2019/10/21 by Mukta Kulkarni · 43 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Context (archaeology) #Emotional Labor in Professions #Gender Diversity and Inequality #Gender studies #Identity (music) #Identity formation #Identity, Memory, and Therapy #Law #Liminality #Linguistics #Narrative #Political science #Psychology #Self-concept #Social psychology #Sociology #Status quo
paper · doi:10.1177/0018726719871087
published in Human Relations 73(10), 1415-1438 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2019/10/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
This study examined the identity work processes of severely disabled soldiers who faced discontinuous and involuntary career transitions. As these individuals engaged in rehabilitation and vocational training at a military-affiliated facility, their identity transitions were not marked by deletions of past identity elements or reference groups. Instead, their transitions involved collectively and contextually edited imaginations of the future that allowed for continuity of their foundational self-narratives. The findings extend past research by identifying why the forging of continuity is generative during certain identity transitions. The findings also show that when similar others contribute to the script of one’s identity narrative within a familiar liminal context, maintaining a semblance of the status quo is construed as change.