Gender, social class, and the subjective experience of aging: self-perceived personality change from early adulthood to late midlife

This study explored the applicability of previous research (obtained with groups of college-educated women) about the subjective experience of aging in midlife to men and less-educated people. Two-hundred fifty-nine men and women who graduated from a public high school in 1955-1957 retrospectively assessed their feelings of identity certainty, confident power, generativity, and concern about aging for their 60s, 40s, and 20s. Participants reported higher levels of identity certainty, confident power, and concern about aging at each age, and a leveling off of generativity in their 60s. There were some gender and social class differences. Although men and women recalled the same trajectory of these feelings, men reported higher levels of identity certainty and confident power across age. Non-college-educated men recalled the highest levels of concern about aging across age. We discuss how these findings add to our understanding of the experience of aging in these domains.     

Using personal and fictional documents to assess psychosocial development: a case study of Vera Brittain's generativity

Adult diaries and novels written by the British feminist and pacifist Vera Brittain (1893-1970) were content analyzed for Eriksonian themes of identity, intimacy, and generativity. Brittain's concerns with identity and intimacy decreased over time, while her generative concerns increased, suggesting that she expressed the issue of generativity vs. stagnation in her mid-life diaries and fiction. The large number of identity themes relative to both intimacy and generativity provokes speculations about Brittain's personality, the characteristics of writers, the influence of gender, the impact of society, and the possibility that the crisis of identity vs. role confusion involves the last major structural change in personality development. This archival case study is consistent with Erikson's notion of a sequence of concerns with psychosocial issues, although directions for theoretical revision and elaboration are discussed.     

Midlife women's generativity and authoritarianism: marriage, motherhood, and 10 years of aging

Generativity and authoritarianism assessed at age 52 were correlated with criterion variables assessed at age 62 in a sample of well-educated women (N = 81). Results indicated that generativity predicted positive personality characteristics, satisfaction with marriage and motherhood, and successful aging. By contrast, although authoritarianism is linked in the literature to endorsing traditional gender roles, authoritarianism was uncorrelated in the current study with happiness about marriage and was negatively related to perceptions of motherhood. Furthermore, authoritarianism was correlated with neuroticism later in life. These data suggest that midlife authoritarianism may be problematic as women transition from their 50s to their 60s. Midlife generativity, in contrast, seems to offer one path to life satisfaction.     

MIDLIFE WOMEN'S POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS Case Studies of Psychosocial Development and Political Commitment

Midlife women's political consciousness may be importantly influenced by a preoccupation with generativity. Analysis of three case studies suggests the importance of several elements for a developmental perspective on women's (and perhaps men's) midlife political activity: childhood family political ideology; earlier adolescent and adult political activity; influences of particular social and historical events at different developmental stages; a desire to be generative or to "make a contribution"; experiences as a parent; and access at midlife to time, energy, and personal resources. In addition, the importance of defining "political activity" broadly, and in the terms meaningful to women themselves, is underlined. finally, the satisfaction associated with recognizing the continuity in one's life commitments must be appreciated as one element of women's midlife political consciousness.     

Identity Processing Styles and Psychosocial Balance during Early and Middle Adulthood: The Role of Identity in Intimacy and Generativity

Identity styles and Eriksonian psychosocial balance were examined in young adults (N = 163; 64.4% women) and middle-aged adults (N = 132; 51.5% women). Participants completed self-report measures of identity styles (informational, normative, and diffuse-avoidant), identity commitment, and psychosocial balance (identity, intimacy, and generativity). Different patterns of psychosocial balance were found for each identity style, with largely consistent findings across age groups. The diffuse-avoidant style was negatively associated with all forms of psychosocial balance, the normative style was positively associated with identity and intimacy balance, and the informational style was positively associated with intimacy and generativity. Structural equation modeling revealed that identity balance predicted both intimacy and generativity for the diffuse-avoidant style (negative prediction) and normative style (positive prediction), whereas the informational style provided direct positive prediction of intimacy and generativity. The importance of an informational identity style for psychosocial balance during both early and middle adulthood is discussed.     

