The Impact of the Personality on the Adjustment in Mid-Life

성격특성에 따른 중년기의 적응에 관한 연구 -성역할 정체감과 내외통제적 성격을 중심으로-

This study investigated the relationship between personality characteristics of individual and adjustment in the mid-life. The subjects of the study consisted of 374 married persons(185 men and 189 women) who live in Seoul and are 40 to 50 years old and whose last child is in middle school. Bem's short form BSRI, Rotter(1966)'s Internal-External Scale and Hayes & Stinnett(1977)'s MYLSS were used as measurements tools. The major results of the study were summarized as follows ; 1) While sex-role identity of middle aged men appeared in the follwing order ; Androgynous, masculine, undifferentiated, feminine, sec-role identity of middle aged women appeared in the following order ; Undifferentiated, androgynous, feminine, masculine. Both men and women had the moderate scores on the locus of control. The middle aged expressed a moderate level of life satisfaction with middle aged men reporting significantly a higher life satisfaction than did women. 2) Socio-demographic variables such as age, education, occuption and income have turned out to be significant on the life satisfaction of middle aged men. As for the life satisfacton of middle aged women, age, education, husband's occuption and religon had significant influences However, employment status of women, family structure, marital duration, number of child, status of last child, status of first child had no significant influences on Mid-life satisfaction. 3) Mid-life satisfaction of men and women was influenced significantly by sex-role identity and internal-external locus of control. Those men described as masculine and those women androgynous in the sex-role identity had the highest life satisfaction. On the other hand those of undifferentiated in the sex-role identity had the lowest life satisfaction. High levels of internal control were associated with high levels of life satisfaction. 4) The variables affecting the life satisfaction of middle aged men and women were education, income, sex-role identity, internal control. These 4 variables explained 27% of the life satisfaction of middle aged men and 24% of the life satisfaction of middle aged women.