Self-Concept Organization Across the Adult Life Span

描述(由申请人提供)：两项研究旨在调查成人一生中自我概念组织的年龄差异，以及不同的自我概念组织与影响调节的程度相关。这些目标是通过研究(A)健康成年人样本和(B)接受癌症治疗的成年人样本来实现的。具体目标是： (1)考察成年后自我概念组织的年龄差异：尽管对较年轻年龄组的研究证明了自我复杂性(SC)和自我概念分化(SCD)对压力的缓和作用，但对这些自我概念组织在成年后的适应价值及其与年龄的关系的了解有限。根据早期工作的发现，假设SC在中年时最高，在年轻人和老年人中较低。相反，假设SCD在中年时最低，在年轻人和老年人中较高。 (2)通过将情感的日常变化模拟为自我概念组织和日常压力的函数来检验自我表征的自我调节效应：自我相关知识对于人际功能和对自己行为的调节是重要的。在这方面现有工作的基础上，建议每天进行一项日记研究，以考察自我陈述在30天内的自我调节功能。具体地说，情感的个体内和个体间的变异性将被建模为日常压力以及SC和SCD的函数。假设SC和SCD将缓和日常应激对日常情感的个体内和个体间变异性的影响。 (3)考察自我表征对成人癌症患者情绪调节的自我调节作用：癌症治疗对个体的自我概念、自我调节和心理状态的影响有深刻的挑战。建议对60名患有前列腺癌的男性(45岁)和60名患有乳腺癌的女性(45岁)进行每日日记研究。预计SC和SCD对癌症患者情绪变异性的影响将明显强于他们的健康患者。它还假设，SC和SCD对情绪变异性的调节作用在癌症样本中显著高于健康样本(p&lt；0.05)。 这些研究的结果将通过更准确地理解自我概念组织在健康和患病成年人的情感调节中的作用来推动该领域的发展。本申请是根据新的调查员条款提交的

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Two studies are proposed to investigate age differences in self-concept organization across the adult life span, and the extent to which different self-concept organizations are related to affect regulation. These goals are addressed by studying (a) a sample of healthy adults, and (b) a sample of adults who are treated for cancer. The specific aims are: (1) To examine age differences in self-concept organization across the adult life span: Although research with younger age groups has documented the stress-moderating effects of self-complexity (SC) and self-concept differentiation (SCD), knowledge about the adaptive value of these self-concept organizations in adulthood and their relationship with age is limited. Based on findings from earlier work, it is hypothesized that SC will be highest in middle age and lower in young and older adults. Conversely, SCD is hypothesized to be lowest in middle age and higher in young and older adults. (2) To examine the self-regulatory effects of self-representations by modeling daily variation in affect as a function of self-concept organization and daily stress: Self-related knowledge is important for interpersonal functioning and for the regulation of one's own behavior. Building on the existing work in this area, a daily diary study is proposed to examine the self-regulatory functions of self-representations over a 30-day period. Specifically, intra- and inter-individual variability in affect will be modeled as a function of daily stress and SC and SCD. It is hypothesized that SC and SCD will moderate the effects of daily stress on intra- and inter-individual variability in daily affect. (3) To examine the self-regulatory effects of self-representations on affect regulation in adult cancer patients: Being treated for cancer challenges a person's self-concept, self-regulation, and PWB in profound ways. A daily diary study is proposed drawing on 60 men (age 45+) with prostate cancer and 60 women (age 45+) with breast cancer. It is expected that the effect of SC and SCD on affect variability will be significantly stronger in cancer patients than in their healthy counterparts. It is also hypothesized that the moderating effects of SC and SCD on affect variability are significantly (p < .05) greater in the cancer sample than in the healthy sample. The results of these studies will advance the field by providing a more accurate understanding of the role of self-concept organization in affect regulation in healthy and ill adults. This application is submitted under the new investigator provision