Midlife concerns and short-term personality change in middle adulthood (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Ageing, 2010
This study examined long-term personality trait development in midlife and explored the impact of psychological turning points on personality change. Self-defined psychological turning points reflect major changes in the ways people think or feel about an important part of their life, such as work, family, and beliefs about themselves and about the world. This study used longitudinal data from the
Successful Aging in Late Midlife: The Role of Personality Development
Journal of Adult Development
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.
The Road Taken: Women's Life Paths and Personality Development in Late Midlife
2011
Scholars have focused on the influence that different patterns of women's work and family commitments have on the development of their personality and well-being. The current research sharpens this focus, assessing the association between life paths that are normative or non-normative and personality and well-being outcomes for a particular cohort of women in late midlife. When people follow non-normative life paths, social sanctions may ensue, thus also potentially shaping women's personalities and well-being. This dissertation examines women's non-normative and normative life paths for the Radcliffe and Smith Classes of 1964, and the Women's Life Paths Study (WLPS). The normative/non-normative distinction is based on three parameters: marital status, having children, and profession. Long-term divorced women with children (N = 54) are compared with long-term married women with children (N = 191); women without children (N = 72) are compared with women with children (N = 501); and women in predominantly male professions (N = 139) are compared with women in predominantly female professions (N = 167). A novel approach to Q-sort analysis-Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM; Chu, Narasimhan, Tibshirani, & Tusher, 2007)identified significant differences in observer-rated personality traits in four categories: x general norm-challenging, female gender-normative, male gender-normative, and unclassifiable. Each group of women who had followed a non-normative life path was rated as having personality traits inconsistent with gender norms; the exact pattern was different for each group. Long-term divorced women with children and women without children were rated lower than their comparison groups on feminine norm-related items; women in predominantly male professions were rated higher than women in predominantly female professions on masculine norm-related items. Discriminant function analysis identified different personality and well-being profiles for each life path group (three non-normative and one normative). This research highlights the heterogeneity of life paths in samples of women generally thought of as relatively homogeneous, and shows that these life paths are associated with personality, personality development, and well-being variables in complicated ways. By examining Q-sort, Big Five personality factors, generativity, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being data, unique relationships between specific life paths and personality and well-being outcomes were identified. Personality and Personality Development Personality traits, such as those assessed by the Big Five-Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism-are relatively stable across the lifespan (e.g., McCrae & Costa, 1990), and although they may also exhibit consistent patterns of mean-level developmental change over the life course (Roberts, Wood, & Lodi-Smith, 2005), they are stable over time in their relative importance. Research has also shown that the traits exhibited by women and men are expected to be, and often are, different (Costa, Terracciano & McCrae, 2001; Srivastava, John, Gosling and Potter, 2003). In a study of adults aged 21 to 60, Srivastava et al. found that the differences in patterns of change for men and women in Big Five traits over time are complex and related to gendered developmental influences. Women were consistently higher than men on Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Extraversion, but lower on Openness. Like men, however, their levels of Extraversion and Openness remained relatively stable with age; additionally-like men's-their levels of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness increased. However, unlike men, their levels of Neuroticism decreased over time. According to Srivastava et al., this would indicate that women in their early 60s are relatively high in Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, their Neuroticism is comparatively low, and their levels of Openness and Extraversion have not changed since early adulthood. Costa, Terracciano, and McCrae (2001) also found gender differences in personality, with women reporting higher levels of Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings, whereas men reported higher levels of Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas. The authors suggest that these differences may reflect behaviors
Development of personality in early and middle adulthood: Set like plaster or persistent change
Different theories make different predictions about how mean levels of personality traits change in adulthood. The biological view of the Five-factor theory proposes the plaster hypothesis: All personality traits stop changing by age 30. In contrast, contextualist perspectives propose that changes should be more varied and should persist throughout adulthood. This study compared these perspectives in a large (N ϭ 132,515) sample of adults aged 21-60 who completed a Big Five personality measure on the Internet. Conscientiousness and Agreeableness increased throughout early and middle adulthood at varying rates; Neuroticism declined among women but did not change among men. The variety in patterns of change suggests that the Big Five traits are complex phenomena subject to a variety of developmental influences.
Successful Aging in Late Midlife: The Role of Personality Among College-Educated Women
2013
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.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988
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 (tf = 983) and spouse ratings (N = 167) were gathered on the NEO Personality Inventory , 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 intersection of life stage and social events: Personality and life outcomes
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995
Two studies examined the intersection of life stage with the experience of social events. Study 1 tested whether social events coinciding with early adulthood are more meaningful to individuals than events during other life stages . In 4 of 5 samples of college-educated women (3 age cohorts), the hypothesis was supported. Study 2 examined the impact of the women's movement on the personalities and careers of women who experienced the movement during early adulthood versus early middle adulthood. Women in both cohorts who found the movement meaningful attained higher education, work status, and income levels; were employed in upwardly mobile careers; and were more assertive and self-confident at midlife than women who found the movement less important. Consistent with hypotheses, finding the women's movement meaningful was associated with personality change in the older cohort.
Personality and Personal Growth in the Working Midlifers
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014
The current study attempted to explore midlife personal growth (generativity) and how it relates to the personality structure and domains of the working midlifers. The Loyola Generativity Scale, by McAdams & de St. Aubin (1992) and The Neo Five Factor Inventory by Costa & McCrae, (1984) were used. The sample comprised of 548 working male and female midlifers. The data were statistically analyzed by computing the Analyses of variance (ANOVA), post-hoc analyses, Pearson's Product-moment Correlation and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analyses (SMRA).Findings revealed a significant age and sex effect on the generativity. Generativity was significantly correlated to and significantly predicted by several of the personality variables in the current sample. Implications of the findings are mentioned herein.