Generativity and Psychological Well-Being Across the Lifespan
Summary
Generativity, first conceptualised within a psychosocial framework of adult development, denotes an individual’s concern for and commitment to nurturing subsequent generations. It emerges most prominently in midlife but can manifest across all adult stages, encompassing behaviours such as mentoring, creative endeavours and community engagement. By fostering a sense of purpose and social connectedness, generative acts bolster psychological well-being, promoting life satisfaction, self-esteem and resilience against age-related challenges. Research has shown that generativity contributes to identity integration, mitigates the risk of isolation in later life and supports higher levels of functional capacity. Across diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts, generative engagement offers a practical pathway to healthy ageing, intergenerational solidarity and societal cohesion.
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Generativity and Psychological Well-Being Across the Lifespan publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in generativity and psychological well-being across the lifespan across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Generativity: A psychosocial construct describing an individual’s motivation to contribute to the welfare of future generations through care, guidance or creative work.
Subjective well-being: A self-evaluative measure of life satisfaction and emotional balance, reflecting positive affect and the absence of distress.
Higher-Level Functional Capacity (HLFC): A composite indicator of complex daily living abilities, such as instrumental activities, social roles and decision-making that support independent living in older adults.
Latent Variable Path Analysis: A statistical technique that models relationships among unobserved (latent) constructs and observed indicators to test indirect effects within a hypothesised causal framework.
References
- The Impact of Generativity on Maintaining Higher-Level Functional Capacity of Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study in Japan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023).
- Generativity and Gendered Pathways to Health: The Role of Human, Social, and Financial Capital Past Mid-Life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022).
- Generativity and Subjective Wellbeing of Malaysian Old Adults: The Role of Gender and Living Arrangement. SAGE Open (2023).
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