Sex Roles, Vol. 34, Nos. 3/4, 1996

Future Time Perspective According to Women's Age and Social Role During Adulthood 1

L~andre Bouffard 2 and Etienne Bastin University of Sherbrooke

Syivie Lapierre University of Quebec in Trois-Rivi~res

The purpose of the present research was to describe the kind of transformation Future Time Perspective (FTP) undergoes during adulthood and to investigate the differences that may occur in the extension and the content of goals of women according to their age groups and social roles (homemakers, students, and careerwomen). With a sentence completion technique, 622 Caucasian French-Canadian women (20 to 64 years of age) expressed their aspirations. These goals were classified into specific categories according to their temporal extension and their motivational content. Results indicate that the extension and the content of FTP undergo numerous changes during adulthood, revealing different goal profiles according to women's age and social role. Results are discussed in relation with current research.

The concept of future time perspective, this outstanding human characteristic defined as "the ability to anticipate and to make plans" (Gjesme, 1983, p. 347), was first developed by Lewin (1926, 1942) and Frank (1939), with subsequent elaborations by Fraisse (1963), Nuttin (1963), and Kastenbaum (1961, 1964). It has also given rise to many empirical studies reviewed by Cottle and Klineberg (1974), Hoornaert (1973), Nuttin, Lens, Van Calster, and De Voider (1979), and Wallace and Rabin (1960). Recent developments in cognitive and motivational psychology have included many works on goals and future time perspective (e.g., Bandura, 1991; Pervin, 1989; Zaleski, 1994).

1The authors are most grateful to the psychology students of the University of Sherbrooke for their contribution during the data gathering.

2To whom correspondence should be addressed at University of Sherbrooke, D6partment of Psychology, 2500 Blvd. Universit6, Sherbrooke, Qu6bec, Canada, J1K 2R1.

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0360-0025/96/0200-0253509.50/0 © 1996 Plenum Publishing Corporation

254 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Various concepts are being used to study future time perspective: e.g., "scenario" (Whitbourne, 1985), "personal project" (Little, 1987), "personal striving" (Emmons, 1989), "life task" (Cantor & Langston, 1989), "current concerns" (Klinger, Barta, & Maxeimer, 1981), etc. In the present article, we will use the terms: goal objects and aspirations to explore the future time perspective (FTP) of women during adulthood.

Future Time Perspective (FTP)

FTP is defined as the kaleidoscopic expression of "cognitively elabo- rated" needs (Nuttin, 1984), which are represented by concrete goal objects that the individual wishes to obtain, by tasks he/she would like to realize or by "possible selves" the person hopes to become (Markus & Ruvolo, 1989).

FTP is composed of mental representations (Cantor & Langston, 1989; Fraisse, 1983) charged with meaning and affectivity (Emmons, 1989; Pervin, 1983). Those representations or goals can have great importance for the individual who will devote plenty of energy to their realization (Nut- tin, 1984). FTP does not correspond to the abstract notion of time studied by Piaget (1946); it is rooted in the personality and consists of all the actual motivations planned for the future. It is the "future perspective of the mo- tivation" (Nuttin & Lens, 1985).

As object of motivation, the goal orients and regulates the behavior and constitutes a standard to evaluate one's action. Thereby, goals exert a considerable influence on one's behavior (Bandura, 1986; Kuhl & Beck- mann, 1994). For Buhler (1968), personal goals exert their influence on the entire life; they give it some orientation and create an "internal coher- ence" all life long. Expectations about oneself (what one would like to be or to become) are as significant for explaining the person's functioning and development as what he/she currently is (Allport, 1955; Neugarten, 1977; Ryff, 1984; Whitbourne, 1985). The presence of goals (FTP) is related to many mental health signs (Bouffard & Bastin, 1992a; Brunstein, 1993; Lecci, Okun, & Karoly, 1994); on the other hand, the absence of goals correlates with a diversity of symptoms (Frankl, 1978; Klinger, 1977; Nuttin, 1987; Reker, Peacock, & Wong, 1987).

Goals create the individual's FTP which is characterized by its content and its temporal extension, the two dimensions studied here. The content is determined by the person's aspirations, by what one wants to do, wants to achieve or wants to become; the extension indicates the temporal distance of the goals. The purpose of the present research was to describe the kind of transformation FTP undergoes during adulthood and to

Future Time Perspective 255

investigate the differences that may occur in the extension and the content of FTP of women of different age groups and social roles. For the purposes of this research, we assumed that the direct expression of goals would adequately convey the personal changes that occur during adulthood (Nuttin & Grommen, 1975). Our approach was consistent with recent work of Cross and Markus (1991) which emphasized the role of possible selves in understanding stability and change across the life span. Before we describe the technique, we will briefly address the question of human psychosocial development.

