topic, thematic coherence, subjective perspective, relationships, and identity connections. Regardless of culture and age, adolescents’ self-esteem was uniquely related to using subjective perspective terms in mothers’ stories, and to telling thematically coherent fathers’ stories, controlling for personality traits and personal narratives. However, the links to well-being were not always positive for New Zealand Māori and European adolescents, possibly due to the unique cultural-historical context in which these narratives were situated. Further research using both quantitative and qualitative methods could shed light on the delicate relationship between intergenerational narratives and adolescent development.

自传体记忆中的文化差异与自我理解和幸福感的差异有关。这项研究调查了代际叙事中表达的家庭事件的替代记忆对幸福感也很重要。新西兰青少年（N  = 来自三个文化群体（华人，毛利人和欧洲人； 12至21岁）的263页）讲述了有关其父母的童年时代。叙述采用事件效价，主题，主题连贯性，主观视角，关系和身份联系进行编码。无论文化和年龄如何，青少年的自尊都与在母亲的故事中使用主观视角术语，讲述主题连贯的父亲的故事，控制人格特质和个人叙事有着独特的关系。但是，对于新西兰毛利人和欧洲青少年来说，与幸福的联系并不总是积极的，这可能是由于这些叙述所处的独特的文化历史背景。