Little research has examined changes in personal identity over different periods of adult development. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to target these changes through the characterization of the main dimensions in self-defining memories (SDMs; thematic content, specificity, integrative meaning, tension, contamination/redemption,…

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change…

Age-related changes in personality variables that may contribute to the reduction of symptoms of eating disorders with adult development were examined. Undergraduate sorority women (n = 52; mean age = 19.85 years) were compared with alumnae of the same sorority (n = 34; mean age = 33.74 years). Eating pathology was correlated with greater…

Examined whether self-perceptions of Type A behavior change during adult years in 211 subjects in four age groups who completed a Type A scale. Subjects in the 30-39 age group perceived themselves as becoming more Type A while subjects over 40 perceived themselves as becoming less Type A. (NRB)

Compared sex role characteristics and related personality traits in four age groups of women. In general, younger women were least like the traditional feminine sex role stereotype; they were more willing to ascribe masculine sex role characteristics to themselves. Older women adhered most strongly to conventional feminine traits. (JAC)

The results showed as much variation within the groups of mature women and young women as between the two groups. Mature women found little in the academic or social life of the institution with which to identify; neither did the young women. (Author/CG)

Focuses on the relationship between social environment and the older individual. By utilizing the Social Breakdown Syndrome a cycle of events is defined by the Geriatric Sexuality Breakdown Syndrome, in which an older individual is initially predisposed to diminished sexual activity to the end point of self-identification as nonsexual. (Author)

Considers traditional approaches to identity across life span, then presents discursive perspective showing how, during interaction, individuals actively construct age-salient identities for themselves and others through talk. Conversational processes of age-identity management are explored in corpus of geriatric medical outpatient consultations.…

Young (N=38) and 2( older career changers in business-managerial occupations were compared to 45 young and 40 older vocationally stable controls with respect to several characteristics. Results showed career changers were characterized by high incongruity, emotional maladjustment, and fear of failure, and low differentiation and consistency of…

Women in four age groups did not differ significantly in overall level of self-esteem, but could be discriminated on the more specific aspects of self-concept. The 40- to 55-year-olds reported more positive feelings about themselves in their family relations and morality. Women over 60 showed more defensiveness. (Author)

The author expands on the false assumptions implied in the title and shows how they are in error. (AG)

Several works have suggested that life proceeds in a pattern of developmental stages characterized by expansion during the early adult years and restriction, or withdrawal, after middle age. Postulating that self-concept might also be expected to reflect this curvilinear pattern of life stages, the author explored differences in adult self-concept…

Relatively little research exists on the relationship between adaptability and the structural aspects of self. The research that does exist suggests that a more mature personality, i.e., a self that is differentiated and integrated, has a greater capacity to adapt to crises. To identify the empirical relationship between three structural…

Attribution theory and gerontology would be enriched by the application of a life-span approach to attribution, involving increased attention to the age of the stimulus person and developmental factors associated with self-attribution. In studies on achievement attributions about older people, chronological age appears to be a more salient cue for…

The developmental model of self-concept proposed by M. Lynch and M. Levy (1982) is extended through the entire adult life cycle. Self-concept is seen as a set of cognitive rules that have affective or cognitive consequences and that operate like the ego functions proposed by Freud. (SLD)