Psychosocial Development

There are two leading approaches in the study of development. In the first one, developmental theoreticians explain and predict per- sonal changes with the concept of stages, these being related to chrono- logical age (Erikson, 1950; Gould, 1978; Levinson, 1986; Vaillant, 1977, etc.). Psychosocial development studies of women indicate a "transi- tion" somewhere around thirty years of age (Farmer, 1979; Reinke, Holmes, & Harris, 1985; Stewart, 1977). Bart (1971) and Livson (1976) talk about a "crisis" at about forty (menopause and the empty nest), but this period is not considered an unfavorable one (Harris, Ellicott, & Holmes, 1986; Helson & Wink, 1992; Neugarten, 1976; Notman, 1979); on the contrary, it rather comes with an increase in the well-be- ing of the person (Lowenthal, Thumer, & Chiriboga, 1975; Matthews et al., 1990; Serlin, 1980). Desjardins (1978) proposes a transition by decade. On the basis of works by Gould (1978) and Levinson (1978), Hyman (1988) distinguishes four stages (19 to 27 years, 28 to 34 years, 35 to 45 years, and 46 to 55 years) in reference to Inner Direction and Time Competence, two important variables measured by Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory (1963).

According to the second approach, personal development is associ- ated with the social context and the roles fulfilled by the individual (Havighurst, 1953; Hendricks & Peters, 1986; Lopata, 1987; Neugarten, 1976, etc.). This approach insists on the fact that men and women follow very different patterns in their psychosocial development (Gilligan, 1982; Hess & Ferree, 1987; Kanter & Millman, 1975; see the recent impressive synthesis of Eagly, 1995). However, theoretical (e.g., Greeno & Maccoby, 1986; Mednick, 1989) and methodological critiques related to this matter have left unresolved the question about gender differences in development (Crawford, 1989; Epstein, 1988; Riger, 1992).

256 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

These two approaches are sometimes considered as competitive (Rossi, 1980), but the study of human development will profit by consid- ering them as complementary (Harris, Ellicott, & Holmes, 1986). Conse- quently, we analyzed our data according to the age and social role of the participants, as suggested by some researchers (Erdwins & Mellinger, 1984; Harris et al., 1986; Ruehlman & Wolchik, 1988).

Whether based on age or social role, theories of stages suffer from serious limits. They rely on studies whose methodological weaknesses are mentioned by different authors (Harris et al., 1986; Ryff, 1985; Whit- bourne, 1985). The ages that define each stage vary considerably from one study to another, so much so that Brim and Kagan (1980) talk about the "fluidity of boundaries." Hendricks and Peters (1986) add that by putting the emphasis on a "universal" pattern of development, there is a tendency to forget the unique character of the course of life. Kogan (1990) holds a slightly different position, considering the social clock as a "moderator" of personal change (see also Nurmi, 1992). It seems, however, that the pres- ence of crises, transitions or stages, supposedly related to age or to the different periods of family life, receive weak empirical support (Harris et al., 1986). It seems that most adults do not perceive their lives in term of stages and that these are identified because researchers are looking for them (Ryff, 1985; Whitbourne, 1985).

These considerations prompted us not to look for the validation of one theory over another, but to approach the data in an exploratory way. Before going any further, it is important to place the present research in its context by briefly presenting the results of other studies on FTP over the lifecourse.

Extension of FTP and Age

Although some infer that the extension of FTP does not change much with age (Bouffard & Bastin, 1992b; Cameron et al., 1977-1978; Cottle & Klineberg, 1974), results of previous studies on FTP over the lifecourse do not agree with one another. The measures used in the field have been very diverse (therefore not comparable) and have often suffered serious meth- odological weaknesses (see reviews by Bouffard, Bastin, & Lapierre, 1991; Rakowski, 1982).

One important study of the relationship between age and FTP over a wide age span was realized by Nuttin and Lens (1985), who used a rep- resentative sample of the Belgian population. These researchers obtained the goals, projects and aspirations of the participants with a sentence com- pletion technique. They also measured the temporal extension of the goals

Future Time Perspective 257

and compared the FFP of different age groups (in 5-year age categories). Men's and women's results did not present any statistically significant dif- ferences. However, results showed that the extension of FTP, measured in years, considerably diminishes with age. When life expectancy was taken into account, the ratio obtained by Lens and Gailly (1980) led to a reversed U shape curve, FTP being more extended in middle adulthood. When the aspirations referring to a near future (two years or less) were compared with those referring to a distant future, the obtained ratio (which we call Index) stayed quite stable over the lifecourse. These results showed the importance of methodological specifications about data collection and sug- gested cautious interpretation of results in the domain of FFP. They also indicated that the ratio between short and long term goals (represented by the Index) stayed quite stable over the lifecourse.

