• 가족자원경영과 정책
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.71-91
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• 2011

This qualitative case study examines how mid-life housewives perceive age, react to aging, and experience the changing of their appearance that comes with age. The participants of this study were eight housewives four full-time housewives and four working housewives in middle adulthood. This study was conducted through in-depth interviews that were based on an unstructured questionnaire, and the data was collected from January 2010 to October 2010. Findings are as follows: during mid-life, housewives continue to exert efforts toward self-development, and toward self-actualization that can unleash the potential of their "multi-self". The housewives of the Entering Middle Adulthood self-actualization period believe that the material self as manifested in appearance is the most important component of the multi-self. Indeed, both groups of housewives thought a great deal about the criterion of appearance for their age and were concerned about others' viewpoints, social stereotypes, the appearance "norm," and other characteristics related to appearance. The full-time housewives made efforts to improve their social selves, and the working housewives tried to enhance their spiritual selves. The viewpoints of husbands are often internalized into housewives' internal points of view; therefore the relationships of housewives with their husbands were crucial both to the confidence the women felt in their appearance, and to their satisfaction in life.