Time and Self-Identity in Later Life

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Hulbert ◽  
Willy Lens
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Everyday Experiences ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Meaningful Sense

Addressing questions raised by Kastenbaum concerning varied everyday experiences of psychological time, an attempt is made to provide a framework through which such experiences can be interpreted. Raynor's concept of time-linked sources of self-identity is elaborated to include intergenerational-linked and timeless sources of self-identity in the quest to feel good about oneself. Case examples of how eight elderly individuals viewed their futures are used in illustrating how a meaningful sense of self-identity is part of an integration of experiences over time.

scholarly journals Exploring Autistic Adults’ Psychosocial Experiences Affecting Beginnings, Continuity, and Change in Camouflaging Over Time- A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Loo ◽  
Truman Teo ◽  
Melanie Liang ◽  
Dawn-Joy Leong ◽  
Diana Weiting Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Psychosocial Experiences ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Psychosocial Influences ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Over Time

Many autistic people develop camouflaging strategies to mask or compensate for their underlying autism-related differences in order to get by in predominantly non-autistic societies. Autistic adults have described camouflaging as a “lifetime of conditioning to act normal”, suggesting that camouflaging develops over the autistic person’s lifespan. Yet, very little is so far known about the course of camouflaging motivations and behaviours over time or the psychosocial factors that may influence autistic people’s camouflaging trajectories. In an exploratory qualitative study within an Asian sociocultural context, we interviewed 11 Singaporean autistic adults in depth about their camouflaging experiences throughout their lives. We aimed to better understand the beginnings, continuity and changes in their camouflaging motivations and strategies over time, and related psychosocial influences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty-six themes were identified, and were organised across four phases - pre-camouflaging, beginnings, continuity, and change over time. The earliest camouflaging motivations were predominantly relational, linked to a negative self-identity shaped by adverse social experiences. Strategies were increasingly complex and better integrated into one’s sense of self over time, or more selectively engaged in. Our findings highlight the role of psychosocial pressures precipitating camouflaging. They also emphasise the need for both individual psychological and societal-level changes to move from pathologizing autistic differences to acceptance, understanding, and inclusion, so as to reduce psychosocial pressures on autistic people of all ages to camouflage.

Moral Disability, Moral Injury, and the Flight from Vulnerability

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia L. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Moral Injury ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Moral Reflection ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Moral Importance

This chapter explores the concept of moral disability, identifying two types. The first type involves disabling conditions that distort one’s process of moral reflection. Examples include the incapacity to consider the long-term future, to feel empathy for others, and to be honest with oneself. A noteworthy example of self-deception is systematically denying one’s own—and humanity’s—vulnerability to the power of others, to accidents, and to having one’s well-being linked to that of others and the eco-system. Acknowledging vulnerability often requires a new sense of self. The second type includes incapacities directly resulting from ‘moral injury’—debilitating, self-inflicted harms when one violates a deeply held moral conviction, even if trying to remain true to another moral value. Examining moral disabilities highlights the moral importance of self-identity. More progress may be made on controversial issues if we discuss who we are, how we connect, and how we can heal.

scholarly journals Sexuality in Later Life and Mental Health Among Older Black Gay Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Gay Men

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.

scholarly journals Parallel Process Latent Growth Modeling of the Relationships Between Social Cohesion and Mental Health in Later Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 307-307
Author(s):  
Sok An ◽  
Kyeongmo Kim ◽  
Minhong Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Initial Level ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Latent Growth ◽  
Functional Disabilities ◽  
Score Range ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Previous literature suggests that social factors (e.g., social cohesion, social support) are protective predictors of mental health problems. However, there might be a reciprocal relationship between social factors and mental health and the relationship changes over time. Therefore, this study examined the longitudinal relationship between community social cohesion and mental health using a latent growth curve model with 8 waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS; 2011-2018), a nationally representative panel study of Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Social cohesion measured the perceived level of mutual trust by three items (score range: 0-6) and mental health was measured by PHQ-4 (score range: 0-12). The final model including covariates (age, gender, functional disabilities) fit the data well: χ2=1036.383, p<.001; RMSEA=.037; CFI=.960; and SRMR=.070. Initial level of social cohesion was negatively associated with initial level of mental health problem (β=−.23, p< .001), suggesting that higher levels of social cohesion was associated with lower levels of mental health problems. The covariance between social cohesion slope and mental health slope was significant (β=−.16, p< .01), suggesting an increase in social cohesion was associated with a decrease in mental health problems over time. Functional disabilities significantly influenced mental health over time, while functional disabilities did not influence social cohesion consistently. This study adds to the growing literature on the ways mental health status and social connection have reciprocal relationships over time. Therefore, mental health status in later life could be decreased by improving social cohesion and connectedness with the community.

The conflict between mind and body – the case of Mrs. R.

Physiotherapy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Stępień ◽  
Sylwia Chładzińska-Kiejna ◽  
Katarzyna Salamon-Krakowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
The Body ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitalizations ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Memory Awareness ◽  
And Control

AbstractDissociative psychopathology is understood as an immature defence mechanism of personality, based on the techniques of reality distortion. The natural cause of a disorder reflects the lack of sense of coherence between identity, memory, awareness, perception and consequently - goal orientated action. Its symptoms manifest the separation of emotions, thoughts and behaviours bound with an event in order to maintain an illusory sense of control of demanding and unbearable experience.We describe the case of a 57-year-old woman suffering from broad range of dissociative symptoms from early childhood. Decomposition of integrity between memories, a sense of self-identity and control of the body has become the cause of numerous suicide attempts, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and not fully effective therapy attempts. Destructive influence of psychopathological symptoms negatively influenced patient’s life course, decisions made as well as family, work and social life.

