Social Psychology Commons^™

Attitudes Towards One’S Aging Among Single, Professional, Highly Educated, Baby Boom Women: “I Don’T Know Who I Am, But I Am Not A Crazy Old Maid!”, Tatyana Shepel

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Age is a value-laden cultural construct as it conveys social attitudes toward aging. This qualitative research, using a grounded theory approach and critical feminist gerontology as a theoretical framework, makes visible the experience of growing older and the renegotiation of self-identity among the ten single, professional, highly educated women ages 47-59 who resided in the Pacific Northwest and lets their voices be heard. In this study ten in-depth interviews and one focus group provided narrative data that captured women’s experiences of aging and uncovered common themes. The explored phenomenon of aging is experienced in the various socio-cultural contexts and conditions …