Читать книгу Aging - Harry R. Moody - Страница 36

The way people see themselves has several dimensions, including personality, self-esteem, body image, and social roles. The aspect of self-concept that changes least with age seems to be personality. For instance, an extroverted person, one who enjoys interacting with other people, is likely to remain extroverted from childhood into the final stage of life. An older person who is skeptical or gullible is likely to have been that way all along.

Other aspects of self-concept do tend to change, however. The aging mind is not so much the impetus for change as is the progression of circumstances in which people find themselves. Take body image, for example. Naturally, the image of one’s body changes as hair becomes grayer and skin gets more wrinkled. Self-esteem varies throughout life with one’s successes, whether they are interpersonal, occupational, intellectual, or otherwise.

Social relationships in old age tend to exhibit the most predictable types of change. For one thing, people’s social networks become smaller as time goes on. With retirement, work relationships diminish, if not disappear. An older person may have outlived a great many friends and family members. In addition, it is difficult to add new members to the network if one is no longer engaged in work or wider community life.