scholarly journals Life Course Effects of Socioeconomic and Lifestyle Factors on Metabolic Syndrome and 10-Year Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Longitudinal Study in Taiwan Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Mao Liao ◽  
Chih-Ming Lin
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Lifestyle Behaviors ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
Over Time

The objective of the study was to explore the dynamic effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle behaviors on the risks of metabolic syndrome (MS) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) in life course. The data of 12,825 subjects (6616 males and 6209 females) who underwent repeated examinations and answered repeated questionnaires from 2006 to 2014 at the Major Health Screening Center in Taiwan, was collected and analyzed. The trajectory of trends in the subjects’ SES and lifestyle mobility over time was observed, and the effects of factors with potential impacts on health were tested and analyzed using multiple logistic regression and a generalized estimated equation model. A 10% increase in MS prevalence was observed over the nine-year period. The average Framingham CVD score for people with MS was estimated to be about 1.4% (SD = 1.5%). Except for middle-aged women, marriage was found to raise the risk of CVD, whereas increasing education and work promotions independently reduced CVD risk for the majority of subjects. However, the risk of CVD was raised by half for young men who had a job or lost a job in comparison to continuously unemployed young men. Physical activity was only found to be advantageous for disease prevention in those aged less than 40 years; increased exercise levels were useless for reducing CVD risk among older men. Alcohol drinking and betel chewing caused increased CVD risk in the old and young subjects, respectively, whereas vegetarian diets and vitamin C/E intake were helpful in preventing CVD, even if those habits were ceased in later life. For middle-aged women, getting sufficient sleep reduced CVD risk. We concluded that SES and lifestyle behaviors may have different effects on health over time, among various populations. Accordingly, suggestions can be provided to healthcare workers in designing health promotion courses for people at different life stages.

scholarly journals Autobiographical Memory and Episodic Specificity Across Different Affective States in Bipolar Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael de Assis da Silva ◽  
Marcelo Baggi Tancini ◽  
Renata Lage ◽  
Rodrigo L. Nascimento ◽  
Cristina M. T. Santana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Time Integration ◽  
Unipolar Depression ◽  
Mood States ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Psychiatric Interview ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Bipolar Patients

Autobiographical memory is essential to ground a sense of self-identity, contributing to social functioning and the development of future plans, and being an essential source for the psychiatric interview. Previous studies have suggested loss of autobiographical episodic specificity in unipolar depression, but relatively fewer investigations have been conducted in bipolar disorder (BD) patients, particularly across different mood states. Similarly, there is a scarcity of systematic investigations about mood-congruent and mood-dependent memory in relation to autobiographical memory in BD. Considering this, a total of 74 patients with BD (24 in euthymia, 26 in mania, and 24 in depression) responded with autobiographical memories to cue words belonging to four categories: mania, depression, BD, and neutral. Episodic specificity was scored according to the Autobiographical Interview, with high intra- and inter-rater reliability. Results indicated that patients in mania generally re-experience more episodic details than those in depression. Depressed bipolar patients reported fewer details of perception and less time integration of memories than those in euthymia or mania. Words linked to depression and BD induced greater episodic re-experiencing than neutral words, just as words about BD provided greater episodic re-experiencing and more details of emotion/thoughts than words about mania. Words linked to depression provoked more time details about the recalled episodes than words on BD or neutral themes. No mood-congruent or mood-dependent effects were observed. Current findings may improve the ability of clinicians to conduct psychiatric interviews and the diagnosis of BD, with special attention to how memory details are generated across different mood states of the condition. Additionally, interventions to foster autobiographical recollection in BD may be developed, similar to what has already been done in the context of schizophrenia.

Teleconferencing: An Avenue for College Coursework in Nursing Home Settings

1988 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-210
Author(s):  
Jan L. Stanley-Muchow ◽  
Betty Y. Poe
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Research Information ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Home Life ◽  
College Course ◽  
Home Living ◽  
Future Work

With increasing numbers of elderly individuals facing nursing home living, interest in programs addressing the experienced quality of life in these residences has increased. Educational programs have been identified as one way to improve the experience of nursing home life. Concurrently, technology has developed rapidly and provides new avenues for service delivery. This article describes the use of a growing technology, teleconferencing, to provide a college course to elderly nursing home residents. Students' responses to the course are presented using five individual illustrations, and implications for programs and research are discussed. Preliminary findings are reported and related to three areas: the potential effectiveness of courses offered via teleconferencing to nursing home residents, the importance of nursing home programs which foster residents' sense of self, and a type of research information which appears fruitful for future work in this area.

Childhood Disadvantage and Adult Functional Status: Do Early-Life Exposures Jeopardize Healthy Aging?

2022 ◽  
pp. 089826432110647
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Additive Effects ◽  
Childhood Disadvantage ◽  
Early Life Exposures ◽  
Over Time

Objectives To examine whether childhood disadvantage is associated with later-life functional status and identify mediating factors. Methods Unique and additive effects of five childhood domains on functional status were assessed at baseline (2006) and over time (2006–2016) in a sample of 13,894 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (>50 years). Adult health behaviors and socioeconomic status (SES) were tested as mediators. Results Respondents exposed to multiple childhood disadvantages (OR = .694) as well as low childhood SES (OR = .615), chronic diseases (OR = .694), impairments (OR = .599), and risky adolescent behaviors (OR = .608) were less likely to be free of functional disability by baseline. Over time, these unique and additive effects of childhood disadvantage increased the hazard odds of eventually developing functional disability (e.g., additive effect: hOR = 1.261). Adult health behaviors and SES mediated some of these effects. Discussion Given the enduring effects of childhood disadvantage, policies to promote healthy aging should reduce exposure to childhood disadvantage.

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