Gender in Personal and Collective Event Memories From the COVID‐19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT The present study examined the role of gender in autobiographical and national event memories from the COVID‐19 pandemic and their relations to well‐being. Participants recalled and narrated autobiographical and national events, rated their phenomenological qualities, and completed a well‐being measure. Memory narratives were coded for length, emotional expressivity, social orientation, specificity, and meaning‐making themes. Consistent with gendered storytelling practices, females produced narratives that were more emotional than males and their autobiographical narratives were more likely to focus on social events rather than COVID‐related themes. Across genders, autobiographical narratives were more emotional, socially oriented, and specific than national ones. Memory phenomenological qualities mostly mirrored narrative characteristics, with females' memories showing stronger subjective experience than males'. Furthermore, greater sharing of autobiographical memories was associated with higher well‐being. These findings illuminate how gendered memory and narrative processes shape personal and collective meaning‐making during crises.