Aging, chronic illness and self-concept: a study of women with osteoporosis.

The coalescence of aging and chronic illness may alter the relationships between the meanings of aging and chronic illness and the self-concept. Using Rosenberg's conceptualization of self-concept (1979), a qualitative study was designed and data collected from twenty-eight women with osteoporosis. Three types of self-concepts emerged from the data: the confident self, the contradictory self and the disparaged self. A description of these types is presented highlighting the reciprocal relationship among meanings of aging and chronic illness and self-concept and including discussion of the strategies used to enhance, protect and maintain self-concept despite changes brought on by aging and chronic illness.