Baby Boom Women: Seeking Meaning, Satisfaction in Retirement

<p>This qualitative, exploratory study examines retirement expectations, retirement realities, and the subjective meanings of work and of retirement among ―leading edge‖ female members of the baby boom cohort. A case-centered research design with a purposive sample was utilized. Thirty female early retirees were recruited for the sample via snowball sampling techniques. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, either in-person or by telephone, using a guided interview schedule incorporating open-ended responses. Narrative thematic analysis was employed utilizing a coding scheme related to domains of interest. The study‘s major findings included that 90% of participants viewed their extensive employment as careers, rather than as supplementary family income; that two-thirds of the sample had experienced career discontinuity for family reasons; that 63% of participants saw their identity as closely bound to their work; and that participants valued productivity, with 53% continuing some workforce participation, and 57% providing caregiving for family members</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Bryn Mawr only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work and Social Research

Year

2010

Author dc:creator

• Fulghum, Fontaine H.

• Social Work

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.brynmawr.edu/dissertations/37

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.brynmawr.edu:dissertations-1036