Tara L Gruenewald1, Elizabeth K Tanner2, Linda P Fried3, Michelle C Carlson4, Qian-Li Xue5, Jeanine M Parisi6, George W Rebok6, Lisa M Yarnell7, Teresa E Seeman8. 1. Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Tara.Gruenewald@usc.edu. 2. Department of Community-Public Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 3. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York. 4. Departments of Mental Health and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 5. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. 6. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 7. American Institutes for Research, Washington, District of Columbia. 8. Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Being and feeling generative, defined as exhibiting concern and behavior to benefit others, is an important developmental goal of midlife and beyond. Although a growing body of evidence suggests mental and physical health benefits of feeling generative in later life, little information exists as to the modifiability of generativity perceptions. The present study examines whether participation in the intergenerational civic engagement program, Experience Corps (EC), benefits older adults' self-perceptions of generativity. METHOD:Levels of generativity were compared in older adults randomized to serve as EC volunteers or controls (usual volunteer opportunities) in the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial at 4-, 12-, and 24-month evaluation points over the 2-year trial. Analyses utilized intention-to-treat and complier average causal effects (CACE) analyses which incorporate degree of intervention exposure in analytic models. RESULTS: Participants randomized to the EC group had significantly higher levels of generative desire and perceptions of generative achievement than controls at each follow-up point; CACE analyses indicate a dose-response effect with a greater magnitude of intervention effect with greater exposure to the EC program. DISCUSSION: Results provide the first-ever, large-scale experimental demonstration that participation in an intergenerational civic engagement program can positively alter self-perceptions of generativity in older adulthood.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: Being and feeling generative, defined as exhibiting concern and behavior to benefit others, is an important developmental goal of midlife and beyond. Although a growing body of evidence suggests mental and physical health benefits of feeling generative in later life, little information exists as to the modifiability of generativity perceptions. The present study examines whether participation in the intergenerational civic engagement program, Experience Corps (EC), benefits older adults' self-perceptions of generativity. METHOD: Levels of generativity were compared in older adults randomized to serve as EC volunteers or controls (usual volunteer opportunities) in the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial at 4-, 12-, and 24-month evaluation points over the 2-year trial. Analyses utilized intention-to-treat and complier average causal effects (CACE) analyses which incorporate degree of intervention exposure in analytic models. RESULTS:Participants randomized to the EC group had significantly higher levels of generative desire and perceptions of generative achievement than controls at each follow-up point; CACE analyses indicate a dose-response effect with a greater magnitude of intervention effect with greater exposure to the EC program. DISCUSSION: Results provide the first-ever, large-scale experimental demonstration that participation in an intergenerational civic engagement program can positively alter self-perceptions of generativity in older adulthood.
Authors: Erwin J Tan; Elizabeth K Tanner; Teresa E Seeman; Qian-Li Xue; George W Rebok; Kevin D Frick; Michelle C Carlson; Tao Wang; Rachel L Piferi; Sylvia McGill; Keith E Whitfield; Linda P Fried Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2010-02-18 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: G Dunn; M Maracy; C Dowrick; J L Ayuso-Mateos; O S Dalgard; H Page; V Lehtinen; P Casey; C Wilkinson; J L Vazquez-Barquero; G Wilkinson Journal: Br J Psychiatry Date: 2003-10 Impact factor: 9.319
Authors: Michelle C Carlson; Jane S Saczynski; George W Rebok; Teresa Seeman; Thomas A Glass; Sylvia McGill; James Tielsch; Kevin D Frick; Joel Hill; Linda P Fried Journal: Gerontologist Date: 2008-12
Authors: Scott D Landes; Monika Ardelt; George E Vaillant; Robert J Waldinger Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2014-05-28 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Linda P Fried; Michelle C Carlson; Marc Freedman; Kevin D Frick; Thomas A Glass; Joel Hill; Sylvia McGill; George W Rebok; Teresa Seeman; James Tielsch; Barbara A Wasik; Scott Zeger Journal: J Urban Health Date: 2004-03 Impact factor: 3.671
Authors: Julene K Johnson; Anita L Stewart; Michael Acree; Anna M Nápoles; Jason D Flatt; Wendy B Max; Steven E Gregorich Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2020-02-14 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Steven W Cole; Morgan E Levine; Jesusa M G Arevalo; Jeffrey Ma; David R Weir; Eileen M Crimmins Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology Date: 2015-07-08 Impact factor: 4.905
Authors: Christopher R Brydges; Michelle C Carlson; Ryan M Andrews; George W Rebok; Allison A M Bielak Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2021-03-14 Impact factor: 4.077