Self‐transcendence and life stories of humanistic growth among late‐midlife adults

Abstract

Objective: Self-transcendence is the experience of feeling connected to something greater than oneself. Previous studies have shown high scores on self-transcendence are associated with wellbeing and other psychological benefits, but have rarely examined the lived experiences of highly self-transcendent people. Method: Black and White men and women in late-midlife completed Life Story Interviews and self-report measures of self-transcendence. In Study 1 (N = 144, Mage = 56.4), we used grounded theory methodology to differentiate stories told by participants scoring either extremely high or extremely low on self-transcendence. In Study 2 (N = 125; Mage = 60.4), we created a quantitative coding scheme, and scored 1,375 new life story scenes. Results: In Study 1, six narrative themes were identified (closure, interconnectedness, lifelong learning, secure attachment, self-actualization, spiritual pluralism) as part of a "humanistic growth story." In Study 2, four of the narrative themes were found to predict self-transcendence scores with significant effect sizes of β = .26 to .47. Conclusions: In our sample, highly selftranscendent individuals tended to narrate their lived experiences as spiritual journeys of humanistic growth. This study adds to our understanding of one path of personality growth in late midlife, that toward self-transcendence.

Self-Transcendence as a Buffer Against COVID-19 Suffering: The Development and Validation of the Self-Transcendence Measure-B

“…Likewise, Maurer and Daukantaite (2020) reviewed a great deal of empirical evidence supporting the connection between the organismic valuing theory of personal growth and self-transcendence. In a qualitative study of highly self-transcendent individuals, Reischer et al (2021) confirmed that such individuals tended to narrate their lived experiences as spiritual journeys of humanistic growth toward self-transcendence during the later middle age.…”

The last chapters of life: A proposed research agenda for studying narrative identity in older adulthood

“…More research is needed to determine whether these themes or others are particularly prominent in older adulthood, and to identify whether established findings in the narrative identity literature replicate or diverge in late life. For example, narrative coding schemes developed for use with midlife adults, including those which measure emotional resolution (Pals, 2006), ego integrity (Torges, Stewart, & Duncan, 2008), and self-transcendence (Reischer, Roth, Villarreal, & McAdams, 2020), could be applied to research with older adults.…”

“…More research is needed to determine whether these themes or others are particularly prominent in older adulthood, and to identify whether established findings in the narrative identity literature replicate or diverge in late life. For example, narrative coding schemes developed for use with midlife adults, including those which measure emotional resolution (Pals, 2006), ego integrity (Torges et al., 2008), and self‐transcendence (Reischer et al., 2020), could be applied to research with older adults. The outcome of this research might suggest that the metaphor of a narrative reader, smoothing over and integrating their life story in older adulthood, is quite apt; alternatively, it might undermine or refine this concept in other ways that help to illuminate the interaction between aging and narrative identity.…”

Revisiting Redemption: A Life Span Developmental Account of the Functions of Narrative Redemption

“…We are indebted toReischer et al (2019) for this excellent format for presenting a master narrative prototype. Reischer, H. N., Roth, L. J., Villarreal, J.…”