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Updated: May 28, 2026

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Self-concept differentiation and self-concept clarity across adulthood: associations with age and psychological
Manfred Diehl1, Elizabeth L Hay
1Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1570, USA. manfred.diehl@colostate.edu
Abstract:
This study focused on the identification of conceptually meaningful groups of individuals based on their joint self-concept differentiation (SCD) and self-concept clarity (SCC) scores. Notably, we examined whether membership in different SCD-SCC groups differed by age and also was associated with differences in psychological well-being (PWB). Cluster analysis revealed five distinct SCD-SCC groups: a self-assured, unencumbered, fragmented-only, confused-only, and fragmented and confused group. Individuals in the self-assured group had the highest mean scores for positive PWB and the lowest mean scores for negative PWB, whereas individuals in the fragmented and confused group showed the inverse pattern. Findings showed that it was psychologically advantageous to belong to the self-assured group at all ages. As hypothesized, older adults were more likely than young adults to be in the self-assured cluster, whereas young adults were more likely to be in the fragmented and confused cluster. Thus, consistent with extant theorizing, age was positively associated with psychologically adaptive self-concept profiles.
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