Extension of FTP and Social Role

It seems realistic to expect that a person's FTP could be influenced by the roles she/he is fulfilling or by his/her social environment. Moreover, some research on FTP showed differences between ethnic groups and re- ported crosscultural differences, but Bouffard (1982), who reported these studies, deplored the ethnocentrism that often affected the conclusions in that field. The influence of some environments on FTP was demonstrated by Nuttin and Lens (1985), but these findings were specific to certain groups (people in institutions or prisons). Preliminary research by Bouffard (1986) showed some differences in the temporal extension of goals of women fulfilling different social roles (homemakers, careerwomen, and stu- dents) but that study had only a small number of participants around thirty years of age. Recent research by Trommsdorff (1992), on the influence of culture, demonstrated that many aspects of future time perspective (exten- sion, for example) might be affected by beliefs in personal control and by the relationships with one's social environment.

The influence of social role on individual behavior (e.g., Dannefer, 1984; Lopata, 1987; Osipow, 1983) led to the hypothesis about a relation between social role and extension of FFP. It seemed pertinent to verify the empirical validity of this hypothesis. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to study, for the first time, the extension of FTP while con- sidering both the age and the social role of the participants.

258 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Content of FTP According to Age and Social Role

Buhler's classic research (1968) identified five stages in the evolution of goals during the life span. The number of participants (53), their na- tionality (German) and the data gathering period (the beginning of the 1930s), however, considerably limit the scope of the findings.

The research in Belgium (Lens & Gailly, 1978; Nuttin & Grommen, 1975) showed that aspirations for health preservation and autonomy, lei- sure projects as well as transcendental desires (aspirations related to re- ligion and death) increased with age, while the importance of self- realization and of wishes to explore and understand the world decreased with age. These results were reproduced by Bouffard and Bastin (1993) with participants of comparable age (from adolescence to old age) and by Lapierre, Bouffard, and Bastin (1993) with elderly participants (65 years and over), for whom health and death concerns were important pre- occupations. Preliminary results, obtained by Bouffard (1986) with women in their thirties, showed some differences according to their role. Home- makers expressed more concerns about self-preservation, were much more centered on the needs of others and mentioned achievement related goals less frequently than students. For careerwomen, the frequencies of these kinds of aspirations were situated between those of the other two groups. They were also characterized by a greater number of responses in the leisure category.

It seemed relevant to examine changes in goals during adulthood, to verify whether results would define certain stages (crises or transitions) or support the continuity thesis, and to see if the differences reported in FTP according to age and role are maintained when these variables are consid- ered simultaneously.

METHOD

Participants

The sample, ranging in age from 20 to 64 years old, included 622 caucasian French Canadian women from an urban area. It was divided into three groups according to social role (homemakers, careerwomen, students) and into four groups according to age (20-29 years; 30-39 years; 40-49 years and 50 years and older). Table I describes the sample distri- bution according to age and social role and shows that: (1) there were a larger number of homemakers in the group of women of 50 years and older, (2) the number of students decreased as age increased, and (3)

Future Time Perspective

Table I. Subjects' Distribution According to Age and Social Role a

259

Social role

Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%)

20-29 53 (23.5) 66 (36.7) 43 (19.8) 162 (26.0)

30-39 60 (26.7) 55 (30.6) 60 (27.7) 175 (28.2)

40-49 47 (20.9) 42 (23.3) 71 (32.7) 160 (25.8)

50-64 65 (28.9) 17 (9.4) 43 (19.8) 125 (20.0)

Total 225 (100) 180 (100) 217 (100) 622 (100)

az2 (df = 6) = 80;p < .001.

careerwomen were numerous in the group in their forties. Homemakers did not play any other roles; students were studying full time and were not on the job market; careerwomen were working full time. The number of hours that were spent by the students and the careerwomen in do- mestic activities was unknown.

