The objectives of the study are: (1) to contribute a base of knowledge concerning how women who have engaged in rewarding work anticipate their retirement from work, what the actual event of retirement means to them, and how they adapt to this major change in their lives; and (2) to account for variations in the expectations of and later adaptation to the event. The study is being carried out through in-depth interviews with 80 women educators in primary and secondary education who live within commuting distance of New York City, and who have retired no more than three years prior to the research contact. The interviews are designed to assess the participants' adaptations to their retirement, to examine how they had anticipated their retirement, and to determine what factors may have influenced their adaptation for better or worse. An instrument, developed by the prinicipal investigator in earlier work and based on a semantic differential format, is also administered to each participant. The instrument, called the Developmental Self- and Child-Concept Scales (DSCCS), has been adapted to tap the participants' concepts of themselves: (a) at present (as retired people) and retrospectively, (b) as educators at the height of their careers, and (c) as children. On the basis of earlier studies of self-concept and career development in women educators, it is postulated that the (developmental) self-concept and (to a lesser degree) past work role will be related to post-retirement life satisfaction and adaptation style as these are assessed in the interview data. All data will be coded and analyzed by computer.