Characteristics of Self-Esteem in Old Age

Abstract

Interest in the gerontological problems of the science of man has increased considerably in recent years. In the interval between 1972 and 1982 alone, several thousand articles and books were published on gerontology worldwide. Such a steady interest is no coincidence, but has to do with the phenomenon of "demographic aging," which is characteristic of the present stage in human history. Changes in the age structure of the population confront society with a multitude of questions, psychological ones included: What occupies the inner world of the aging person? Is there anything specific at this age compared with preceding age periods, and if so, what is it? Such questions are dictated primarily by practice, for answers to them will give us some idea of personal status and life-style in old age, which, in turn, will enable us to improve them if possible—not simply to prolong life, but to keep it as full and active as possible. But these questions are also important theoretically, for example, in analyzing the development of the personality over the age cycle because, without an understanding of the distinctive features of old age, we cannot fully appreciate the process of development of the personality, its changes, and its dynamics. According to the apt comment of B.G. Anan'ev (1972), both aging and old age are intimately intertwined with the entire history of the subject's individual development; they are not just stages in this development, but its end results.

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