The Development of Generativity in Middle Adulthood and the Beginning of Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study from Age 42 to 61

Abstract

Previous studies have yielded mixed results regarding the development of generativity during adulthood. Longitudinal data were utilized to investigate the average development of generativity between the ages of 42 and 61 as well as individual differences in terms of its development. The study used data from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS) (initial N = 369). The data consisted of 291 individuals whose generativity scores, measured using the Generativity Scale, were available at age 42, 50, or 61. Rasch analysis was utilized to form a generativity measure. The development of generativity between the measurements was investigated in women and men using Bland–Altman plots and the latent change score model. The results showed that, on average, generativity decreased from age 42 to 61 in women and men; however, there were individual differences in the extent and direction of the change with age. The level of generativity at age 42 predicted the change occurring between ages 42 and 50 and ages 50 and 61. Furthermore, the change between ages 42 and 50 predicted the change occurring between ages 50 and 61. The more positive the baseline value or the earlier occurring change, the more negative the subsequent change. To conclude, despite the mean-level generativity decreases during middle and late adulthood, there was variance across individuals of the same age, who were followed for nearly two decades. The study emphasizes the importance of investigating individual differences in the development of generativity in adulthood.