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Complex Thought and Construction of the Self in the Face of Aging and Death

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Abstract

Awareness of our own aging and eventual death demands a re-construction of our sense of self. This article offers a theoretical exploration of the process by which this adaptive re-construction might take place to avoid a potential developmental crisis. The discussion utilizes ideas from study on existential psychology, ambiguous loss, complex thought, and wisdom and spiritual traditions.

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Acknowledgments

Much of this study was based on the years of research I performed with the support of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), beginning with my postdoctoral training there. I am grateful to the Gerontology Research Center (GRC) there, and the volunteers of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and others who were my research respondents.

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  1. Psychology Department, Towson University, Towson, MD, 21252, USA

    Jan D. Sinnott

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  1. Jan D. Sinnott
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Correspondence to Jan D. Sinnott.

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The author is grateful to reviewers for their thoughtful suggestions.

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Sinnott, J.D. Complex Thought and Construction of the Self in the Face of Aging and Death. J Adult Dev 16, 155–165 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-009-9057-z

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