This index contains abstracts of 173 doctoral dissertations about the following aspects of adult self-directed learning: program areas of adult education (AE); instructional methods/techniques; institutional sponsors of AE; personnel and staffing in AE; education of particular clientele groups; processes of program planning and administration; adult learning characteristics; learning environments; AE as a profession; and AE materials, devices, and facilities. The following information is provided for each dissertation: the abstract originally provided to "Dissertation Abstracts International," author, title, adviser, school, source, and subject. Also included are the following: an analysis of the abstracts that focuses on the dissertation topics and their distribution, research methodology used, samples by size and characteristics, and instruments; a discussion of chronological milestones in abstracts related to self-directed learning; and instructions for using the index. Appended are a list of abbreviations used; index by institution, research area, type, and description; index by concept, application, and instruments; and author index. (MN)