The Me I Know : A Study of Adult Identity

For the last 5 years I have been living with 94 adults. These 94 adults made up the sample of people in a study on adult development that Dale Dannefer and I began in 1980. This book represents my efforts to condense the almost 200 hours of tape-recorded material from the 94 adults into a form that captures at least some of the diversity and also some of the commonalities in their answers to the ques­ tion "Who am I?" My version of their answers is based on their reflections about themselves as family members, workers, and people with a goal in life. In arriv­ ing at the conclusion that adults attempt to see themselves as loved, competent, and good human beings, I believe that I have done justice to these people and their answers to my interview questions. Arriving at the point of being able to write about these 94 people's identities has not been an easy process. Countless attempts at numerically based rating systems were tried and discarded progressively, until finally I decided to read all the trans­ cripts in sequence, person by person rather than question by question. What I found when I approached them as total individuals was surprising to me. I found a vibrant theme of certainty and self-assuredness in their identities that flew in the face of my previous ideas about developmental change in adulthood. For the last 5 years I have been living with 94 adults. These 94 adults made up the sample of people in a study on adult development that Dale Dannefer and I began in 1980. This book represents my efforts to condense the almost 200 hours of tape-recorded material from the 94 adults into a form that captures at least some of the diversity and also some of the commonalities in their answers to the quesƯ tion "Who am I?" My version of their answers is based on their reflections about themselves as family members, workers, and people with a goal in life. In arrivƯ ing at the conclusion that adults attempt to see themselves as loved, competent, and good human beings, I believe that I have done justice to these people and their answers to my interview questions. Arriving at the point of being able to write about these 94 people's identities has not been an easy process. Countless attempts at numerically based rating systems were tried and discarded progressively, until finally I decided to read all the transƯ cripts in sequence, person by person rather than question by question. What I found when I approached them as total individuals was surprising to me. I found a vibrant theme of certainty and self-assuredness in their identities that flew in the face of my previous ideas about developmental change in adulthood Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Who Am I?....Pages 3-15 A Theory of Adult Identity Processes....Pages 17-36 Front Matter....Pages 37-38 Love Is Not Enough....Pages 39-60 Men and Women in the Family....Pages 61-79 Parents and Children....Pages 81-97 Front Matter....Pages 99-100 The Competent Worker....Pages 101-128 A Spoonful of Sugar....Pages 129-160 “Just a Housewife”....Pages 161-181 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 Family and Work Identities: Conflict or Compatibility?....Pages 185-212 Purpose in Life....Pages 213-240 Back Matter....Pages 241-264 Susan Krauss Whitbourne. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [259]-262.