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Assessing Future Possible Selves by Gender and Socioeconomic Status Using the Anticipated Life History Measure
Author(s) -
Segal Harry G.,
DeMeis Debra K.,
Wood Geoffrey A.,
Smith Heidi L.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6494.00136
Subject(s) - spouse , psychology , socioeconomic status , narrative , developmental psychology , social psychology , clinical psychology , demography , sociology , population , linguistics , philosophy , anthropology
This is a report from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the ways young adults imagine their future lives. The future possible selves of 223 18‐ and 19‐year‐old adults were examined using the Anticipated Life History measure (ALH), a psychological instrument prompting participants to describe their future life course from their 21st birthday until their death. When the ALH narratives were coded for presence/absence of life events, female participants were more likely to predict career choice, marriage, children, divorce, and death of spouse than their male counterparts; when coded for psychological qualities, female participants demonstrated greater psychological complexity and awareness of future life role choices and conflicts. Participants with lower SES wrote ALH narratives with fewer altruistic acts, less awareness of life role complexity, and fewer anticipated conflicts and their resolutions than those with higher SES.