I believe a parent’s explanatory style—how they make sense of setbacks and stress—can predict well-being and burnout.

That’s the heart of my work: turning the research lens toward the rich internal narratives of those raising the next generation. 🧵fin.

But here’s the part that matters to me most:

We used the same methodology I plan to use with 18 gathered interviews with parents—because their stories matter just as much.

We track presidential speech, but what about how parents explain their lives under cultural pressures and expectations?

We found that how candidates explained bad events—their explanatory style—predicted election outcome.

Both started w/similar optimism levels, but Trump’s surged in the final weeks & Harris’s stayed stable.

That shift predicted a sizable victory—more than emotional tone, agency, or other variables.

With that kind of creatively there’s hope for us yet.

I want this as a t-shirt.