title: The structuring of identity among midlife women as a function of their degree of involvement in employment.
abstract: The place of employment and the diversity of its relations to other roles within the life structure of midlife women were investigated. Three groups were compared: Group I (n = 44) had a continuous low level of involvement in employment from their early 20s to their early 40s; Group II (n = 20) changed from low to high involvement; and Group III (n = 32) maintained a continuous high level of involvement. Retrospective reports regarding subjects' commitment to a number of different roles and feelings during their early 30s and early 40s constituted the data. Findings indicated that: (1) women in Group I had a positive, confident view of their involvement in the traditional roles of mother, wife, and volunteer; (2) women in Group II, initially quite similar to those in Group I, restructured their role commitments by substituting involvement in employment for more traditional pursuits; and (3) women in Group III successfully integrated involvement in the multiple roles of worker, mother, wife, and volunteer. Implications for a more dynamic view of identity, which takes into account significant reorganization of the life structure after adolescence and variability among diverse groups of women, are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D010553:Personality Development