Styles of reminiscence used in life stories, rather than being outcomes of life review undertaken in old age, may be the characteristic ways in which individuals at particular levels of ego development, think about, relate to, and recount the stories of their lives. To investigate the contention that differences in the styles of reminiscence [1] of older persons could be explained by their levels of ego development [2], seventy-five women residing in long term care facilities responded to the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and told the stories of their lives. A trend from higher to lower levels of ego development was associated with styles of reminiscence in the direction predicted. Women with Affirming styles had higher levels of ego development than women with the Negating and Despairing styles. Resilience seemed the most likely explanation for cases that did not fit predictions. Life stories are suggested for routine data gathering in long term care because they allow the essence of another person to be grasped and foster a different level of engagement than do conventional data gathering techniques.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
FallotR. D., The Life Story Through Reminiscence in Late Adulthood, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Yale University, 1976 or University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, University Microfilms No. 77-14039. Also see FallotR. D., The Impact on Mood of Verbal Reminiscing in Later Adulthood, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 10(4), pp. 385–400, 1979–1980.
2.
LoevingerJ., Ego Development, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1976.
3.
BirrenJ. E., Progress in Research on Aging in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, Human Development, 23, pp. 33–45, 1980.
4.
WoodwardK. M., Master Songs of Meditation: The Late Poems of Eliot, Pound, Stevens, and Williams, in Aging and the Elderly, SpickerS. F.WoodwardK. M. and Van TasselD. D. (eds.), Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 1978.
5.
CowleyM., The View from 80, Viking Press, New York, 1980.
6.
EriksonE. H., Identity and the Life Cycle, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, 1980.
7.
ButlerR. N., The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence in Aged, Psychiatry, 26:1, pp. 65–76, 1963.
8.
BurnsideI. M., Psychosocial Caring: Reality Testing, Relocation, and Reminiscing, in Psychosocial Caring Throughout the Life Span, BurnsideI. M.EbersoleP. and MoneaH. E. (eds.), McGraw-Hill, New York, 1979.
9.
ButlerR. N. and LewisM. I., Aging and Mental Health, (3rd Edition), Mosby, St. Louis, 1982.
10.
EllisonK. B., Working with the Elderly in a Life Review Group, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 7:9, pp. 537–541, 1981.
11.
GrunesJ. M., Reminiscences, Regression, and Empathy: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Impaired Elderly, in The Course of Life: Psychoanalytic Contributions Toward Understanding Personality Development, Vol. III: Adulthood and the Aging Process, GreenspanS. I. and PollockG. H. (eds.), National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Maryland, 1980.
12.
SafierG., Oral Life History with the Elderly, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 2:5, pp. 17–22, 1976.
13.
NeugartenB. L.HavighurstR. J., and TobinS. S., Personality and Patterns of Aging, in Middle Age and Aging, NeugartenB. L. (ed.), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1969.
14.
McMahonA. W. and RhudickP. J., Reminiscing, Archives of General Psychiatry, 10, pp. 292–298, 1964.
15.
PostemaL. J., Reminiscing, Time Orientation, and Self Concept in Aged Men, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Michigan State University, 1970, or University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, University Microfilms No. 71-11, 945.
16.
GorneyJ. E., Experiencing and Age: Patterns of Reminiscing Among the Elderly, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Chicago, Thesis No. T17307, 1968.
17.
LoevingerJ. and WesslerR., Measuring Ego Development I: Construction and Use of a Sentence Completion Test, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1970.
18.
LoevingerJ.WesslerR., and RedmoreC., Measuring Ego Development II, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1970.
19.
HauserS. T., Loevinger's Model and Measure of Ego Development: A Critical Review, Psychological Bulletin, 83:5, pp. 928–955, 1976.
20.
McCraeR. R. and CostaP. T., Openness to Experience and Ego Level in Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test: Dispositional Contribution to Developmental Models of Personality, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39:6, pp. 1179–1190, 1980.
21.
ShulikR. N., Faith Development, Moral Development, and Old Age: An Assessment of Fowler's Faith Development Paradigm, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Chicago, 1979.
22.
SnareyJ. R. and BlasiJ. R., Ego Development among Adult Kibbutzniks: A Cross-Cultural Application of Loevinger's Theory, Genetic Psychology Monographs, 102, pp. 117–157, 1980.
23.
SolomowitzN., Life Styles, Life Satisfaction and Ego Development in Late Adulthood, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Kentucky, 1978 or University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, University Microfilms No. 9–17719, 1978.
24.
FrankS. and QuinlanD. M., Development and Female Delinquency: A Cognitive-Developmental Approach, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 85:5, pp. 505–510, 1976.
25.
HansellS.SparacinoJ.RonchiD., and StrodtbeckF. L., Ego Development Responses in Written Questionnaires and Telephone Interviews, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47:5, pp. 1118–1128, 1985.
26.
McCammonE. P., Comparison of Oral and Written Forms of the Sentence Completion Test for Ego Development, Developmental Psychology, 17:2, pp. 233–235, 1981.
27.
LoevingerJ., Revision of the Sentence Completion Test for Ego Development, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48:2, pp. 420–427, 1985.
28.
CohenJ., A Coefficient of Agreement for Nominal Scales, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20:1, pp. 37–46, 1960.
29.
HoltR. R., Loevinger's Measure of Ego Development: Reliability and National Norms for Male and Female Short Forms, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39:5, pp. 909–920, 1980.
30.
LoevingerJ., Construct Validity of the Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, Applied Psychological Measurement, 3:3, pp. 281–311, 1979.
