One of the most serious challenges inherent in retirement transition is coping with social identity changes. We investigated social identity processes and the role of social engagement during retirement transition by examining the life narratives of recently retired university faculty (14 males and 5 females) from 12 different academic areas. The interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results revealed one overarching theme—the centrality and importance of academic identity—and 3 identity transition processes with their associated goals: identity continuity, identity change, and identity conservation. Four additional themes captured the manifestations of these identity processes as they play out in the lived experiences of identity transition among these recent academic retirees: awareness of negative aspects in academia and perceived lack of fit between self and academia; social disidentification with academic identity; identity discovery and seeking old and new identities; and embracing old and new identities, including hobby-related and place-anchored activities. Maintaining and transforming parts of their former identities, as opposed to an active search for new connections, was a prevalent strategy among the participants. We discuss implications for designing strategies to better prepare recent academic retirees and academics who are considering retirement to enable a smoother identity transition and improved well-being.

中文翻译：

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学业退休社会认同转变的解释性现象学分析

退休过渡所固有的最严峻挑战之一是应对社会身份变化。我们通过检查来自 12 个不同学术领域的最近退休的大学教师（14 名男性和 5 名女性）的生活叙事，调查了社会认同过程和社会参与在退休过渡期间的作用。使用解释性现象学分析（IPA）对访谈进行了分析。结果揭示了一个总体主题——学术身份的中心性和重要性——以及 3 个身份转换过程及其相关目标：身份连续性、身份变化和身份保护。另外四个主题捕捉了这些身份过程的表现，因为它们在这些最近的学术退休人员的身份转变的生活经历中发挥作用：意识到学术界的消极方面以及自我与学术界之间缺乏契合；具有学术身份的社会异化；身份发现和寻找新旧身份；并接受新旧身份，包括与爱好相关和以地点为基础的活动。保持和改变他们以前身份的一部分，而不是积极寻找新的联系，是参与者的普遍策略。我们讨论了设计策略的意义，以更好地为最近的学术退休人员和正在考虑退休的学者做好准备，以实现更顺畅的身份过渡和改善福祉。并接受新旧身份，包括与爱好相关和以地点为基础的活动。保持和改变他们以前身份的一部分，而不是积极寻找新的联系，是参与者的普遍策略。我们讨论了设计策略的意义，以更好地为最近的学术退休人员和正在考虑退休的学者做好准备，以实现更顺畅的身份过渡和改善福祉。并接受新旧身份，包括与爱好相关和以地点为基础的活动。保持和改变他们以前身份的一部分，而不是积极寻找新的联系，是参与者的普遍策略。我们讨论了设计策略的意义，以更好地为最近的学术退休人员和正在考虑退休的学者做好准备，以实现更顺畅的身份过渡和改善福祉。