The protean self reconsidered: older

adult climbers and the (re-) invention of

identity

International Adventure Conference

Sheffield 2015.

Dr Mark Hickman. University of Central Lancashire.

Professor Colin Beard.Sheffield Hallam University.

This StudyDefinitions of ‘old age’ not

consistent across contemporary developed countries.

60-67 is an average age at which people are eligible to withdraw from the labour force.

This transition point involves twin issues of time and identity.

Qualitative Approach

Aim Articulate older

adults’ experiences

Purposive Sample n=12

Questionnaire +

targeted interviews

Average Age 73.3

‘Young-old’Competent at F4

IPA

No claim to statistical

generalization

Storied Context

Emergent Themes

The Aged Image

Work as the New Leisure

Generativity

The Aged Image

The Aged Image

Exploring New Terrain

“What’s it like to be me at 68?”

Affirming

Fit, active, still climbing well, look good in climbing clothes

Overt Rejection

Decline, morbidity, impairment,

pathologization

Work as the New Leisure

Supports Concept of Self

Self-identity partially located in employment

skills

Continuity through transfer

to climbing

Changing notions of volunteeringHighly TargetedSelf-determined

Generativity

Legacy

Reinvention of the self and

of ‘ageing’

Creating a livable story for self and

others

Challenging the sociology

of ageing

Pathfinders and Lobsticks

Ageing well through rock climbing

focused activity

(+)

Cognitive efficacy

(=)

Physical & mental health

(≅)

Functional status

OptionsPathologize Challenge Narrative