Continuity and Change in Values in Midlife: Testing the Age Stability Hypothesis

Abstract

Background/Study Context: The “age stability” hypothesis suggests that adults have significant continuities in values over time, whereas the “situational influence” hypothesis suggests that change continues, especially in response to new events and experiences. Deeply ingrained, terminal values may be more stable than other, more instrumental, values. Less research examines changing values than examines changing personality traits and attitudes.

Methods: Hypotheses were tested with data from A Study of Leisure During Adulthood (ASOLDA), a 9-year panel study of middle-aged adults (average age of 45 at the beginning of data collection). Mixed-model regressions and descriptive statistics were used to examine changes and stability over time in global values, measured by the List of Values (LOV), and instrumental values related to leisure.

Results: Significant correlations were found in both terminal and instrumental values over time (autocorrelations ranging from .13 to .23). There was no linear or curvilinear pattern of change over time. Respondents reported a wide range of positive and negative life events and variations over time in reflections on their life structure, but these variations were unrelated to changes in values.

Conclusion: Results support the age stability hypothesis, rather than the situational influence hypothesis, with similar results for both terminal and instrumental values. It is suggested that the consistent values of respondents may have helped them weather the wide range of often-difficult circumstances many reported experiencing. Future research should examine this hypothesis.

Notes

1. ¹Rokeach did not include the term “leisure” in his list of 18 instrumental values. We assert, however, that individuals’ values regarding leisure conform to his definition of instrumental values as those that are related to behavior and the ways that people try to attain their more global or terminal values (Rokeach, 1968, 1973).

2. ²Individual items were “My leisure is my most enjoyable time,” “I admire a person who knows how to relax,” “I like to do things on the spur of the moment,” “I would like to lead a life of complete leisure,” “Most people spend too much time enjoying themselves today” (reversed), “I do not feel guilty about enjoying myself,” “People should seek as much leisure as possible in their lives,” “I would like to have at least two months of vacation a year,” “Leisure is great,” and “It is good for adults to be playful.”

3. ³We also conducted separate analyses with the various measures, and can provide those results upon requests. Substantive findings were similar to those reported here.

4. ⁴The last column of Table 1 gives the average number of years for which data on each measure were available and reflects the high response rate throughout the time of the survey, with an average of 7 to 8 years of data for each measure. Missing values do not affect the results of the mixed models, for the statistical program used (SAS Proc Mixed) accommodates periods with missing data.

5. ⁵The breakpoints were chosen to match what appeared to be somewhat “natural” breaks in the distribution. Identical results appeared when we used different break points and different numbers of comparative groups.

6. ⁶Tables associated with these results are omitted to conserve space, but are available upon request.