RESEARCH ON AGING Moen et al. / SOCIAL ROLE IDENTITIES Social Role Identities Among Older Adults in a Continuing Care Retirement Community PHYLLIS MOEN MARY ANN ERICKSON DONNA DEMPSTER-MCCLAIN Cornell University Basing their hypotheses on identity and life-course theories, the authors examine the social role identities of a group of older adults (N = 92) both before and after their move into a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) to investigate whether this transition is linked to changes in social role identities. The congruence between actually enacting a role and choosing it as a role identity varies with the role. Current role behaviors and satisfaction predict role identity for two institutionalized, public roles (volunteer and church/synagogue member) but are less related to two more private roles (parent and friend). Cluster analysis reveals a typology of three dis- crete groups, based on social role identities: an involved group with a high number of role identities, a group focused on family roles identities, and a group focused on the friend role identity. The social role identities of the three groups changed in different ways after moving to the CCRC. Social role identities are key components of self-concept, perceptions locating individuals in the larger matrix of social relationships. These identities reflect the system of social positions held by an individual. But it is unclear as to whether identities reflect currently held roles, past roles, or roles expected to be taken on in the future. Moreover, this system of social role identities may well change during the life course, 559 AUTHORS’ NOTE: This article is part of the Pathways to Life Quality Study, a collaborative research project conducted by the Gerontology Institute at Ithaca College and the Bronfen- brenner Life Course Center at Cornell University, John Krout and Phyllis Moen, coprincipal in- vestigators. For more information, contact Phyllis Moen, Director, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center, G21 MVR Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; phone: (607) 255-0838; Fax: (607) 254-2903; e-mail: pem3@cornell.edu. RESEARCH ON AGING, Vol. 22 No. 5, September 2000 559-579 © 2000 Sage Publications, Inc.