Analysis of Self-Concept in Older Adults in Different Contexts
Abstract
Summary: Self-concept is a construct consisting of a group of specific self-perceptions that are hierarchically organized. Age-associated changes of self-concept are related to the individual's perception of the changes occurring throughout the aging process. The authors examined external validity and internal consistency of an instrument that has been developed to assess self-concept in older adults and examined self-concept's characteristics in two different contexts. Results confirm the multidimensionality of the scale and show a satisfactory external validity, indicating good discriminatory capacity. Findings support the hypothesis that older people who live in a nursing home have a poor self-esteem, self-concept, and psychological well-being and have a greater presence of depressive symptoms than people who live in their own home.
References
Addonizio, G. Alexopolus, G.S. (1993). Affective disorders in the elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 8, 41– 47Adelmann, P.K. (1994). Multiple roles and psychological well-being in a national sample of older adults. Journals of Gerontology and Social Sciences, 49, 277– 285Baltes, P.B. Baltes, M.M. (1990). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: A model of selective optimization with compensation. In P.B. Baltes & M.M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 1-34). Cambridge: Cambridge University PressBeck, A.T. Ward, C.H. Mendelson, M. (1961). An inventory measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561– 571Beekman, A.T.F. Deeg, D.J.H. Braam, A.W. Smit, J.H. van Tilburg, W. (1997). Consequences of major and minor depression in later life: A study of disability, well-being, and service utilization. Psychological Medicine, 27, 1397– 1409Bentler, P.M. (1990). Comparative fit indices in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238– 246Browne, M.W. Cudek, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. Bollen & J.S. Long. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 205-234). Newbury Park, CA: SageBuendia, J. (1997). Gerontología y salud. Perspectivas actuales. [Gerontology and health: Present outlook]. Madrid: Biblioteca NuevaByrne, B.M. Worth Gavin, D.A. (1996). The Shavelson model revisited: Testing for the structure of academic self-concept across pre, early, and late adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 215– 228Byrne, B.M. Shavelson, R.J. (1986). On the structure of self-concept. In R. Schweirzer (Ed.), Anxiety and cognitions (pp. 305-330). Hillsdale, NJ: ErlbaumCantor, N. Markus, H. Niedenthal, P. Nurius, P. (1986). On motivation and the self-concept. In R.M. Sorrentino & E.T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (pp. 96-121). New York: PlenumColeman, P.G. Philp, I. Mullee, M.A. (1995). Does the Geriatric Depression Scale make redundant the need for separate measures of well-being on geriatrics wards?. Age and Ageing, 24, 416– 420Coleman, P.G. (1996). Identity management in later life. In R. Woods (Ed.), Handbook of the clinical psychology of aging. Chichester: WileyCoopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem . San Francisco: FreemanCoopersmith, S. Gilberts, R. (1982). Professional manual: Behavioral and academic self-esteem . Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologistde Gracia, M. Garre, J. Marcó, M. (1999). Desarrollo y validación preliminar de la Escala de Percepción Subjetiva del Envejecimiento (EPSE). [Development and preliminary validation of the Subjective Aging Perception Scale] Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología, 34(2), 92– 100Diener, E. Fugita, F. (1995). Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 926– 935El Hassan, K. (1999). Validation of the Harter Pictorial Scale of perceived competence and social acceptance with lebanese children. Social Behavior and Personality, 27, 339– 354Farré, R. Frasquet, I. Romá, R. (1999). Estado de salud y calidad de vida de un colectivo de ancianos institucionalizados. [State of health and quality of life in a group of nursing home residents] Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología, 34(1), 25– 33Fernández-Ballesteros, R. (1997). Calidad de vida en la vejez. [Quality of life in the elderly] Anuario de Psicología, 73, 89– 104Fitts, W.H. (1965). Manual: Tennessee Department of Mental Health Self-Concept Scale . Nashville: TennesseeGonzález, M.A. (1988). Características técnicas y modificaciones introducidas en dos escalas de depresión: Estudio piloto para la baremación y adaptación de la GDS y BDI a la población geriátrica española. [Technical characteristics and modifications in two depression