Personal concepts of stability in the second half of life

Timmer, Erika; Steverink, Nardi; Stevens, Nan; Dittmann‐Kohli, Freya

doi:10.1016/s0890-4065(03)00062-8

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Dittmann-Kohli (1990) suggested that many older adults consider their life goals as reached or passed and are not looking to fulfill aspirations in the upcoming years, but rather focus more on maintenance (Dittmann- Kohli, 1990). This is in line with earlier research suggesting that as individuals get older they are not directed to the future but live day to day (Timmer, Steverink, Stevens, & Dittmann-Kohli, 2003). However, while this may be the case for older adults in general, proactive coping may lead to personal growth since the development of the resources involved in proactive coping may lead to opportunities for developing new skills and hence facilitate personal growth.…”

supporting

confidence: 89%

Proactive Coping in Community-Dwelling Older Australians

Sougleris

Ranzijn

2011

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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This article reports on a study of older community-dwelling Australian adults which aimed to test whether a relatively unexplored construct, proactive coping, could have a role in purpose in life, personal growth, and life satisfaction. A total of 109 women and 115 men (Mean age = 75.04 yrs, SD = 6.66) completed a questionnaire containing Greenglass et al.'s (1999) Proactive Coping Inventory, the Purpose in Life and Personal Growth subscales of Ryff's (1989) Psychological Well-being Scales, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985). The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that proactive coping was a highly significant predictor of all three measures of well-being, after controlling for age and health. The effect on personal growth and purpose in life was particularly strong. Proactive coping does seem to be an important variable in the psychological well-being of older adults. However, the correlational nature of the design, and the likelihood of some conceptual overlap between the well-being variables, suggest that these inferences can only be tentative. Designing psychological interventions to improve proactive coping may help to improve quality of life at older ages. There is a need for experimental research to further explore the causal influence of proactive coping and for further theoretical work to determine the exact nature of proactive coping.

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supporting

confidence: 89%

Proactive Coping in Community-Dwelling Older Australians

Sougleris

Ranzijn

2011

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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“…It is particularly interesting that this level of fear was found in a welleducated population. It may be that cognitive ability is more important to well-educated seniors (Timmer et al, 2003) or that they are more informed about the potential ravages of Alzheimer's disease (Reese, Cherry, & Copeland, 2000), leading them to fear cognitive decline on a very personal self-defining level. Alternatively, research on more diverse samples may discover that this level of concern about cognition is present in less educated older groups as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Healthrelated selves and concerns begin to increase in frequency in middle age (Hooker & Kaus, 1994) and continue to increase from middleage into older adulthood (Hooker, 1992;Hooker & Kaus, 1992;Timmer, Steverink, Stevens, & Dittmann-Kohli, 2003). In a longitudinal study by Frazier et al (2000), patterns of change and stability in the possible selves of men and women between the ages of 55 and 89 were identified.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Selves and Aging: Older Adults' Memory Fears

Dark-Freudeman

West

Viverito

2006

Educational Gerontology

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“…The present study is unable to answer these questions. Nonetheless, motivation for change is a significant challenge, something that is transient and uncertain, especially when elder health declines or complications arise regardless of personal efforts (Furchtgott & Wilkes, 1999;Timmer, Steverink, Stevens, & Dittmann-Kohli, 2003). We are uncertain whether the club will continue; many members were uncertain if they would continue indefinitely.…”

Section: Challenges and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%