Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 50, Issue 6 P280-P288, Copyright © 1995 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Psychological obstacles to job or career change in late life

LL Bailey 3rd and RO Hansson
FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, USA.

Four studies involving middle-aged and older workers were conducted to (a) explore perceived obstacles to adaptive job or career changes in later-life, and (b) develop an instrument with which to identify older adults who might be more sensitive to such obstacles. A reliable instrument was developed which reflected three broad categories of perceived risk: (a) age-inappropriateness of the change, (b) potential for age-discrimination, and (c) risk of hastened obsolescence. As evidence for the convergent validity of the instrument, the results indicated a heightened sensitivity to job change obstacles among respondents with: (a) age-sensitized concerns about job and financial security, (b) poorer psychological adjustment to a plateaued career, and (c) poorer psychological and social adjustment to their own aging.