scales: A pilot study to adapt the GDS and the BDI to the elderly Spanish population] Revista Iberoamericana de Geriatría y Gerontología, 4, 235– 240Gurland, B.G. (1992). The impact of depression on quality of life of the elderly. Clinical and Gerontological Medicine, 8, 377– 386Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology and Neurosurgery Psychiatry, 23, 56– 62Harter, S. (1989). Cause, correlates, and the functional role of global self-worth. A life-span perspective. In J. Kalligian & R. Sternberg (Eds.), Perceptions of competence and incompetence across the life span (pp. 67-97). New Haven, CT: Yale University PressIzal, M. Montorio, I. (1996). Adaptación en nuestro medio de la Escala de Depresión Geriátrica (GDS) en distintos subgrupos: Residentes en la comunidad y asistentes a hospitales de día. [Adaptation of the GDS in different groups: Community residents and hospital day-care assistants] Revista de Gerontología, 6, 329– 337Jöreskog, K.G. Söbom, D. (1993). LISREL 8: Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language . Chicago, IL: Scientific Software InternationalKrause, N. (1990). Perceived health problems, formal/informal support, and life satisfaction among older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 45, 193– 205Krause, N. (1991). Stressful events and life satisfaction among elderly men and women. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 46, 84– S92Lawton, M.P. (1975). The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Moral Scale: A revision. Journal of Gerontology, 30, 85– 89Lawton, M. Powell, S. (1999). Quality of life in chronic illness. Gerontology, 45, 181– 183Lazarus, R.S. Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping . New York: SpringerLazarus, R.S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process . New York: McGraw HillLevi, L. Anderson, L. (1980). La tensión psicosocial. Población, ambiente y calidad de vida . [Psychosocial stress: Population, environment, and quality of life]. Mexico: El Manual ModernoLiang, J. (1984). Dimensions of the Life Satisfaction Index A: A structural formulation. Journal of Gerontology, 39, 613– 622Linville, P.W. (1987). Self-complexity as a cognitive buffer against stress-related illness and depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 663– 676Markus, H. Wurf, E. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: A social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 28, 299– 337Marsh, H.W. Shavelson, R. (1985). Self-concept: Its multifaceted, hierarchical structure. Educational Psychology, 20, 107– 123Marsh, H.W. Balla, J.R. McDonald, R.P. (1988). Goodness-of-fit indices in confirmatory factor analysis: The effect of sample size. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 391– 410Marsh, H.W. Smith, I.D. Barnes, J. Butler, S. (1983). Self concept: Reliability, stability, dimensionality, validity, and measurement of change. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 213– 231Marsh, H.W. Parker, J.W. (1984). Determinants of self-concept: Is it better to be a relatively large fish in a small pond even if you don't learn to swim as well. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 213– 231Marsh, H.W. (1988). Self-description questionnaire: A theoretical and empirical basis for the measurement of multiple dimensions of preadolescent self-concept: Test manual and a research monograph . San Antonio, TX: The Psychological CorporationMarsh, H.W. (1989). Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early childhood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 417– 430Marsh, H.W. (1990). The structure of academic self-concept: The Marsh/Shavelson model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 623– 636Marsh, H.W. (1992). Content-specificity of relationship between academic achievement and academic self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 35– 42Marsh, H.W. (1993). Academic self-concept: Theory, measurement, and research. In J. Suls (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 4, pp. 59-98). Hillsdale, NJ: ErlbaumMarsh, H.W. Byrne, B.M. Shavelson, R.J. (1988). A multifaceted academic self-concept: Its hierarchical structure and its relation to academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 366– 380Marsh, H.W. Holmes, H.W. (1990). Multidimensional self-concepts: Construct validation of responses by children. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 89– 117Marsh, H.W. Barnes, J. Cairns, L. Tidman, M. (1984). The Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ): Age effects in the structure and level of self-concept for preadolescent children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 940– 956Marsh, H.W. Smith, I.D. Barnes, J. (1985). Multidimensional self-concepts: Relations with sex and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 581– 596Maruyama, G.M. (1998). Basics of structural equation modeling . Thousand Oaks, CA: SageMcDonald, R.P. Marsh, H.W. (1990). Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness-of-fit. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 247– 255McGivney, S. Mulvihill, M. Taylor, B. (1994). Validating the GDS depression screen in the nursing home. Journal of American Geriatric Society, 42, 490– 492Montoiro, I (1996). Guía aplicada de evaluación psicológica de las personas mayores . [Applied guidelines of psychological assessment in older adults]. Madrid: INSERSO1991). Diagnosis and treatment of depression in late life. NIH Consensus Development Conference Consensus Statement . Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine
(Neugarten, B.L. Havighurst, R.J. Tobim, S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134– 143O'Malley, P.M. Bachman, J.G. (1983). Self-esteem: Change and stability between ages 13 and 23. Developmental Psychology, 19, 257– 268Oyserman, D. Markus, H.R. (1993). The sociocultural self. In J. Suls (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self: The self in social perspective (pp. 187-220). Hillsdale, NJ: ErlbaumPerlado, F. (1994). Teoría y práctica de la geriatría . [Geriatrics: Theory and practice]. Madrid: Díaz de SantosPetuzzi, L. Laicardi, C. Lauriola, M. (2000). Validity of the Elderly Behavior Assessment for Relatives (EBAR). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 16, 77– 83Piers, E.V. Harris, D.A. (1964). Age and other correlates of self-concept in children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 55, 91– 95Pottebaum, S.M. Keith, T. Ehly, S. (1986). Is there a causal relation between self-concept and academic achievement?. Journal of Educational Research, 79, 140– 143Revicki, D.A. Mitchell, J.P. (1990). Strain, social support, and mental health in rural elderly individuals. Journal of Gerontology, 45, 267– 274Rosemberg, M. (1965). Conceiving the self . New York: Academic PressSedikides, C. (1992). Changes in the valence of the self as a function of mood. In M.S. Clark (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 271-331). Newbury Park, CA: SageShavelson, R.J. Bolus, R. (1982). Self concept: The interplay of theory and methods. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 3– 17Shavelson, R.J. Hubner, J.J. Stanton, G.C. (1976). Self-concept: Validation of construct interpretations. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407– 441Shmotkin, D. Hadari, G. (1996). An outlook on subjective well-being in older Israeli adults: A unified formulation. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 42, 271– 289Shumaker, S.A. Roger, T.A. Czajkowski, S.M. (1990). Psychological test and scales. In B. Spilker, Quality of life assessments in clinical trials. New York: RavenSlivinske, L.R. Fitch, V.L. Morawski, D.P. (1996). The wellness index: Developing an instrument to assess elder's well-being. Journal of Gerontology and Social Work, 25, 185– 204Steiger, J.H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173– 180Stevenson, H.W. Newman, R.S. (1986). Long-term prediction of achievement and attitudes in mathematics and reading. Child Development, 57, 646– 659Strein, W. (1993). Advances in research on academic self-concept: Implications for school psychology. School Psychology Review, 22, 255– 257Tesser, A. (1986). Some effects of self-evaluation maintenance on cognition and action. In R.M. Sorrentino & E.T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (pp. 435-464). New York: PlenumTrowbridge, N. (1972). SC and socio-economic status in elementary school children. American Educational Research Journal, 9, 525– 537Watkins, D. Akande, A. (1999). The internal structure of the Self-Description Questionnaire: A Nigerian investigation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 120– 125Watkins, D. Mpofu, E. (1994). Some Zimbabwean evidence of the internal structure of the Self-Description Questionnaire I. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 967– 972Watkins, D. Hattie, J. Regmi, M. (1994). Cross-cultural assessment of self-esteem: A Nepalese investigation. Psychological Reports, 74, 832– 834Wisocki, P.A. (1991). Theories and measurement in disability. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 33, 32– 47Woolfolk, A.E. (1993). Educational psychology (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & BaconWylie, R.C. (1991). The self-concept Vol. 2: Theory and research on selected topics . Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements