Abstract This qualitative study investigated how rural Chinese older people construct identity crises in their life-story telling. Challenging life experiences of 20 older adults from a village in southwest China… Click to show full abstract
Abstract This qualitative study investigated how rural Chinese older people construct identity crises in their life-story telling. Challenging life experiences of 20 older adults from a village in southwest China were collected through in-depth interviews. The older adults were identified to have gone through crises brought on by both social upheavals and destructive interpersonal interactions. Adaption to the challenges contributes to their identity development. Identity crisis for the participants represents a process of disconnecting the bonds with significant others that transfer from parents to spouses and then to children across their lifespan. Study limitations and contributions are discussed.
               
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