Most women in the sample (73%) are married. However, the pro- portion of married women varies significantly with social role (zE(2) = 52, p < .001); for example, we found that 87% of the homemakers are living with their spouse. The educational level was significantly different between the groups: homemakers, 10.9 years of schooling; students, 12.8; and ca- reerwomen, 14.1 (ANOVA: F(2,610) = 43, p < .001). Social status was de- termined by the participant's occupation or, for women working at home or studying, by their husband's occupation. Blue collar workers represented 29% of the sample; white collar workers, 41%; and professionals, 30%. There is a significant relation between professional status and social role (Z2(4) = 59, p < .001). There was a larger number of professionals in the group of women on the job market (42%), whereas homemakers fell more frequently in the lower social status (46%). Family income was lower than $14,999.00 for 30% of the sample, between $15,000.00 and $29,999.00 for 39%, and over $30,000.00 for 31% of the participants. There is a significant relation between income and social role (Z2(4) = 85, p < .001). Many stu- dents had the lowest income (43%) while most careerwomen had the high- est (47%). Homemakers had, on the average, 2.5 children; students, 1.8; careerwomen, 1.4 and these differences were significant (ANOVA: F(2,610) = 17, p < .001). This convenient sample contained a sufficient number of participants per group in order to carry out the necessary sta- tistical controls in the analyses.

260 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Material

In order to collect the goals of the participants, we used 23 sen- tence beginnings, such as: "I hope . . . , . . . . I wish . . . . " "I would like to . . .," borrowed from the Motivational Induction Method (Nuttin & Lens, 1985). This technique permitted the expression of any type of as- pirations which existed in the conscious mind of the participant. The participants were invited to answer in a personal way and were assured of the confidentiality of their answers. Fidelity and validity of the method were demonstrated (Lens & Nuttin, 1984; Nuttin & Lens, 1985). Palys and Little (1983) underlined the ecological validity of this tech- nique, which permits the free expression of personal goals without the use of a pre-established list.

Coding Procedure

The participants expressed 13,900 aspirations. These goals were studied according to their temporal extension and their content. For the temporal extension, the answers were classified into three catego- ries: Short term future, for aspirations that would be realized before the year had passed; Long term future, for those that referred to a distant future that could cover the rest of the person's life; Open present, for those aspirations that could not be located in a precise time slot (e.g.: "to be happy," "peace in the world"). We also used the extension Index which represents the ratio between the number of aspirations in the immediate future and the number of aspirations in the distant future multiplied by 100. The higher the Index, the shorter is the FTP. The extension Index was used in other research (e.g., Bouffard & Bastin, 1993; Lens & Gailly, 1980) and gives a global idea of the extent of a group's future time perspective. However, this measure is submitted to a high variability.

The content analysis was done by classifying the participants' aspirations into motivational categories. The categories were borrowed from the classification system created by Nuttin and Lens (1985) and were adapted to the needs of the present research (see description of these categories in Table II). For example, the following aspirations: "to meet some friends," "to have a good marital relationship," or "to see my children again" were classified in the Contact category be- cause these wishes had a common meaning: to be in contact with someone.

Future Time Perspective 261

Table II. The Main Motivational Categories in the Content Analysis of Goals (Percentage of Aspirations)

1. Self (20.5%)

All goals referring to the participant's personality or to some aspects of his being (e.g., "to be happy," "to be honest," "to be in good health," "to be self-sufficient"). There are five sub- categories: general self, personality traits, self-preservation, health preservation, and autonomy.

Self-development (17.1%)

Activities toward self-development or self-actualization (e.g., "to improve myself," "to live my life to the fullest").

Activity (29.0%)

Various useful activities (e.g., "to repair my car," "to do some gardening," "to do some voluntary work," etc.). There are three sub-categories: general activities, professional activities, and academic activities.

Contact with others (13.3%)

Aspirations concerning human relations (intimate, friendly, family, altruistic; e.g., "to see my friend," "to help my daughter," "to stay with my wife for a long time"). There are three sub- categories: general contact, intimate contact and altruistic contact.

5. Contact from others (1.7%)

Wishes to get affection, support or consideration from others.

6. Wishes for others (7.1%)

(e.g., "that my husband will be cured," "that my son succeeds").

7. Exploration (1.6%)

Aspirations to gain knowledge, information or life experience.

8. Possession (2.9%)

Wishes to acquire money, comfort, material wealth.

Leisure (5.6%)

Aspirations pertaining to recreational activities, vacations or sports.

I0. Transcendental (1.2%)

Religious aspirations (e.g., "to go to church," "to go to heaven") and wishes to have a good death.

