Generativity and Gendered Pathways to Health: The Role of Human, Social, and Financial Capital Past Mid-Life

Abstract

Generativity has recently received increasing attention as a key contributor to healthy aging. Personal resources and social expectations are shown to influence the desire to be generative and that generativity affects later-life health. However, whether generativity has a mediating role in linking its driving factors and health, and how gender may affect these pathways, is underexplored. Cross-sectional online data from 1085 Hong Kong residents aged 45+ were collected between November and December 2020. Latent variable path analysis was used to examine the mediating effect of generativity between human, social, and financial capital, and physical and mental well-being. Gendered pathways were investigated using multi-group analysis. Results showed that human, social, and financial capital contributed to better health through generativity, and gendered pathways were observed. Human capital had a stronger effect on generativity for men, but for women, social capital was vital for increased generativity and consequently improved health. Findings suggested that health benefits of generativity depend on different capital drivers and differ by gender. Implications for program development that aim to facilitate health should include generativity components that maximize physical and psychosocial engagement so that individuals can reap the health benefits through contributions to others.

Generativity and Subjective Wellbeing of Malaysian Old Adults: The Role of Gender and Living Arrangement

“…Another theoretical explanation behind the positive link between generativity and SWB can be partly framed by the socioemotional selectivity theory. In the means to live a meaningful life, older adults may be driven to adopt generative actions as a stepping stone to a positive sense of identity (Chen et al, 2022). This positive sense of identity added meaning to their life which eventually contribute to their SWB (Ackerman et al, 2000; Chen et al, 2022).…”

“…In the means to live a meaningful life, older adults may be driven to adopt generative actions as a stepping stone to a positive sense of identity (Chen et al, 2022). This positive sense of identity added meaning to their life which eventually contribute to their SWB (Ackerman et al, 2000; Chen et al, 2022).…”

“…Both males and females who live separately from their children (non-co-residing) experience higher SWB than the co-residing parents only if they performed more generative acts. Numerous studies have examined the role of social context in generative acts (Cheng, 2009; Chen et al, 2022). Among the most salient social context variable tested are gender differences due to the different expectations and norms that society imposes on men and women during their formative years (Cheng, 2009).…”

Frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults: an eight-year multi-trajectory analysis

“…Many risk factors have been identified as being associated with frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms. These risk factors can be found at the individual level, including demographic characteristics, as well as factors associated with health capital, human capital, social capital, and financial capital [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Other risk factors are located at the structural level.…”

Generatividad relativa a la salud. Una estrategia para el envejecimiento saludable desarrollada en México

“…Por tal motivo, la Unidad de Investigación en Gerontología de la Facultad de Estudios Superiores de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (FES Zaragoza, UNAM) ha desarrollado un modelo de atención comunitaria para el envejecimiento saludable (MACES), enmarcado en la resiliencia y la generatividad (Mendoza-Núñez y Vivaldo-Martínez, 2019). En este sentido, la generatividad definida como un proceso cognitivo y psico-social, en el que la persona en proceso de envejecimiento asume voluntariamente el compromiso (engagement) de participar activamente en un proyecto productivo remunerado o no remunerado, satisfactorio y con reconocimiento social, se ha vinculado con el envejecimiento saludable, reconociendo el capital humano, social y la contribución financiera directa o indirecta que representa la población de 45 años y más (Chen et al, 2022).…”