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Relation of Generativity to Self-Concept Among Middle-Aged Adults
Abstract
抄録
本研究は「生殖性」の発達と自己概念との関連性について, 一般成人390人 (M/143, F/247) と成人患者 41人 (M/23, F/18) を対象者として (1) 成人期3段階における生殖性の発達,(2) 中年期の自己概念の因子構造の分析,(3)「生殖性/停滞」の発達要因と自己概念の検討の3つの目的から追究する。主な結果は, 1)「心理社会的バランス目録: IPB」(Domino & Affonso, 1990) を用いて一般成人を3年齢群と性による相違を検討したところ, 生殖性は年齢の順に得点が高くなった。2) 中年期の自己概念の因子構造に「達成因子」と「適応因子」および「社会性因子」の3つが抽出され, それらが検討された。3) 中年群と患者群を「GHQ」により精神健康状況を査定して, 2つの精神健康群 (「健康群」「リスク群・患者群」) に再分類し, 各群の生殖性の発達に影響を及ぼす要因を検討したところ, 健康群にはほぼ自己概念の「達成」「適応」の両因子がかかわり, 性差も見られたが, もう一方の停滞状況のリスク群・患者群の生殖性の発達には「適応」因子がかかわった。以上の結果から達成, 適応の自己概念は中年期の心理社会的発達と有意に関連していることが示唆された。
... Generativity is when a person reflects upon the social class that they belong to by nurturing and guiding the next generation, and at the same time, is personally included in the cycle of generational succession as a social presence. Recent studies examined Erickson's concept of generativity and clarified that it develops during the latter stage of middle age to old age (Marushima, 2000;McAdams, St Aubin, & Logan, 1993). Additionally, it can influence the well-being (An & Cooney, 2006;Rothrauff & Cooney, 2008) of middle-aged people and may play an important role in realizing successful aging (Moieni et al., 2020). ...
... For both the young-old and the old-old groups, giving support to young and middle-aged people positively influenced their receiving support from young and middle-aged people two years later, supporting Hypothesis 3. Thus, a cyclic relationship does appear to exist. Despite the norm of reciprocity declining in the older adults' case (Wang & Gruenewald, 2019), their generativity grew and developed (Marushima, 2000;McAdams et al., 1993), prompting them to give support to young and middle-aged people and ensuring they received support from young and middle-aged people in return. Hypothesis 4, however, was not supported, as no relationship was found in the young-old group between providing support to young and middle-aged people and mental health. ...
Purpose
: This study aimed to verify the direction of providing and receiving intergenerational support and examine its effects on mental health among intergenerational non-relatives.
Materials and Methods
: In the initial survey (Time1), approximately 65,000 residents of Wako City in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, were considered, from which, a sample of 7,000 people was obtained. A total of 2,982 valid responses was received, and a follow-up survey was conducted two years later (Time2).
Results
: Structural equation modeling with a cross-lagged effect model and a synchronous effect model showed that the direction of giving and receiving intergenerational support had changed with age; while the young and middle-aged groups shifted their direction from receiving support to giving support, the older adults shifted their direction from giving support to receiving support. Furthermore, in the young-adults group, receiving support from older adults positively influenced their mental health two years later. For the middle-aged group, giving support positively influenced their mental health at Time2. For the old-old group, receiving support from young and middle-aged people positively influenced the mental health at Time2.
Conclusions
: To facilitate intergenerational mutual help in the local community, it is necessary to create opportunities for older adults to provide support to young and middle-aged people and, in return, create a mechanism to prompt support from young and middle-aged people for older adults.
According to Erikson's theory of ego development, generativity represents one task of adulthood. Generativity is defined as a concern for establishing and passing on well-being to future generations. The present study aimed to characterize the relationship between staff member generativity and perceived job competence in elderly nursing homes, and to determine the professional value of elderly care.
A total of 367 care staff at 13 nursing homes for elderly people participated in the present study, the design of which was a questionnaire survey. The survey addressed topics related to generativity and perceived job competence. Path analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between generativity and perceived job competence.
Perceived job competence was related to age (β=0.19, p<0.01) and occupational period (β=0.14, p<0.05), and generativity was related to perceived job competence (β=0.67, p<0.001). These results also suggest that perceived job competence promotes generativity development.
The development of staff generativity in nursing homes may yield work satisfaction and elevated vocational identity.
