Self-Defining Future Projections Throughout Adulthood

Abstract

Self-defining future projections (SDFPs) have never been explored across lifespan. The present study aimed to characterize those self-relevant narratives in three age groups matched for sex and education level: young (mean age = 23.0 years), middle-aged (mean age = 41.7 years), and young-old (mean age = 68.2 years) adults. All participants first completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale followed by two tests assessing executive functions : a phonemic verbal fluency task and the Similarities subtest of the WAIS-IV. Finally, participants were asked to collect three SDFPs. Results highlighted that thematic contents of SDFPs varied with advancing age: percentage of achievement events decreased whereas percentage of leisure or dependence events increased. No significant difference in specificity and meaning-making was observed between the three groups. Compared to the SDFPs of young and middle-aged adults, older participants’ SDFPs were closer to the present time. Moreover, young-old adults provided fewer words to describe their narratives than young individuals.