Skip to main content
Log in

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

  • Published:
Journal of Adult Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackerman, S., Zuroff, D. C., & Moskowitz, D. S. (2000). Generativity in midlife and young adults: Links to agency, communion, and adjustment. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 50(1), 17–41. doi:10.2190/9F51-LR6T-JHRJ-2QW6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., Mayer, K. U., Helmchen, H., & Steinhagen-Thiessen, E. (1993). The Berlin Aging Study (BASE): Overview and design. Special Issue of Aging and Society, 13(4), 483–515. doi:10.1017/S0144686X00001343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., & Smith, J. (1997). A systemic-wholistic view of psychological functioning in very old age: Introduction to a collection of articles from the Berlin Aging Study. Psychology and Aging, 12(3), 395–409. doi:10.1037//0882-7974.12.3.395.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, A. E., & Robbins, C. (2008). The multiple sources of women’s aging anxiety and their relationship with psychological distress. Journal of Aging and Health, 20(1), 32–65. doi:10.1177/0898264307309932.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, G., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1984). Women in midlife. New York: Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Beekman, A. T., de Beurs, E., van Balkom, A. J., Deeg, D. J., van Dyck, R., & van Tilburg, W. (2000). Anxiety and depression in later life: Co-occurrence and communality of risk factors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(1), 89–95.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benton, J. P., Christopher, A. N., & Walter, M. I. (2007). Death anxiety as a function of aging anxiety. Death Studies, 31, 337–350. doi:10.1080/07481180601187100.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54(3), 165–181. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.54.3.165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., & Roberts, B. W. (1999). Personality continuity and change across the life course. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 300–326). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, S. T., Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2003). Aging and emotional memory: The forgettable nature of negative images for older adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132(2), 310–324. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.132.2.310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de St. Aubin, E., & McAdams, D. P. (1995). The relations of generative concern and generative action to personality traits, satisfaction/happiness with life and ego development. Journal of Adult Development, 2, 99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillaway, H. E., & Byrnes, M. (2009). Reconsidering successful aging: A call for renewed and expanded academic critiques and conceptualizations. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28(6), 702–722. doi:10.1177/0733464809333882.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, L. E. (1999). Motivation for collective action: Group consciousness as mediator of personality, life experiences, and women’s rights activism. Political Psychology, 20, 611–635. doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, L. E., Wentworth, P. A., Owen-Smith, A., & LaFavor, T. (2002). Midlife educational, career, and family outcomes of women educated at two single-sex colleges. Sex Roles, 47(5–6), 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. NY: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle: A reissue. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H., Erikson, J. M., & Kivnik, H. Q. (1986). Vital involvements in old age. New York: Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fendrich, J. M., & Lovoy, K. L. (1988). Back to the future: Adult political behavior of former political activists. American Sociological Review, 53(5), 780–784. doi:10.2307/2095823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, B. J. (1995). Successful aging, life satisfaction, and generativity in later life. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 41(3), 239–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fried, L. P., Freedman, M., Endres, T. E., & Wasik, B. (1997). Building communities that promote successful aging. The Western Journal of Medicine, 167(4), 216–219.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galobardes, B., Lynch, J. W., & Davey Smith, G. (2007). Measuring socioeconomic position in health research. British Medical Bulletin, 81–82(1), 21–37. doi:10.1093/bmb/ldm001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, B. H., & Gillespie, A. A. (2008). Volunteerism, health, and civic engagement among older adults. Canadian Journal on Aging, 27(4), 399–406. doi:10.3138/cja.27.4.399.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grossbaum, M., & Bates, G. (2002). Correlates of psychological well-being at mid-life: The role of generativity, agency and communion, and narrative themes. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(2), 120–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald, T. L., Liao, D. H., & Seeman, T. E. (2012). Contributing to others, contributing to oneself: Perceptions of generativity and health in later life. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbs034.

