Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 May 31;20(11):6015. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20116015.
Generativity is defined as an individual's concern for and actions dedicated toward the well-being of others, especially youth and subsequent generations. It is a key stage of psychological development from midlife to older age and can be a guiding concept for promoting engagement of older adults in productive and contributive activities, which benefit their well-being. This study examined the longitudinal association between generativity and higher-level functional capacity (HLFC) decline in older Japanese adults. The two-year longitudinal data of 879 older adults aged 65-84 years were analyzed. Participants' HLFC and generativity were assessed using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence and the Revised Japanese version of the Generativity Scale, respectively. The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that a higher generativity score was negatively associated with HLFC decline, indicating that generativity effectively prevents HLFC decline over 2 years. On adding the interaction term between generativity and sex to examine whether the protective effect of generativity differed by sex, we found that generativity was especially effective in protecting the HLFC decline in men with higher generativity. The study results highlight the importance of promoting engagement of older adults in generative activities to maintain their HLFC.
代际传承是指个体对他人，特别是年轻人和后代的福利的关注和行动。它是从中年到老年的心理发展的关键阶段，可以作为促进老年人参与富有成效和有益的活动的指导概念，这些活动有益于他们的福祉。本研究考察了代际传承与老年日本成年人更高水平的功能能力（HLFC）下降之间的纵向关联。分析了 879 名年龄在 65-84 岁的老年人的两年纵向数据。使用东京都立老人研究所能力指数和修订后的日本代际量表分别评估参与者的 HLFC 和代际传承。二元逻辑回归分析结果表明，较高的代际传承得分与 HLFC 下降呈负相关，这表明代际传承可有效预防 2 年内 HLFC 下降。在加入代际传承和性别之间的交互项，以检验代际传承的保护作用是否因性别而异后，我们发现，代际传承在保护男性 HLFC 下降方面的效果尤其显著，这些男性的代际传承得分较高。研究结果强调了促进老年人参与代际活动以维持其 HLFC 的重要性。
