Life patterns and age styles in older adults.

A biographical approach was used to investigate life themes, life experiences, and personality styles in older adults. Extensive interviews were conducted with fifteen individuals, who sorted index cards with life events and filled out a personality inventory. A typology was developed that distinguished individual life patterns (i.e., specific life themes and life events) and age styles (i.e., personality traits). Three case histories illustrate each of the major life patterns found in the interviews.