Self-concept as the organization of roles: Importance, centrality, and balance

Data from a set of middle-aged working men and women from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area are used to explore three different ways that individuals organize their self-concepts and infuse personal significance into their roles. Five sets of findings include the following: (1) both m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological quarterly 2002-11, Vol.43 (4), p.647
Main Authors: Reitzes, Donald C, Mutran, Elizabeth J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Centrality
Family roles
Family work relationship
Identity
Mead, George Herbert (1863-1931)
Men
Occupational roles
Parents & parenting
Role satisfaction
Self concept
Self esteem
Self image
Sex roles
Sexes
Social research
Women
Working women
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Summary:Data from a set of middle-aged working men and women from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area are used to explore three different ways that individuals organize their self-concepts and infuse personal significance into their roles. Five sets of findings include the following: (1) both men and women identify many of their roles as personally significant, especially work and family roles; (2) men tend to attribute more importance and centrality to the role of worker than do women, while women tend to assign greater importance and centrality to most other roles; (3) different combinations of importance, centrality, and balance influence worker, spouse, and parent role satisfaction and identity meanings; (4) worker role centrality tends to have negative effects on spouse and parent role satisfaction and identity meanings; and (5) worker role importance and spouse centrality have a positive influence on self-esteem while worker centrality has a negative impact on self-esteem. The findings suggest that importance, centrality, and balance appear to be independent dimensions of personal significance that individuals ascribe to their roles.
ISSN:0038-0253
1533-8525
DOI:10.1525/tsq.2002.43.4.647