Is women's identity achievement associated with the expression of generativity? Examining identity and generativity in multiple roles

We hypothesized that the degree to which middl-aged mothers are identity-achieved is related both to their well-being and their generativity. A unique feature of this research is the examination of identity and generativity separately in the context of specific role domains. Although midlife women reported significantly lower moratorium and higher diffusion than did college women, reports of identity achievement did not differ between the two samples. Identity achievement was, however, more consistently associated with midlife women's positive well-being than foreclosure, moratorium, or diffusion. While global measures of identity and generativity were not related, significant relationships were observed when identity and generativity were measured separately in the context of specific role domains.     

The relationship between identity, intimacy, and midlife well-being: findings from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study

The present study used longitudinal data on 182 adults between the ages of 20 and 54 (104 men, 78 women) from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study (RALS), assessed on four occasions, to test the hypothesis that identity and intimacy during the course of early and middle adulthood predict well-being at midlife. A cross-lagged panel model was estimated yielding the following findings: (a) Scores on both scales during the college years predicted midlife satisfaction-intimacy directly, and identity through the course of development from ages 20 to 54; moreover, identity in midlife, but not intimacy, was significantly linked with well-being at this same point in time; and (b) identity and intimacy unexpectedly did not predict one another over time, having been controlled for factor stability in identity and intimacy over time. The findings are discussed in terms of Erikson's psychosocial theory of development and the developmental moments and historical cohorts that characterize the present sample.     

Generativity and Productive Pursuits: Pathways to Successful Aging in Late Midlife African American and White Women

The current study aims to examine correlates of successful aging in the context of midlife, by examining its relationship to generativity, or providing for the next generation (Erikson in Dimensions of a new identity: the 1973 Jefferson lectures in the humanities, W. W. Norton & Co., Oxford, 1974). This research identifies productive activities (e.g., paid work, sports and recreation) and spiritual commitment as potential moderators of the generativity–successful aging relationship, since engagement in these activities has been suggested to benefit health. Furthermore, we examine how these interactions differ for a sample of 237 middle-aged women (mean age = 61), depending on race. Results indicate that, whereas generativity and successful aging are related for the overall sample, this relationship is moderated by sports and recreation activities, and to a lesser extent, spiritual commitment. Importantly, spiritual commitment is associated with a positive relationship between generativity and successful aging, while sports and recreation is associated with a negative one. When viewed by race, spiritual commitment, and sports and recreation activities moderate the relationship specifically for White women, while paid work does so for Black women. This research highlights the importance of examining different pathways between generativity and aging successfully.     

Environmentalism as a context for expressing identity and generativity: patterns among activists and uninvolved youth and midlife adults

Previous qualitative studies have identified themes of generativity and identity development in the interviews of environmental activists (Chan, 2009 ; Horwitz, 1996 ), suggesting their importance as motives for environmental behavior. The purpose of our study was to extend this work by identifying positive relationships between identity maturity, generativity, and environmentalism using quantitative methodologies. To explore these relationships, we designed quasi‐experimental and correlational studies. We recruited 54 environmental activists and 56 comparison individuals, half of whom were youth (mean age = 22 years) and the other half midlife adults (mean age = 43 years). Sixty‐three percent of our sample was female. Participants completed several environmental, generativity, and identity questionnaires. We found that activists and comparison individuals differed on the identity maturity, generativity, and environmental measures overall. Further, greater identity maturity and generativity were associated with higher environmental engagement. And generativity was found to mediate the relation between identity maturity and environmentalism. Our findings suggest that engaging in generative behaviors may be an important part of the process in forming an environmental identity and engaging in environmental actions.     

Successful Aging in Late Midlife: The Role of Personality Among College-Educated Women

Aging is characterized both by developmental maturity, as well as beliefs and ideas about growing older. This study examines relationships between successful aging, as defined by Rowe and Kahn (Science 237(4811):143–149, 1987), and two aspects of personality that are particularly salient in late midlife—generativity and concerns about aging—in three samples of college-educated women in their early sixties. Relationships between generativity and successful aging and concerns about aging and successful aging are assessed cross-sectionally and over time using multiple linear modeling. Concerns about aging and generativity are associated within time with successful aging; in addition, increased concerns about aging are associated with decreased successful aging, while increased generativity is associated with increased successful aging over time. Our findings highlight the value of examining changes in adult personality developmental preoccupations as a potential contributor to successful aging.     

