Growth Isn ’ t Just for the Young : Growth Narratives ,

In this chapter we present the case that growth is a central concern in older adults’ selfidentity, facilitating dispositional well-being and resilience in older adulthood. Contrary to the view that “growth is for the young and loss is for the old,” research on personal goals and memories demonstrates that older adults are at least as concerned with gain and growth as they are with loss. As for personal memories, we turn to quantitative research on narrative selfidentity. Growth-oriented narratives are common in older adulthood, they predict well-being, they differentiate hedonic from eudaimonic well-being, and they differentiate two forms of eudaimonic well-being. Finally, we present a framework for studying resilience: Hedonic resilience involves affect regulation in the wake of loss or potential trauma, whereas eudaimonic resilience includes affect regulation but additionally considers meaning regulation.