ADAPTIVE-CHANGES IN THE SELF-CONCEPT DURING A LIFE TRANSITION

Theories about the self-concept suggest that different aspects of the self are organized according to importance, or psychological centralit y. The ways in which psychological centrality can change and how these changes are associated with psychological well-being were investigate d in a sample of aging women who had experienced community relocation. The self-concept was measured before and after the move, with regard to five life domains (health, family, friends, economics, and daily ac tivities). It was hypothesized that well-being is maximized by increas ing the psychological centrality of life domains in which one is doing well and by lowering the psychological centrality of life domains in which one is doing poorly. The hypothesized, adaptive psychological ce ntrality shifts emerged in the health and friends domains for select o utcome measures. Centrality shifts with different patterns of directio nality were observed for the other three domains and are interpreted a s reflecting problem-focused coping.