262 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Coding operation and classification of goals into the temporal exten- sion and content categories was done according to precise criteria by two trained assistants who had arrived at a similar classification in 95% of the cases for the temporal categories and in 90% of the cases for content cate- gories. In similar research, Bouffard, Lens and Nuttin (1983) found -- with the technique of Tinsley and Weiss (1975) -- a coefficient of concordance of .83, which is very high for this type of data. Problems were discussed in order to reach a final common classification. Objective classification was increased by precise criteria for coding and with examples of coded data. Finally, the research team checked the coding coherence regularly by in- specting a small sample of data coded at different points in time.

RESULTS

The statistical analysis of the data consisted of a two-way analysis of variance procedure in a three (social roles) by four (age categories) unbal- anced design (the number of subjects in each cell is given in Table I). The usual tests for the interaction and the main effects were done using the "clas- sic experimental approach" in which each main effect is adjusted for the other main effect and the interaction is adjusted for the two main effects. If the interaction is significant, the reported F tests for the main effects are not always useful. The sums of squares, and the degrees of freedom associated with a non-significant interaction were not pooled with the corresponding within cells values. Multiple comparisons of the means were systematically performed according to the following rules. If the interaction was not signifi- cant, the marginal means for each social role were compared using the "Tukey's honestly significant (HSD) procedure" in the context of the two-way ANOVA. For the examination of the effect of age (measured by a 1, 2, 3, and 4.5 coding scheme), a trend analysis was done using a regression model with linear, quadratic and cubic components, adjusted for the social roles (2 dummy variables) and the interaction (6 product variables). If the interaction was significant, the means for each social role were compared using Tukey's procedure for each of the four age categories in the context of a one-way ANOVA. The trend analysis for the effect of age was performed for each social role by using a regression model with the linear, quadratic and cubic components. It may be noted that, although Tukey's procedure used a two- sided m-level of .05, the results are often reported as a one-tailed test. The trend analyses were performed according to a step-down procedure. The cu- bic component was assessed taking the quadratic and linear components into account. The quadratic component was assessed taking the linear component into account but ignoring the cubic component. Finally, the linear trend was

Future Time Perspective 263

assessed ignoring the non-linear components. A two-sided a-level of .05 was used. For the linear trend, the overall direction is reported. Given the one-way conditional approach chosen when the interaction was significant, no attempt was made to assess the changes in trend components across the social roles.

Extension of FTP

The goals of the participants were classified in one of the three tem- poral categories yielding the following percentages: Open present, 20%; Short term future, 23%; Long term future, 57%. The last two categories are combined into the extension Index which is based on the ratio between the number of aspirations classified in the short term future and the long term future. Therefore, the results presented here are limited to the Open present and the extension Index.

Table III presents the average number of goals (and standard devia- tion) in the Open present according to age and social role. The aspirations classified in this category are not related to a specific temporal period (e.g., "to be intelligent," "to be autonomous," "peace in the world"). Aspirations in the Open present were mentioned less often by the students (role effect), more often by the older women (age effect) and the average number of responses in this category was the lowest for the youngest group of career- women and the highest for the oldest (interaction effect, with quadratic and positive linear trends for careerwomen, see Fig. 1).

The Index was not significantly influenced by age nor social role in spite of the variations observed in Table IV and Fig. 2. This can be ex- plained by the extensive variability (from 4.5 to 900) which characterizes this measure. This type of results brings up the question of the relevance of a synthesis measure which could eventually be replaced by a detailed, but much more complex, analysis of the temporal categories.

Content of FTP

The distribution of the goals in the main motivational categories is presented in Table II. Only the most important categories will be discussed and illustrated (Figs. 3-8); categories that are less frequently mentioned will be presented globally. The results of the analyses of variance are given for the main motivational categories in Tables V to XI. To simplify this section, the results pertaining to the sub-categories (identified in Table II) are not presented but will be integrated into the text when they bring some useful information.

264 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Table HI. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Open Present According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons, and Trend Analysis

A N O V A (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 4.58 3.26 3.02 3.63 (n = 162) (2.38) (2.16) (2.10) (2.31)

30-39 5.07 2.76 4.66 4.21 (n = 175) (3.18) (2.12) (2.73) (2.89)

40-49 5.13 3.14 5.38 4.72 (n = 160) (2.54) (2.01) (2.48) (2.55)

50-64 5.48 3.94 5.56 5.30 (n = 125) (2.76) (3.15) (3.13) (2.97)

Career 5.08 3.15 4.75 4.39 (n = 622) (2.75) (2.23) (2.76) (2.74)

Age 5.93 b (3,610)

Role 24.03 b (2,610)

Interaction 2.80 a (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (~t = .05): for each age category 20-29 Overall F (2,159) = 7.45b: Homemakers > Students = Careerwomen 30-39 Overall F (2,172) = 11.73b: Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 40-49 Overall F (2,157) = 12.62t': Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 50-64 Overall F (2,122) = 2.02: No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (ct = .05): for each social role Homemakers: Overall F (3,221) = 0.90: No significant trend Students: Overall F (3,176) = 1.43: No significant trend Careerwomen: Overall F (3,213) = 8.99b: Quadratic and positive linear trends

ap < .01. bp < .001.

I ~ Homemakers - ~ Students - • Careerwomen

7

i5t ;;'1 °l

i I I I

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 Age groups

Fig. 1. Aspirations related to Open Present according to age and social role.

Future Time Perspective 265

Table IV. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations of Extension Index According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons, and Trend Analysis

ANOVA (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 224) (n = 179) (n = 216) (n = 619) a df F

20-29 82.09 52.47 54.09 62.59 (n = 162) (123.65) (63.24) (80.93) (91.91)

30-39 65.25 46.48 55.02 54.88 (n = 173) (83.10) (91.50) (90.09) (88.02)

40--49 49.45 42.07 94.39 67.46 (n = 160) (71.06) (51.45) (150.76) (112.87)

50-64 67.22 54.29 54.30 60.97 (n = 124) (93.36) (116.23) (55.78) (85.59)

Total 66.48 48.40 66.81 61.37 (n = 619) (94.95) (76.14) (108.86) (95.47)

Age 0.54 ns (3,607)

Role 2.41 ns (2,607)

Interaction 1.78 ns (6,607)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05): No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (~t = .05): No significant trend

a In order to limit variation between 4.5 and 900, three subjects were pulled out for the analysis of Index.

~ Homemakers --0-- Students --~-- Careerwomen ] IO0

t 70-

"5 60-

50-

i - 40-

30 20~29 30J-39 40~49 50~64

Age groups

Fig. 2. Temporal Index according to age and social role. The higher the Index, the shorter the FTP.

266 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

The results from the ANOVA indicate that there is an age effect for the "Self" category (see Table V and Fig. 3). This observation seemed re- lated to an augmentation in the older age groups of the aspirations clas- sified in the subcategories: "Self-preservation" and "Heal th" ("Self- preservat ion": M = 0.73, 0.74, 0.97,1.26; F(3,610) = 4.94, p < .01; "Health": M = 0.20, 0.38, 0.67, 1.18; F(3,610) = 26.36, p < .001). There was also a role effect on aspirations related to the "Self." This observation rested on the fact that the students were less preoccupied by this theme. The interaction effect was seen in careerwomen who showed a marked in- crease with age in this type of aspirations, with a mean of 3.42 in their twenties, reaching 5.56 in their forties and 5.28 later on (quadratic and linear trends).

The role effect was significant for the "Self-development" category (see Table VI and Fig. 4). Students showed much interest in self-improve- ment and in developing their potential. On the other hand, homemakers, especially the youngest and the oldest, mention few aspirations of this type (quadratic trend).

The "Activity" category, which included many types of realizations, dearly characterized the student group (Table VII and Fig. 5). The role effect was explained mainly by the fact that the students expressed a large number of aspirations related to their studies (subcategory: academic re- alization, M = 3.08). The ANOVAs also indicated significant age and in- teraction effects. In older age groups, homemakers and careerwomen mentioned few aspirations of this type. While, the decrease is gradual for the homemakers (linear trend), it is marked for the careerwomen, espe- cially between the groups in their twenties and in their thirties (quadratic and linear trends).

For the "Contact with others" category, the analyses of variance in- dicated only a social role effect (Table VIII and Fig. 6). Homemakers ex- pressed these types of aspirations more frequently than the careerwomen and the latter more frequently than the students. The analyses of the sub- categories revealed that the aspirations related to intimate contact were more f r equen t for ca ree rwomen (homemakers : M = 0.54, students: M = 0.49, careerwomen: M = 0.71; F(2,610) = 4.20, p < .05). For the al- truistic contact subcategory (helping others), each group held the same rank it held for the main "Contact" category (homemakers: M = 2.44, career- w o m e n : M = 1.53, students: M = 0.98; F(2,610) = 34.73, p < .001). When the aspirations of the participants involved other people, those were mostly children, especially for homemakers (average number of aspirations involving children; homemakers: M = 3.28, careerwomen: M = 1.78, stu- dents: M = 0.93; F(3,610) = 60.40, p < .001).

