Working Paper Summary #10
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Pathways Working Paper #10 Moen, P., Erickson, M. A. & Dempster-McClain, D. (1999, November). Role Identities Among Older Adults in a Continuing Care Retirement Community.
Phyllis Moen, Cornell University
Mary Ann Erickson, Ithaca College
Donna Dempster-McClain, Cornell University
Objectives
To find out whether the move into a new continuing care retirement community is linked to changes in role identities.
Key Findings
- Current role behaviors and satisfaction predict role identity for two public roles (volunteer and church/synagogue member) but are less related to two private roles (parent and friend).
- We identified three groups — an involved group with a high number of identities, a group focused on family roles, and a group focused on the friend role. The group with the most identities tended to add role identities after the move, while the groups focused on family or friends tended to lose role identities after the move.
Implications
Individuals with different sets of role identities before a move may use different strategies to cope with the move. Those who enjoy being involved in a variety of activities may seek out additional involvements, while others may chose to concentrate on fewer involvements.
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