The structure of well-being in the life narratives of the elderly

Sherman, Edmund

doi:10.1016/s0890-4065(05)80003-9

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Because it offers the final chance to set things aright, old age may lead to extensive revisions of the past and a much clearer articulation of the linkages between past, present, and future than has been achieved before. By late life the way people describe their life has become a significant indicator of well-being (Coleman, 1986;Hagberg, 1995;Sherman, 1994).…”

Section: Development Of Identity As Storymentioning

confidence: 99%

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis

Coleman

Ivani-Chalian

Robinson

1999

Journal of Personality

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Case studies drawn from a 20-year longitudinal study of aging were examined for the support they provide to two theoretical viewpoints on the self in later life: one focusing on management of self-esteem, the other on development of identity as story. The five cases selected for scrutiny represented diverse trajectories of self-esteem. They furnished ample illustrations of certain key aspects of both theories, including assimilative processes of coping, depression related to absence of accommodation, maintenance of life story themes, and life review processes. They did not, however, give strong support to the dichotomy, drawn within both theoretical models, between younger and older old age. Examples of accommodation, disengagement, and self-transcendence, hypothesized to typify advanced old age, were relatively few in number and emerged only toward the very end of life. It is argued that examination of prototypical cases provides a useful approach to validating and developing theory. A conclusion drawn from this study is that more analysis should be carried out on the lives of persons who exemplify the theoretically ideal characteristics of advanced old age.

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Section: Development Of Identity As Storymentioning

confidence: 99%

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis

Coleman

Ivani-Chalian

Robinson

1999

Journal of Personality

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“…There are some reminiscence researchers examining the content of memories shared during reminiscence groups (e.g., Chandler and Ray 2002;Sayre 2002;Sherman 1994;Wink and Schiff 2002). These studies typically examine global themes (e.g., themes of fear and survivorship) in people's life story and are often case studies about intrapersonal life review (e.g., Kropf and Tandy 1998).…”

Section: Autobiographical Memory Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was found, for the first time in the literature, that autobiographical memory content is influential (see e.g., Chandler and Ray 2002;Kropf and Tandy 1998;Sayre 2002;Sherman 1994;Wink and Schiff 2002 for thematic content analyses). Autobiographical memory content predicted levels of depressive symptoms after reminiscence group participation.…”

Section: Narrative Content Predicts Levels Of Depression After Reminimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Content of Older Adults’ Autobiographical Memories Predicts the Beneficial Outcomes of Reminiscence Group Participation

2009

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Much research has investigated the beneficial outcomes of reminiscence groups, like guided autobiography groups. Few have assessed whether the content of the autobiographical memories shared during these groups, however, predicts beneficial outcomes. This is the main goal of the current study. Sixteen participants responded to questionnaires about depression, death attitudes, and psychological well-being before and after an 8-week reminiscence group. Results indicated that group participation decreased depression, lowered fear and avoidance of death, and improved death acceptance. The 41 memory narratives collected from group participants were content analyzed for affective, cognitive, and sensory processes. Analyses revealed that memory content predicted levels of depression after group participation. Specifically, memories with more positive affective words (e.g., happy) predicted less depressive symptoms, and memories with negative cognitive process words (e.g., perhaps) predicted more depressive symptoms. The implications for remembering life events in old age are discussed.

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“…The social worker also helps her come to peace with the change by facilitating reminiscence, placing her current situation into perspective with her past life and helping her to identify ways that she maintains her former sense of self, including her volunteer work at the neighborhood elementary school and serving on the resident's council of the nursing home. Positive experiences, such as her current activities, tend to be positively associated with ego-integrity (Sherman, 1994). As a result of intervention, discrepancies between her self-schema and current life situation have been minimized.…”

Section: Self-schema and Life Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking Back at Life and Its Influence on Subjective Well-Being

Peck

2001

Journal of Gerontological Social Work

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Lower levels of subjective well-being are associated with increased illness and death. Studies of elder morbidity and mortality increasingly have explored the link between social and psychological aspects of life to subjective well-being, and to health and disease. This paper presents a conceptual model of subjective well-being based on the process that people use to appraise their lives and on life task completion.

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The structure of well-being in the life narratives of the elderly

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis

Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis

The Content of Older Adults’ Autobiographical Memories Predicts the Beneficial Outcomes of Reminiscence Group Participation

Looking Back at Life and Its Influence on Subjective Well-Being

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