Future Time Perspective 267

Table V. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Self Category According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons, and Trend Analysis

A N O V A (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 222) df F

20-29 4.68 3.86 3.42 4.01 (n = 162) (2.30) (2.23) (2.04) (2.29)

30-39 5.43 2.98 4.37 4.30 (n = 175) (3.12) (2.18) (2.43) (2.79)

40-49 4.68 3.88 5.56 4.86 (n = 160) (3.04) (2.56) (2.60) (2.80)

50-64 5.69 4.29 5.28 5.36 (n = 125) (2.57) (3.74) (3.11) (2.95)

Total 5.17 3.64 4.75 4.58 (n = 622) (2.79) (2.52) (2.68) (2.74)

Age 4.48 b (3,610)

Role 13.25 c (2,610)

Interaction 3.25 b (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD 0x = .05): for each age category 20-29 Overall F (2,159) = 3.998: Homemakers > Students = Careerwomen 30-39 Overall F (2,172) = 12.63c: Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 40--49 Overall F (2,157) = 5.18b: Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 50-64 Overall F (2,122) = 1.55: No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (tx = .05): for each social role Homemakers: Overall F (3,221) = 1.99: No significant trend Students: Overall F (3,176) = 1.96: No significant trend Careerwomen: Overall F (3,213) = 7.29c: Quadratic and positive linear trends

ap < .05. bp < .01. Cp < .001.

7 -

11

5 8 4 J~ E ==

- - ~ - - Homemakers ~ Students - - ~ - - Careerwomen

I I

20-29 301-39 40-49 50~64 Age groups

Fig. 3. Aspirations related to Self according to age and social role.

268 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Table VI. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Self-Development Category According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons and Trend Analysis

ANOVA (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 2.60 4.61 4.84 4.01 (n = 162) (2.46) (2.67) (2.97) (2.85)

30-39 3.27 4.80 3.85 3.95 (n = 175) (3.05) (3.90) (2.65) (3.26)

40-49 3.77 5.09 3.54 4.01 (n --- 160) (2.69) (3.89) (2.71) (3.11)

50-64 2.78 4.41 3.21 3.15 (n = 125) (2.23) (3.34) (2.16) (2.42)

Total 3.08 4.76 3.82 3.82 (n = 622) (2.63) (3.42) (2.69) (2.97)

Age 1.12 ns (3,610)

Role 14.48 a (2,610)

Interaction 1.77 ns (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05):

Homemakers < Students < Careerwomen

Influence of age: Trend analysis (ct = .05): Quadratic trend

ap < .001.

~6 II c

c

"6 34 r~ E

Homemakers ~ Students --~t~= Careerwomen ]

20~29 30~39 -- 40~49 50T64 Age groups

Fig. 4. Aspirations related to Self-development according to age and social role.

Future Time Perspective 269

Table VII. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Activity Category According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons and Trend Analysis

A N O V A (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 5.72 8.88 7.56 7.49 (n = 162) (2.83) (4.39) (3.19) (3.85)

30-39 5.42 10.25 5.77 7.06 (n = 175) (3.46) (4.88) (3.87) (4.61)

40-49 4.72 8.64 4.80 5.79 (n = 160) (3.45) (4.22) (2.68) (3.76)

50-64 4.54 8.76 4.72 5.18 (n = 125) (2.59) (5.61) (2.56) (3.43)

Total 5.09 9.23 5.60 6.47 (n = 622) (3.10) (4.64) (3.29) (4.07)

Age 5.55 c (3,610)

Role 64.08 c (2,610)

Interaction 2.11 a (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (c~ = .05): for each age category 20-29 Overall F (2,159) = 11.15c: Homemakers < Students = Careerwomen 30-39 Overall F (2,172) = 24.67c: Students > Homemakers = Careerwomen 40-49 Overall F (2,157) = 20.46c: Students > Homemakers = Careerwomen 50-64 Overall F (2,122) = 12.86c: Students > Homemakers = Careerwomen

Influence of age: Trend analysis (ct = :05): for each social role Homemakers: Overall F (3,221) = 1.87: No significant trend Students: Overall F (3,176) = 1.31: No significant trend Careerwomen: Overall F (3,213) = 8.33c: Quadratic and negative linear trends

ap < .05. bp < .01. Cp < .001.

For the "Wishes for others" category (see Table IX and Fig. 7), the results indicated an age effect. These wishes are mentioned more often by women of the older groups. A role effect was also observed on this category, showing the students low preoccupation with the well-being of others. On the contrary, home- makers mentioned these wishes very fxequently, and these aspirations increased with age (linear trend). The interaction effect is seen in the careerwomen: their pattern is similar to the students' when they are in their twenties and to the home- makers' in the other age groups (quadratic and linear trends).

