Life satisfaction and identity structure in late middle-aged men and women

A total of 32 retirement-age subjects (17 men and 15 women) provided information about their lives by rating each of their identities in terms of a list of self-generated features. They also rank-ordered their currently enacted identities in terms of time spent in each and completed a life-satisfact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychology and aging Vol. 2; no. 3; p. 217
Main Author Ogilvie, D M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.1987
Subjects
Aged
Aging - psychology
Female
Gender Identity
Humans
Job Satisfaction
Leisure Activities
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Psychological
Personal Satisfaction
Personality Development
Social Environment
Social Identification
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Summary:A total of 32 retirement-age subjects (17 men and 15 women) provided information about their lives by rating each of their identities in terms of a list of self-generated features. They also rank-ordered their currently enacted identities in terms of time spent in each and completed a life-satisfaction questionnaire. The Identities X Features matrices were analyzed by algorithms that generated a hierarchical model of identity structure for each subject based on feature ratings. The hierarchical levels of identities were combined with time-spent rankings to obtain an index of personal style, a measure that reflected the unique organization of identities for each subject. Personal style indices were then correlated with life-satisfaction scores. Results confirmed the prediction that life satisfaction in this age group is a function of the amount of time spent in identities that give expression to multiple aspects of the self.
ISSN:0882-7974
1939-1498
DOI:10.1037/0882-7974.2.3.217