  • Gurin, G., Veroff, J., & Feld, S. (1960). Americans view their mental health: A nationwide interview survey. Oxford, England: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, A. H. S., & Thoresen, C. E. (2005). Volunteering is associated with delayed mortality in older people: Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Aging. Journal of Health Psychology, 10(6), 739–752. doi:10.1177/1359105305057310.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helson, R., Mitchell, V., & Moane, G. (1984). Personality and patterns of adherence and nonadherence to the social clock. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(5), 1079–1096. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.46.5.1079.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helson, R., & Moane, G. (1987). Personality change in women from college to midlife. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 176–186. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helson, R., & Stewart, A. J. (1994). Personality change in adulthood. In T. Heatherton & J. Weinberger (Eds.), Can personality change? (pp. 201–225). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Helson, R., & Wink, P. (1992). Personality change in women from the early 40s to the early 50s. Psychology and Aging, 7(1), 46–55. doi:10.1037//0882-7974.7.1.46.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hooker, K., & McAdams, D. P. (2003). Personality reconsidered: A new agenda for aging research. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58B(6), P296–P304. doi:10.1093/geronb/58.6.P296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241(4865), 540–545. doi:10.1126/science.3399889.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huta, V., & Zuroff, D. C. (2007). Examining mediators of the link between generativity and well-being. Journal of Adult Development, 14(1–2), 47–52. doi:10.1007/s10804-007-9030-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacques, E. (1965). Death and the mid-life crisis. International Journal of Psychoanalsis, 46, 502–514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C. J., Livson, N., & Peskin, H. (2003). Longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling analyses of California psychological inventory data from age 33 to 75: An examination of stability and change in adult personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80(3), 294–308. doi:10.1207/S15327752JPA8003_07.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karney, B. R., & Bradbury, T. N. (1995). Assessing longitudinal change in marriage: An introduction to the analysis of growth curves. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 1091–1108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L., & Ryff, C. D. (1998). Generativity in adult lives: Social structural contours and quality of life consequences. In D. P. McAdams & E. de St. Aubin (Eds.), Generativity and adult development: How and why we care for the next generation (pp. 227–263). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10288-007.

  • Krieger, N. (2001). Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: An ecosocial perspective. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30(4), 668–677. doi:10.1093/ije/30.4.668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, N., Williams, D., & Moss, N. (1997). Measuring social class in US public health research: Concepts, methodologies and guidelines. Annual Review of Public Health, 18(1), 341–378. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.18.1.341.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubzansky, L. D., Kawachi, I., Weiss, S. T., & Sparrow, D. (1998). Anxiety and coronary heart disease: A synthesis of epidemiological, psychological, and experimental evidence. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 20(2), 47–58. doi:10.1007/BF02884448.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lachman, M. E. (2004). Development in midlife. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 305–331. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141521.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lachman, M. E., & Bertrand, R. M. (2001). Personality and the self in midlife. In M. E. Lachman (Ed.), Handbook of midlife development (pp. 279–309). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasher, K. P., & Faulkender, P. J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the Anxiety about Aging Scale. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 37, 247–259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A., Martin, L. R., & Friedman, H. S. (2000). Gender-related individual differences and mortality in the Terman longitudinal study: Is masculinity hazardous to your health? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(12), 1560–1570. doi:10.1177/01461672002612010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J., & Kaplan, G. A. (2000). Socioeconomic position. In L. F. Berkman & I. Kawachi (Eds.), Social epidemiology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P., & de St. Aubin, E. (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62(6), 1003–1015. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.62.6.1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P., & de St. Aubin, E. (1998). Generativity and adult development: Psychosocial perspectives on caring for and contributing to the next generation. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P., de St. Aubin, E., & Logan, R. (1993). Generativity among young, midlife, and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 8(2), 221–230. doi:10.1037//0882-7974.8.2.221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P., Hart, H. M., & Maruna, S. (1998). The anatomy of generativity. In D. P. McAdams & E. de St. Aubin (Eds.), Generativity and adult development: Psychosocial perspectives on caring for and contributing to the next generation. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press. doi:10.1037/10288-001.

  • McAdams, D. P., Hoffman, B. J., Mansfield, E. D., & Day, R. (1996). Themes of agency and communion in significant autobiographical scenes. Journal of Personality, 64, 339–378. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00514.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T, Jr. (1997). Personality trait structures as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52, 509–516. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.52.5.509.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T, Jr. (2003). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford. doi:10.4324/9780203428412.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Minkler, M., & Fadem, P. (2002). “Successful aging”: A disability perspective. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 12(4), 229–235. doi:10.1177/104420730201200402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrow-Howell, N., Hinterlong, J., Rozario, P. A., & Tang, F. (2003). The effects of volunteering on the well-being of older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B(3), S137–S145. doi:10.1093/geronb/58.3.S137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mroczek, D. K., Almeida, D. M., Spiro, A., III, & Pafford, C. (2006). Modeling intraindividual stability and change in personality. In D. K. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), Handbook of personality development (pp. 163–180). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musick, M. A., Herzog, A. R., & House, J. S. (1999). Volunteering and mortality among older adults: Findings from a national sample. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 54B(3), S173–S180. doi:10.1093/geronb/54B.3.S173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musick, M. A., & Wilson, J. (2003). Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science and Medicine, 56(2), 259–269. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00025-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neugarten, B. L. (1968). Middle age and aging: A reader in social psychology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oldham, J. M., & Liebert, R. S. (1989). The middle years: New psychoanalytic perspectives. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oman, D. (2007). Does volunteering foster physical health and longevity? In S. Post (Ed.), Altruism and health (pp. 15–32). New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182910.003.0003.

