中年期女性が報告する自我同一性の変化

専業主婦, 看護婦, 小・中学校教師の比較

抄録

The purpose of this study was to clarify the psychological changes in middle-aged women based on three occupational groups (housewives, nurses and school teachers) from a viewpoint of the Erikson's concept of ego identity (1950). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 women in their 40's: 17 housewives, 23 nurses and 19 teachers. The following results were found. First, ego identity changes were reported to occur in middle-age, and the nature of changes differed among the three groups: 1) housewives intended to get a new identity outside the home, because domestic roles were thought inappropriate as the bases of identity; 2) nurses tended to keep occupational identity built firmly in adolescence, and 3) identity changes among teachers were closely related to the quality of education in the school. Second, the four patterns of ego identity changes were suggested: a) stable home (occupational) identitypersonal identity: b) unstable home (occupational) identity personal identity ; c) stable home (occupational) identityreconfirmation and continuance ; and d) unstable home (occupational) identity unable to change.