Qualitative Study of the Role of Identity Transition of Middle-aged Women in their Relationship with Self, Others and the Environment

Middle age is one of the periods of human development and during this period, women experience identity changes in the field of perception and relationship with themselves, others and the universe. Recognizing these changes is necessary for more and better understanding of middle-aged women. Hence the present paper aimed at a qualitative study on the role of identity transition in relation to oneself, others and the environment of middle-aged women in Tehran. The present research method is qualitative and phenomenological. Thirteen participants were selected through purposeful sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and interviews were continued until data saturation. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data from phenomenological interviews. Findings on the role of middle-aged women's identity transition in relation to oneself includes the main themes of intrapersonal relationship, attitude to retirement, perception of middle age and attitude to self-identity. Relationship with others includes the main theme of improving relationship methods and relationship with the environment with the main themes of change in the value system, aging and death, the review of the past, the attitude towards the future and the relationship with nature were classified. Given the role of Identity transition in relation to oneself, others and the environment, counselors can benefit from the findings of this study while counselling with middle-aged women. The findings indicate the impact of the identity transition of middle-aged women in improving their relationship with others during this period and their relationship changes towards themselves and the environment around them.