Pathways to Aging Well among College-Educated Women: The Roles of Personality Development and Stress and Coping.

Abstract

In this dissertation, I outline current understandings of the concept of successful aging and then empirically examine correlates and predictors of successful aging and overall health. Using data from three longitudinal samples of college-educated women, I assess relationships among personality, personal resources and health in women transitioning from midlife to older age, using three major metatheories to examine these issues: successful aging, personality development and stress and coping.

The first two studies in this dissertation examine potential developmental correlates of successful aging (Rowe & Kahn, 1997), generativity and concern about aging, in three samples of women. The third study focuses on stress and coping as a model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) that is widely used to predict mental and physical health at all ages. Mental and physical health are, of course, elements that are included in definitions of successful aging. Due to the evidence suggesting that stress and stress-related events compromise health and accelerate aging over the life course, I examine the direct effect of certain stressors, perceived discrimination and caregiving, and the potential influence of moderating personal resources (religiosity/spirituality and self-efficacy) on subjective health and successful aging in a mixed-race sample of college-educated women with varied social class backgrounds.

The findings from the first two studies indicate that there is a consistent relationship between personality development and successful aging. While higher levels of generativity predict increased levels of successful aging in two samples, increased concern about aging is associated with lower levels of successful aging in all three samples. Findings from study three reveal that there is a significant inverse relationship between stress and both subjective health and successful aging. However, this relationship is moderated by personal resources, particularly self-efficacy. For women who reported low levels of personal resources, stress yielded a more negative impact than for those who reported higher levels of personal resources with the same burden of stress.

Findings from this research suggest further work is needed to contextualize factors contributing to healthy aging outcomes. Future research should address how personality development and person-characteristics promote risk or resilience among adults entering older age.