The generative concern scale (GCS) and the generative behavior checklist (GBC) based on the multifaceted model of generativity (McAdams & de St. Aubin, 1992) were reconstructed based on item analysis in preliminary research. The reconstructed scales were administered to 996 adults. Factor analysis of GCS-R and GBC-R data revealed the following three factors which showed high internal consistency: offering, maintaining, and creativity. Significant positive correlations between the GCS-R and the GBC-R implied that generative concern may lead to generative behavior. The GCS-R and GBC-R showed significant positive correlations with the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (Nakanishi & Sakata, 1993) and the Inventory of Psychosocial Balance (Domino & Affonso, 1990), which supports concurrent validity. Adults with higher scores on the GCS-R were more extroverted, open-minded to experiences, and the less depressive based on scores on the Big Five Scale (Wada, 1996) and the Beck Depression Inventory (Hayashi & Takimoto, 1991). These results indicate convergent and predictive validity.
Of a sample of 343 married men, prospectively studied for four decades, 52 (15.2%) experienced infertility in their first marriage. Styles of coping with their difficulty in achieving parenthood were considered across three longitudinal phases: initial substitutes, subsequent parenting resolutions, and final marital outcomes. The ability of coping strategies used in earlier phases to predict adaptation during later phases of adjustment was considered, as was the relation between coping strategies and the subsequent achievement of generativity as defined by Erik Erikson. Results indicated that the men's parenting resolutions, marital outcomes, and midlife achievement of psychosocial generativity were predictable at statistically significant levels, on the basis of knowledge of their prior infertility coping strategies and parenting outcomes. The findings lend support to the Eriksonian idea that parenting during early adulthood is a crucial but not sufficient prior condition for the midlife achievement of psychosocial generativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Of a sample of 343 married men, prospectively studied for four decades, 52 (15.2%) experienced infertility in their first marriage. Styles of coping with their difficulty in achieving parenthood were considered across three longitudinal phases: initial substitutes, subsequent parenting resolutions, and final marital outcomes. The ability of coping strategies used in earlier phases to predict adaptation during later phases of adjustment was considered, as was the relation between coping strategies and the subsequent achievement of generativity as defined by Erik Erikson. Results indicated that the men's parenting resolutions, marital outcomes, and midlife achievement of psychosocial generativity were predictable at statistically significant levels, on the basis of knowledge of their prior infertility coping strategies and parenting outcomes. The findings lend support to the Eriksonian idea that parenting during early adulthood is a crucial but not sufficient prior condition for the midlife achievement of psychosocial generativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Studied self-perceived personality change across 3 phases of adult life (young adulthood, middle age, old age). Drawn from developmental theory, dimensions were identified that were predicted to show self-perceived change during these age periods. Scales were written for the specific dimensions of complexity, generativity, integrity, and interiority. These were administered to 270 Ss divided equally among the 3 ages (young adult mean age 20.6 yrs, middle-aged mean age 47.8 yrs, and old-age mean age 69.3 yrs) and between males and females. Self-perceived change was examined by varying instructional conditions to include concurrent, prospective, and retrospective self-assessments. Four control scales from the Personality Research Form (Abasement, Defendence, Impulsivity, Order) were also administered and were predicted to show no self-perceived change. The predicted pattern of self-perceived change was supported for the generativity scale and partially so for the integrity and interiority scales. In addition, 3 of the 4 scales evidenced no self-perceived change. Sex differences were absent throughout the findings. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Generativity may be conceived in terms of 7 interrelated features: cultural demand, inner desire, generative concern, belief in the species, commitment, generative action, and personal narration. Two studies describe the development and use of 3 assessment strategies designed to tap into the generativity features of concern, action, and narration. A self-report scale of generative concern, the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), exhibited good internal consistency and retest reliability and showed strong positive associations with reports of actual generative acts (e.g., teaching a skill) and themes of generativity in narrative accounts of important autobiographical episodes. In 1 sample of adults between the ages of 19 and 68, LGS scores of fathers were higher than those of men who had never had children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This research examined the relations that generative concern and generative action have to personality traits, satisfaction/happiness with life, and ego development. Generative concern is a general personality tendency or interest in caring for younger and anticipated individuals, while generative action addresses actual physical behaviors that promote the well-being of future generations. Two samples (79 and 152 adults) were employed. Generative concern scores were significantly related to scores for extraversion, openness, emotional stability (non-neuroticism), and agreeableness as well as to two agentic traits (achievement, dominance) and two communal traits (affiliation, nurturance). Generative action was significantly related to extraversion and openness. Generative concern but not generative action was found, as predicted, to be positively related to one's life satisfaction/happiness. Further, one's level of ego development determined, in part, the relation that generative concern had to satisfaction/happiness with life. Given that a subject scored high in ego development, his or her level of satisfaction/happiness varied as a function of generative concern such that those who scored low on generative concern were significantly less satisfied/happy than those that scored high on generative concern. The results are discussed within the context of the recently proposed theory of generativity.
