Psychological obstacles to job or career change in late life.
Four studies involving middle-aged and older workers were conducted to (a) explore perceived obstacles to adaptive job or career changes in later-life, and (b) develop an instrument with which to identify older adults who might be more sensitive to such obstacles. A reliable instrument was developed which reflected three broad categories of perceived risk: (a) age-inappropriateness of the change, (b) potential for age-discrimination, and (c) risk of hastened obsolescence. As evidence for the convergent validity of the instrument, the results indicated a heightened sensitivity to job change obstacles among respondents with: (a) age-sensitized concerns about job and financial security, (b) poorer psychological adjustment to a plateaued career, and (c) poorer psychological and social adjustment to their own aging.
Bailey
L L
LL
FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, USA.
Hansson
R O
RO
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008875:Middle Aged; D012917:Social Adjustment