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Journal of Applied Gerontology
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Identity Processes and Memory Controllability in Middle and Later Adulthood

Kelly M. Jones

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Susan Krauss Whitbourne

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Stacey B. Whitbourne

VA Boston Healthcare System Boston University School of Public Health

Karyn M. Skultety

Institute on Aging, San Francisco

Memory is a salient area of functioning in adulthood known to be influenced by beliefs about performance. To date, individual variations in memory beliefs have not been systematically examined. The present study used hierarchical linear regressions to examine the relationship between Memory Controllability Index (MCI) subscales and identity processes in 250 adults (M = 58.01, 40 to 91 years), controlling for age, gender, and self-rated health. The ability to integrate age-related changes into identity was positively related to MCI scales measuring assessment of ability, potential to improve memory, and belief in the value of using memory strategies. The identity scale measuring negative age-related changes was related to lower memory self-assessment, ability to improve, and the belief that memory decline is inevitable. Contrary to expectation, the tendency to resist making changes in identity was not related to controllability. Findings support the utility of understanding memory-related beliefs in middle and later adulthood in terms of identity processes.

Key Words: memory controllability • identity processes • adulthood

This version was published on October 1, 2009

Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 28, No. 5, 582-599 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0733464808330823
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