  • Peterson, B. E., Smirles, K. A., & Wentworth, P. A. (1997). Generativity and authoritarianism: Implications for personality, political involvement, and parenting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(5), 1202–1216. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.5.1202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, S. D., Rosenberg, H. J., & Farrell, M. P. (1999). The midlife crisis revisited. In S. L. Willis & J. D. Reid (Eds.), Life in the middle: Psychological and social development in middle age. San Diego: Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-012757230-7/50022-5.

  • Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1987). Human aging: Usual and successful. Science, 237(4811), 143–149. doi:10.1126/science.3299702.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. Gerontologist, 37(4), 433–440. doi:10.1093/geront/37.4.433.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.57.6.1069.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Migdal, S. (1984). Intimacy and generativity: Self-perceived transitions. Signs, 9(3), 470–481. doi:10.1086/494072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (1998). Human health: New directions for the next millennium. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 69–85. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0901_11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheidt, R. J., Humpherys, D. R., & Yorgason, J. B. (1999). Successful aging: What’s not to like? Journal of Applied Gerontology, 18(3), 277–282. doi:10.1177/073346489901800301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, R., & Heckhausen, J. (1996). A life span model of successful aging. American Psychologist, 51(7), 702–714. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.51.7.702.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. W., & Spiro, A. I. I. I. (2002). Personality, health, and aging: Prolegomenon for the next generation. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(4), 363–394. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00014-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiro, A., Aldwin, C. M., Ward, K., & Mroczek, D. K. (1995). Personality and the incidence of hypertension among older men: Longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study. Health Psychology, 14(6), 563–569. doi:10.1037//0278-6133.14.6.563.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J. (1974). Longitudinal prediction from personality to life outcomes among college-educated women. Doctoral dissertation. Harvard University, Cambridge.

  • Stewart, A. J. (1978). A longitudinal study of coping styles of self-defining and socially defined women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46(5), 1079–1084. doi:10.1037//0022-006X.46.5.1079.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J. (1980). Personality and situation in the prediction of women’s life patterns. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(2), 195–206. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1980.tb00956.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J., & Ostrove, J. M. (1998). Women’s personality in middle age: Gender, history, and mid-course corrections. American Psychologist, 53, 1185–1194. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.53.11.1185.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J., Ostrove, J. M., & Helson, R. (2001). Middle aging in women: Patterns of personality change from the 30s to the 50s. Journal of Adult Development, 8, 23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J., & Vandewater, E. A. (1993). The Radcliffe class of 1964: Career and family social clock projects in a transitional cohort. In K. Hulbert & D. Schuster (Eds.), Women’s lives through time: Educated American women of the twentieth century (pp. 235–258). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. J., & Vandewater, E. A. (1999). ‘If I had it to do over again…’: Midlife review, midcourse corrections, and women’s well-being in midlife. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(2), 270–283. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.76.2.270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Streiner, D. L., & Norman, G. R. (2008). Health measurement scales: A practical guide to their development and use (4th ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

  • Tangri, S. S. (1969). Role innovation in occupational choice among college women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

  • Terracciano, A., McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T, Jr. (2010). Intra-individual change in personality stability and age. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(15), 31–37. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2009.09.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A., & Hewitt, L. N. (2001). Volunteer work and well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(2), 115–131. doi:10.2307/3090173.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Torges, C. M., Stewart, A. J., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2008). Regret resolution, aging and adaptation to loss. Psychology and Aging, 23(1), 169–180. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.23.1.169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E. (1993). The wisdom of the ego. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E. (2004). Positive aging. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive aging in positive psychology in practice. NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E., & Mukamal, K. (2001). Successful aging. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(6), 839–847.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E., & Vaillant, C. O. (1990). Natural history of male psychological health XII: A 45-year study of predictors of successful aging at age 65. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147(1), 31–37.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Versey, H. S. (2011). Pathways to aging well among college-educated women: The roles of personality development and stress and coping. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 2011.

  • Wethington, E., Kessler, R., & Pixley, J. (2004). Turning points in adulthood. In O. G. Brim, C. D. Ryff, & R. Kessler (Eds.), How healthy are we: A national study of well-being in midlife (pp. 586–613). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrosch, C., Bauer, I., & Scheier, M. F. (2005). Regret and quality of life across the adult life span: The influence of disengagement and available future goals. Psychology and Aging, 20(4), 657–670. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.20.4.657.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

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.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Shellae Versey.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

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

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-013-9157-7

Keywords

Navigation