The self-concept in institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly people

Although the topic of relocation of the elderly has generated considerable research, few studies have investigated its consequences on the content of the self-concept and on the levels of self-esteem. Sixty institutionalized and sixty non-institutionalized elderly men and women participated in an in vestigation which assessed their spontaneous self-concept by means of the T wenty Statements Test and their level of self-esteem by means of the Rosenb erg Scale. The results indicate that the institutionalized elderly have a m ore negative self-concept, lower levels of self-esteem, and a more restrict ed inter-personal self. (C) 2000 Academic Press.