Generativity in midlife and young adults: Links to agency, communion, and subjective well-being

Three questions stimulated by Erik Erikson's theory of generativity were ad dressed: 1) Is generativity associated with greater subjective well-being? 2) Are agency and communion additive or interactive predictors of generativ ity? 3) Does generativity play a distinct role during the midlife period? A mong ninety-eight midlife adults, generativity was positively related to po sitive affectivity, satisfaction with life, and work satisfaction. Generati vity was independently predicted by agentic (masculine) and communal (femin ine) traits. Among fifty-eight young adults, generativity predicted positiv e affect at home. Generativity was independently predicted by agentic (powe r) and communal (love) interpersonal orientations. Using event-contingent r ecording of agentic and communal behavior at work, agency was a stronger pr edictor of generativity for young adult men, and communion was a stronger p redictor for young adult women. The studies demonstrate that generativity h as similar relations to agency and communion in young and midlife adults; h owever, generativity may be a stronger predictor of subjective well-being i n midlife adults.