Life Patterns and Coping Strategies in High and low Creative Women

Abstract

Part of a 21-year follow-up, this inquiry focused on the female subjects in a longitudinal predictive validity study of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Women identified as High or Low Creatives were compared on three aspects: (a) creative achievements; (b) educational history and career development; and (c) lifestyle, sources of support and coping strategies.During the initial investigation, conducted by E. Paul Torrance, children enrolled in two Minneapolis schools were tested annually from 1958-1964 on the TTCT. The subjects of this study were 83 women, ranging in age from 23 to 34, who participated in the original testing and who responded 21 years later to two questionnaires. The questionnaires elicited information such as current marital and family status, education1 and career history, sources of support and domestic coping strategies, as well as long-range personal goals and satisfaction with present life. Checklists and other items designed to measure high school and post-high school creative achievements and aspirations for the future were included.The subjects were categorized as High or Low Creatives based on a creativity index calculated from their scores on the TTCT over a three year period (grades 3-5). Women whose creativity index fell above the median were classified as High Creatives (N =42); those whose index fell below the median, as Low Creatives (N =41). The descriptive data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed by percentages or means and standard deviations and chi squares were computed to compare High and Low Creatives. When appropriate, comparisons were made with data from the Torrance longitudinal study of creative high school students. Multiple regression procedures were used to analyze the relationship of selected background variables with five measures of adolescent and adult creative performance: quantity of high school creative achievements; quantity of post-high school creative achievements; quantity of self-actualizing, publicly unrecognized creative activities; quality of creative achievements; and creativeness of aspirations for the future.The predictive validity of the TTCT as a measure of creative potential is clearly demonstrated. The women identified as High Creatives in elementary school have been fulfilling that potential as adults to a significantly higher degree than the Low Creatives, as measured on all five measures of adult creativity utilized. By using 98