ABSTRACT
The adaptiveness of reminiscence in old age has been the subject of considerable debate, but research on this issue has produced mixed results. One reason for inconsistent findings may be the failure to consider social variables shaping the content and context of the act of reminiscing. The results of an exploratory study of social correlates of reminiscence and adaptation in old age supports this contention. The relationship between various aspects of the contents and process of memories and current life satisfaction, self-esteem, and social integration revealed strikingly different patterns among single (never-married) women, widowed women, and widowed men.