Paths to Late Midlife Well-Being for Women and Men: The Importance of Identity Development and Social Role Quality

Theories of adult development suggest that personality development and social role involvements are sources of adult well-being for both men and women. However, previous research on this topic has focused mainly on (a) women, and (b) early stages of adulthood. We tested an alternative model for predicting late-midlife adults’ well-being, with role quality, number of roles, and healthy adaptation to late midlife (reflected in lower concern about aging) as mediators of the relationship between young adult identity development and well-being in late midlife. Results indicated that the model fit women’s experience very well, and men’s experience somewhat. Follow-up analyses indicated that the model fit men’s experience with respect to family role quality, but that young adult identity played a lesser role in men’s well-being in later midlife, and that problems in the late-midlife work role were reflected in concerns about aging for men, but not for women.     

Is it all about intimacy? Age,menopausal status,and women’s sexuality

Two studies examined the contribution of aging to various aspects of sexual functioning. Study 1 examined the association between age and sexual response among 289 women. Results showed that aging and relationship length were associated with relatively low sexual desire, excitement, and intimacy, with sexual intimacy mediating the association between relationship length and sexual excitement. Furthermore, the negative association between aging and sexual desire was particularly pronounced among women experiencing lower sexual intimacy. In Study 2, 93 women were classified according to menopausal status. Findings paralleled those of Study 1, indicating that postmenopausal state was negatively associated with sexual desire, mainly among women who experienced low sexual intimacy. Implications for the understanding of sexuality of women at midlife are discussed.     

Narrative identity processing of difficult life experiences: pathways of personality development and positive self-transformation in adulthood

Difficult life experiences in adulthood constitute a challenge to the narrative construction of identity. Individual differences in how adults respond to this challenge were conceptualized in terms of two dimensions of narrative identity processing: exploratory narrative processing and coherent positive resolution. These dimensions, coded from narratives of difficult experiences reported by the women of the Mills Longitudinal Study (Helson, 1967) at age 52, were expected to be related to personality traits and to have implications for pathways of personality development and physical health. First, the exploratory narrative processing of difficult experiences mediated the relationship between the trait of coping openness in young adulthood (age 21) and the outcome of maturity in late midlife (age 61). Second, coherent positive resolution predicted increasing ego-resiliency between young adulthood and midlife (age 52), and this pattern of increasing ego-resiliency, in turn, mediated the relationship between coherent positive resolution and life satisfaction in late midlife. Finally, the integration of exploratory narrative processing and coherent positive resolution predicted positive self-transformation within narratives of difficult experiences. In turn, positive self-transformation uniquely predicted optimal development (composite of maturity and life satisfaction) and physical health.     

Studying the Motivated Agent Through Time: Personal Goal Development During the Adult Life Span

This research examined the rank‐order and mean‐level consistency of personal goals at two periods in the adult life span. Personal goal continuity was considered among a group of young adults (N = 145) who reported their goals three times over a 3‐year period and among a group of midlife adults (N = 163) who specified their goals annually over a 4‐year period. Goals were coded for a series of motive‐based (viz., achievement, affiliation, intimacy, power) and domain‐based (viz., finance, generativity, health, travel) categories. In both samples, we noted a moderate degree of rank‐order consistency across assessment periods. In addition, the majority of goal categories exhibited a high degree of mean‐level consistency. The results of this research suggest that (a) the content of goals exhibits a modest degree of rank‐order consistency and a substantial degree of mean‐level consistency over time, and (b) considering personality continuity and development as manifest via goals represents a viable strategy for personality psychologists.     

Generative Concern, Political Commitment, and Charitable Actions

The implications of psychosocial generativity (Erikson, 1950) for understanding contemporary politics were explored. Study 1 replicated, in two samples, previous findings that generativity concerns are related to a variety of political activities, including the expenditure of time and money in support of political organizations. Using path analyses, Study 2 extended these findings and demonstrated how midlife generativity concerns interacted with political orientation and interest in politics to produce stronger relationships with giving. These findings suggest that people view the political arena as one important way to improve society and thereby manifest cultural generativity. Although focusing on the domain of politics, these studies highlight the complexity of generativity as a construct; broad concerns with generativity operate within the context of ideological commitments to produce greater levels of generative activity.     

