Longitudinal predictors of proactive goals and activity participation at age 80

This study investigated longitudinal predictors of proactive goals and activity participation at age 80 among members of the Terman Study of the Gifted. The participants were 242 individuals between the ages of 75 and 84 (M = 79.53) who responded to questionnaires in 1992, 1972, and 1950. Proactive goals included goals for involvement and achievement. Activity participation included intellectual, cultural, and social service activities. LISREL 8 was used to test an integrative longitudinal latent variable model of the associations among the variables. The results showed that purposiveness at age 40 predicted proactive goals at age 80 indirectly through satisfaction with cultural life and service to society measured at age 60. Satisfaction with culture and service at age 60 was related to activity participation at age 80 through proactive goals. Women rated proactive goals as more important to them and indicated greater participation in the activities in this study than did men, but the structural equation model was invariant across the two groups. The results are discussed in terms of contemporary research and theory concerning the self-concept and life span development.