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Research
programme
The research programme of the Centre for Psychogerontology is part of
the programme Culture and Personality within the Behavioral Science
Institute of the Radboud University, Nijmegen.
One of the
main questions in the field of lifespan development and aging is how
individuals
maintain subjective well-being and mental health despite a more
negative
balance between gains and losses with increasing age. By focusing on
personality development in age-related life contexts, the programme
contributed
to resolving this paradox.
Evidence on age differences in self-concepts
has been largely absent, but the representative survey research of the
programme showed that they do exist from middle age to late adulthood.
Furthermore,
these age differences were empirically related to life contexts which
are
specific to particular phases of the life span in our culture (see
Dittmann-Kohli,
Bode & Westerhof, 2001; Dittmann-Kohli & Westerhof, 2000;
Westerhof,
Dittmann-Kohli & Bode, 2003; Westerhof & Kuin, 2002; Westerhof,
Kuin
& Dittmann-Kohli, 1998; and four publications of Dittmann-Kohli
which have
been accepted for publications). Three PhD theses and related
publications contributed
to this line of research. The work of Van Selm (1998; Van Selm &
Dittmann-Kohli, 1998) examined meaninglessness in the second half of
life and
its relations to depression. The work of Timmer (Timmer, 2000; Timmer
et al.,
2002, 2003a, 2003b) showed that anticipation of one’s personal future
in
midlife and beyond is not
characterized by losses, but by a combination of expectations of growth
and
maintenance. The work of Bode (2003; Bode et al., 2001; Westerhof &
Bode,
2004) showed the importance of balancing individuality and relatedness
across
the second half of life and added a lifespan perspective to the
existing
literature on these important motives in personality development.
The personal experience of aging was addressed
by a number of studies (Gerritsen, Kuin & Steverink, 2004;
Steverink,
Westerhof, Bode & Dittmann-Kohli, 2001; Westerhof, 2001, 2003;
Westerhof
& Dittmann-Kohli, 2000). An instrument was developed which measures
the
experience of aging as a multidimensional phenomenon of gains and
losses. The
studies were the first to show that an individual’s perceptions of the
aging
process contribute independently to subjective well-being beyond
individual and
social resources.
The cultural variability of identity formation
is attested by several cross-cultural studies in which self-concepts of
elderly
from different nations were compared. Although the self-concepts of the
elderly
reflected national differences in life expectancy, health care, and
family
structures (Westerhof, Katzko, Dittmann-Kohli & Hayslip, 2001), as
well as
national differences in individualistic and collectivistic value
orientations (Katzko
et al., 1998; Westerhof, Dittmann-Kohli & Katzko, 2000), the
authors also
found considerable evidence for intercultural similarities and
intra-cultural
variation. Most importantly, cultural variations were also found with
regard to
the use of adaptation strategies and their relation to subjective
well-being,
even between western industrialized nations (Westerhof, Barrett &
Steverink,
2003; Westerhof & Barrett, 2005).
The work of Stevens showed that friendship and
new partnerships are important in adapting to changes over the lifespan
(Hartup
& Stevens, 1999; Stevens, 2002). Besides her basic research,
evaluation
studies showed that stimulating friendship among older women
effectively
contributes to well-being in later life (Stevens & Van Tilburg,
2000;
Stevens, 2001).
Research in clinical gerontology by Kuin (Kuin,
1999; Kuin & Kok, 2001; Van Alphen et al., 2001; Van Hout et al.,
1999,
2001, 2002) provided new insights in psychopathological pathways in
later life,
in particular with regard to personality disorders and dementia.
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