Psychological predictors of young adults' drinking behaviors

Path analyses using data from 72 men and 78 women between 22 and 32 years of age compared two models linking personality (conflict resolution styles, intimacy maturity, and occupational identity status) and social roles (family and work status) to young adults' alcohol use. Poor conflict resolution skills and less adult work statuses best accounted for men's excessive drinking, and problems with intimacy best accounted for women's use of alcohol to alleviate emotional distress. In addition, poor conflict resolution skills partly mediated the effects of parent's drinking on son's alcohol consumption. Occupational identity status and intimacy maturity correlated with men's use of drugs rather than men's alcohol use.     

College-educated women's personality development in adulthood: perceptions and age differences

Adulthood encompasses a large time span and includes a series of psychosocial challenges (E. H. Erikson, 1950). Five aspects of personality (identity certainty, confident power, concern with aging, generativity, and personal distress) were assessed in a cross-sectional study of college-educated women who at the time of data collection were young adults (age: M = 26 years), middle-aged adults (age: M = 46 years), or older adults (age: M = 66 years). Respondents rated each personality domain for how true it was of them at the time, and they then rated the other 2 ages either retrospectively or prospectively. Results are discussed with attention to the ways in which women's adult development may have been shaped by experiences particular to both gender and birth cohort, and to how these women fit with E. H. Erikson's theory of adult development.     

Achieving ego integrity: Personality development in late midlife

Using data from two longitudinal studies of educated white women, we explored precursors and correlates of ego integrity versus despair, which is the last developmental stage in Erikson’s theory of adult development. The women comprising Study 1 graduated from Smith College in 1964 (N = 42); the women comprising Study 2 graduated from Radcliffe College also in 1964 (N = 50). In both studies, hierarchical regressions indicated that women who had resolved their regrets at age 53 achieved higher levels of ego integrity at age 62, and those who had resolved their regrets at age 62 also had higher concurrent levels of ego integrity. Further, in study 2, generativity at age 53 was found to predict ego integrity at age 62.     

Generativity and Erikson's “belief in the species”

Generativity is the concern for guiding and promoting the next generation through such creative behavior as parenting, teaching, mentoring, leading, and generating products and outcomes that benefit others. Erikson (1963) has argued that in order to be generative in adulthood, people must have a fundamental “belief in the species” or a faith that human progress is possible and worth working toward. The present study focuses on hope and trust concerning the self and others (Erikson's “belief in the species”). In addition, however, the study examines the relation between generativity and personality traits, in this case, dominance, leadership, self-absorption, and nurturance. A sample of 70 adults was administered (1) a series of self-report questionnaires converging on Erikson's idea of belief in the species, (2) a self-report scale assessing generativity, (3) measures of personality traits, and (4) two open-ended measures of generativity requiring subjects to describe life commitments and creative endeavors. The results provide modest support for Erikson's claim of a link between belief in the species and generativity, with significant positive correlations obtained (1) between self-report generativity and two measures of belief in species and (2) between generativity assessed through life commitments and one measure of belief in the species. In addition, the personality trait of nurturance was positively related to all three generativity measures. Problems and issues in the assessment of generativity are discussed.     

Getting older, getting better? Personal strivings and psychological maturity across the life span.

Measures of psychological maturity based on personal strivings (R. A. Emmons, 1989) were administered to 108 adults aged 17-82. On the basis of organismic-theoretical assumptions regarding maturity, age was hypothesized to be positively associated with K. M. Sheldon and T. Kasser's (1995, 1998) two goal-based measures of personality integration. E. Erikson's (1963) assumptions regarding maturity were the basis for the hypothesis that older people would tend to list more strivings concerning generativity and ego integrity and fewer strivings concerning identity and intimacy. Finally, on the basis of past research findings, maturity and age were hypothesized to be positively associated with subjective well-being. Results supported these hypotheses and also showed that measured maturity mediated the relationship between age and well-being. Thus, older individuals may indeed be more psychologically mature than younger people and may be happier as a result.