Some Information About Our Aging
Selves[i]
In
the fall of 2010 I posted on this blogspot an item entitled Who Am I? It was
based on the theory and research of Alfred Adler who’s model of personality I
used during the years I practiced as a registered psychologist in British
Columbia. I still believe that his
theory is very useful in developing an understanding of our aging personality.
But so are the ideas of Robert Atchley and I intend, in this blog post, to use
the article cited at the bottom to discuss the self-continuity life of
elders. I used Adler’s model to
counsel individuals during their working lives.
The
question is just how much adjustment is required as we move into old age. How do we know just what is happening?
To this Atchley asserts “…it is our experience of aging, first in others and
then in ourselves, that creates what aging means to us in contrast to what aging means in
our culture or to people in general.”
Atchley
continues by saying he will discuss 1) aging as a subjective experience, 2)
negative messages about aging that we receive from others 3) changes in
personality and self that provide the context in which experiences and messages
are received, 4) various defenses for maintaining a positive self image, and 5)
various factors that can result in low self-esteem in later life.”
I
will provide some information from each of the five sections.
1) As we age even with the experience
of much physical decline some people “…still retain a vital and hopeful
outlook. Others are utterly defeated by seemingly trivial changes in
circumstances.” Further as
older persons we must be able to struggle against age discrimination. We are often categorized by the idea
that we “…lack the physical, mental, social or educational resources necessary
to cope on our own with the demands of life.”
2) “There is no question that what
others tell older people about themselves and about aging and the aged in
general is sometimes based on negative stereotypes and delivered in a cruel and
impersonal way.” I specifically
relate to this with my studies of ageism.
3) Research has “…found that after
middle age, adaptation patterns show no significant changes with age. This is consistent with psychology’s
Continuity Theory that is the tool Atchley is using.
4) Changes in self-concepts which
include what we think we are, what we think we ought to be like, our “…moral
assessment of how well we live up to our ideal self and self esteem “…whether
we like or dislike ourselves and how much.” As we develop experience this tool
becomes increasingly useful.
5) What we think and feel about ourselves as we age?
“The self-concept and
ideal self are often tied to the social positions we occupy, the roles we play,
and the norms associated with our personal characteristics (note that while I
retired last August, I have continued to feed this blog and have signed up as a
substitute instructor at Kwantlen).
When
we are in younger age groups, youth, young adult, and middle age, with the
roles we take up and let go of, it is “…often difficult to develop a firm sense
of self”. “Self-esteem, scores of older people living independently in the
community are nearly double those of high-school students…Another way to say
this is that self-acceptance increases with age and experience.”
Finally,
just to keep things balanced:
“To
the extent that one’s observations of one’ self are relatively honest, the
theory gets better as time goes on…But other people never develop a firm theory
of self that even could be tested. They don’t quite know what to expect of
themselves in various situations, and the result is inconsistent and confused
behavior.”
The article
discussed above has more information about this topic. If you have access to research data
bases GO FOR IT!!
[i] Atchley, Robert C. (1982). The Aging Self. In Psychotherapy: Theory Research and
Practice; Vol. 19, (4) (downloaded from the internet) p.p.
388-396
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