Previous longitudinal studies of personality in adulthood have been limited in the range of traits examined, have chiefly made use of self-reports, and have frequently included only men. In this study, self-reports (N = 983) and spouse ratings (N = 167) were gathered on the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985b), which measures all five of the major dimensions of normal personality. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses on data from men and women aged 21 to 96 years showed evidence of small declines in Activity, Positive Emotions, and openness to Actions that might be attributed to maturation, but none of these effects was replicated in sequential analyses. The 20 other scales examined showed no consistent pattern of maturational effects. In contrast, retest stability was quite high for all five dimensions in self-reports and for the three dimensions measured at both times in spouse ratings. Comparable levels of stability were seen for men and women and for younger and older subjects. The data support the position that personality is stable after age 30.
The purposes of this study were to clarify the characteristics of psychological changes in middle age from the viewpoints of eight stages of ego identity in Erikson's Epigenetic Scheme (1950), and to specify the reconfirmation process of ego identity and identity status. Method: a sentence completion test (SCT) was carried out by 49 subjects between 40 and 56 years old, and an interview was done to 22 of them. Results: (1) There were positive and negative aspects in the psychological changes in middle age.(2) The process of ego identity reconfirmation in middle age had the following four stages: a) The crisis period with the awareness of the changes of somatic sensation; b) The period of the psychological moratorium; c) The period of modification or turnabout of the life track; and d) The period of ego identity reconfirmed.(3) Four Identity Statuses were specified by the analysis from the viewpoint of Marcia (1964)'s identity status. These findings suggested that middle age was one of the transitional period in life cycle playing an important role for identity achievement.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the psychological changes in middle-aged women based on three occupational groups (housewives, nurses and school teachers) from a viewpoint of the Erikson's concept of ego identity (1950). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 women in their 40's: 17 housewives, 23 nurses and 19 teachers. The following results were found. First, ego identity changes were reported to occur in middle-age, and the nature of changes differed among the three groups: 1) housewives intended to get a new identity outside the home, because domestic roles were thought inappropriate as the bases of identity; 2) nurses tended to keep occupational identity built firmly in adolescence, and 3) identity changes among teachers were closely related to the quality of education in the school. Second, the four patterns of ego identity changes were suggested: a) stable home (occupational) identitypersonal identity: b) unstable home (occupational) identity personal identity ; c) stable home (occupational) identityreconfirmation and continuance ; and d) unstable home (occupational) identity unable to change.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
A 70-item adjective checklist was administered to four groups of adults as part of a longitudinal study of psychosocial change
during four normative transitions. Data gathered at two times with a five-year interval were cluster analyzed separately.
Six clusters were extracted from the first set of data, 7 from the second, with minor changes in dimensionality: all 6 original
clusters had counterparts in the second analysis, but some dimensional change was seen in all but one cluster. The argument
is made that although such dimensional change is often treated as error or completely ignored in longitudinal research, this
inattention can lead to serious problems in the interpretation of results.
The continuity over the major portion of the life-span (ages 9-89 yrs.) of the connotative structure of the self-concept was examined by factor analysis of a semantic differential instrument and found to be essentially constant. Significantly age and sex differences in scores on the four components (Achievement/Leadership, Congeniality/Sociability, Adjustment, and Masculinity-Femininity) emerged and were interpreted.
The development and initial validation of the Inventory of Psychosocial Balance (IPB), designed to assess all eight Eriksonian psychosocial stages, is described. A pool of 208 items that survived a clinical analysis was administered to 528 subjects and then factor analyzed. The resulting eight factors parallel the eight stages and account for 72.34% of the total variance. Subsequent administrations of the IPB to various samples indicate adequate internal consistency and high test-retest reliability; significant correlations with the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) Social Maturity Index; consistent Q-sort portraits of high-scoring and low-scoring women; negligible correlations with test taking response styles, intelligence, and measures of psychopathology; and moderate developmental trends.
Generativity is conceived as a configuration of psychosocial features constellated around the goal of providing for the next generation. This study used a stratified random sampling of young (ages 22-27), midlife (ages 37-42), and older (ages 67-72) adults to examine age-cohort differences in 4 generativity features: generative concern, commitments, actions, and narration. Although prevailing views on generativity (e.g., Erikson, 1963) predict a peak in midlife and decline thereafter, support for this developmental hypothesis was mixed. Midlife Ss scored higher than young and older Ss on concern and actions in a second administration of measures, but not in the first. Generative commitments and narration showed high scores for both midlife and older Ss and relatively low scores for young Ss. Generative concern, assessed with the Loyola Generativity Scale, was positively associated with life satisfaction.
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