Parent Status and Generativity within the Context of Race

Abstract

Generativity, or providing for the next generation (Erikson, 1950), is usually associated with midlife, and related to parenting. However, the extent to which grandparenting or non-parenting are associated with generativity, especially within the context of race, is less well known. The current study uses narrative data from the Foley Longitudinal Study of Adulthood (FLSA; N = 150) to examine the relationship between generativity and parent status–parents, grandparents, as well as non-parents–in midlife African Americans and Whites. Responses to questions concerning future plans in Life Story narratives were coded for four subtypes of generative expression: general generativity, productive generativity, generative caring, and generative need to be needed; these subtypes of generativity were associated with parent status in different ways for middle-aged men and women of each race group. The findings highlight the importance of context, providing a glimpse of expressions of generativity at the intersection of parent status and race.