Abstract
Drawing from life course and lifespan developmental perspectives and 32 years (age 18 to 50) of longitudinal data from the Edmonton Transitions Study, we explored trajectories of change in well-being (anger, self-rated mental and physical health), work (job satisfaction, intrinsic work rewards), and civic engagement. Baseline parent education (74% with no university degree), gender (47% women), and immigration status (20% born outside Canada) were examined as between-persons predictors of within-person trajectories. Average trajectories showed anger was highest in the transition to adulthood and lowest at age 50. Self-rated mental health was highest at age 32, self-rated physical health declined after age 25, and job satisfaction, intrinsic work rewards, and civic engagement peaked in midlife. Lower parental education at baseline was a salient risk factor for less optimal trajectories (i.e., higher levels of anger and lower levels of physical health, intrinsic work rewards, and civic engagement), while gender and immigration status had more limited effects. The results are consistent with perspectives on the life course emphasizing within-person, between-persons, and cross-domain diversity in human development.
Résumé
En nous appuyant sur les perspectives de développement à certaines périodes de la vie, tout au long de la vie ainsi que sur 32 années de données longitudinales recueillies par l’Edmonton Transitions Study (de 18 ans à 50 ans), nous avons exploré l’évolution des trajectoires en matière de bien-être (auto-évaluation de la colère, de la santé mentale et de la santé physique), d’emploi (satisfaction au travail, gratifications intrinsèques au travail) et d’engagement civique. Pour évaluer les trajectoires intragroupes, nous avons exploité des prédicteurs intergroupes, notamment le niveau d’éducation des parents (74% sans diplôme universitaire), le genre (47% de femmes) et le statut d’immigrant (20% des individus nés à l’étranger). Les trajectoires moyennes montrent que le niveau de colère est au plus haut lors du passage à l’âge adulte, et au plus bas à l’âge de 50 ans. En matière d’auto-évaluation de la santé mentale, celle-ci atteint son apogée à l’âge de 32 ans. Pour ce qui est de l’auto-évaluation de la santé physique, celle-ci décline après l’âge de 25 ans. Quant à la satisfaction en emploi, les gratifications intrinsèques au travail ainsi que l’engagement civique culminent à mi-vie. Le faible niveau d’éducation des parents s’avère un facteur de risque important pour les trajectoires moins optimales (c’est-à-dire avec des niveaux de colère plus élevés et des niveaux de santé physique, de gratifications intrinsèques au travail et d’engagement civique plus faibles), alors que le genre et le statut d’immigré ont des effets plus limités. Les résultats concordent avec les perspectives tout au long de vie, et soulignent l’importance de la diversité intrapersonnelle, interpersonnelle et interdomaine en matière de développement humain.
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Data Availability
The data used in the analyses for the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Notes
Due to limited repeated ETS measures of family functioning, the current study does not examine family life trajectories.
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This research was funded by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Alberta Advanced Education, and University of Alberta. Data were collected by the Population Research Laboratory, University of Alberta.
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Galambos, N.L., Johnson, M.D. & Krahn, H.J. Diversity in Paths to Midlife Well-being, Work, and Civic Engagement Across Three Decades. Can. Stud. Popul. 51, 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42650-023-00079-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42650-023-00079-5