Abstract
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.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the University of Michigan Center for Statistical Consultation and Research (CSCAR), members of the Gender and Personality in Context lab, David G. Winter and anonymous reviewers for providing feedback on previous drafts of this manuscript. This work was supported by several contributions. Collection of the 1996 wave of data for the Radcliffe Study was supported by a grant to Abigail J. Stewart from the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan. Collection of the 2005 wave of data was supported by research funds provided by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts associated with Stewart’s Distinguished University Professorship and from the University of Michigan’s Psychology Department. The Smith College alumnae data collections were supported by grants from the University of Michigan; the Henry A. Murray Center at Radcliffe College; and the Louise B. and Edmund J. Kahn Liberal Arts Institute at Smith College. Portions of this manuscript were presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario, August 2008.
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Versey, H.S., Stewart, A.J. & Duncan, L.E. Successful Aging in Late Midlife: The Role of Personality Among College-Educated Women. J Adult Dev 20, 63–75 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-013-9157-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-013-9157-7