Journal
JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT
Volume 15, Issue 3-4, Pages 148-159Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s10804-008-9046-7
Keywords
Childless adults; Generativity; Parents; Psychological well-being
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Given that parenthood is considered a central adult status with developmental implications, and an increasing number of adults are childless, we assessed whether adult development is structured differently for parents and non-parents. This study's main goal was to assess and compare the connection between generativity development-a key task of middle adulthood-and psychological well-being for childless adults (N = 289) and parents (N = 2,218), ages 35-74, using the 1995 MIDUS dataset. We also examined differences in these associations for women and men by parental status, because childlessness is often assumed to be more critical for females' than males' development. Structural equation modeling indicated a positive association between generativity and psychological well-being. Differences in this association for parents and childless adults were not evident, nor were there significant differences for childless women and mothers, and childless men and fathers. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available