Results related to the "Leisure" category (Table X) are a little complex but the interaction effect is well illustrated by Fig. 8. Leisure aspirations of careerwomen show a pyramid pattern with its summit in the forties (quadratic trend). Homemakers show an inverse pattern (quadratic and positive linear trends) with a low in their forties. There was no age effect for this category, but the role effect is seen in students who show little interest in "Leisure."

270 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

I - - a m Homemakers - - O n Students ~ - - - Careerwomen ]

11

1 "6 7-

E

i • ~ 5-

I I I -F - - ~ 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-64

Age groups

Fig. 5. Aspirations related to Activity according to age and social role.

The remaining categories (Contact from others, Exploration, Pos- session, and Transcendental) are presented in Table XI, but they have a very low mean number of responses (less than one). However, it should be mentioned that aspirations of "Exploration" show an increase with age (linear trend) and that goals of "Possession" are highest among younger women (age effect) and among careerwomen (role ef- fect). As for aspirations classified in the "Contact from others" and "Transcendental" categories, they did not show any difference accord- ing to age or social role.

In summary, the results showed that with age, women from each social group changed their personal goals in specific ways (interaction effect) when they expressed aspirations related to the "Self, .... Activity," "Wishes for others" and "Leisure" categories. It was also observed that the social role of the participants distinguished them on aspirations of "Self- development" (students showing more interest in this type of aspiration) and of "Contact with others" (students showing less interest in this area). Age and social role had independent effects on the average number of aspirations from the Exploration and Possession categories, whose frequencies remained very low.

Future Time Perspective 271

Motivational Profiles

Following this detailed presentation of the results, it might be useful to give a general view of women's future time perspective during adulthood ac- cording to the social role they fulfill. From the five most mentioned main motivational categories, it is possible to establish a motivational profile for each group.

Homemakers (Fig. 9) were characterized by a high number of aspirations related to the "Self" (especially self-preservation) and to the "Activity" categories. "Self" related aspirations passed from the sec- ond to the first place during adulthood, whereas goals of "Activity" had an opposite trend. After adding together all the aspirations involv- ing other people ("Contact with others" and "Wishes for others"), the average frequency of this type of goal reached 5.95 and thus became the most important aspiration for homemakers. Therefore, interper- sonal relations and self-preservation were two key words associated with this role.

For students (Fig. 10), aspirations related to "Activity" (particularly academic endeavors) were by far the most important, especially in their thirties. Aspirations of "Self-development" came second and maintained this position through out adulthood. On the other hand, projects involving other people ("Contact with others" and "Wishes for others") seemed to generate less interest (M = 2.53). Activity and self-development were the two key words associated with this social role. Furthermore, these women were the ones that expressed the greatest number of long term goals and projects (smaller Index).

The profile of the careerwomen (Fig. 11) was situated between those of the homemakers and the students. For the careerwomen in their twenties and their thirties, aspirations related to "Activity" obtained the first place (as they do for students), but they lost this rank on behalf of preoccupations with the "Self" at around age forty, bringing the profile of careerwomen closer to that of the homemakers. Aspirations related to "Self-development" regularly decreased with increasing age. Goals involving others ("Contact with others" and "Wishes for others") increased with age. Thus, at the be- ginning of adulthood, the careerwomen had a profile similar to the students' goal profile (same rank order for the categories), but in the older age groups, the goal profile became similar to the homemakers'. For careerwomen, the key words are: activity, in the younger age groups and concerns about self and others, in the older age groups.

272

Table VIII. Average Number of Responses and Standard Category According to Age and Social Role; Results Comparisons and Trend Analysis

Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Deviations in Contact with Others of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's

Homemakers Students Careerwomen Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217)

ANOVA (2-Way) Total

(n = 622) d f F

20-29 4.38 2.14 2.95 3.08 (n = 162) (2.32) (1.70) (1.76) (2.15)

30-39 3.73 1.69 2.88 2.80 (n = 175) (2.79) (1.96) (2.07) (2.44)

40-49 4.02 1.48 2.68 2.76 (n = 160) (2.61) (1.38) (2.15) (2.32)

50-64 3.46 2.12 3.74 3.38 (n = 125) (1.86) (1.83) (2.37) (2.10)

Total 3.87 1.84 3.00 2.98 (n = 622) (2.41) (1.74) (2.42) (2.28)

Age 1.67 ns (3,610)

Role 44.06 a (2,610)

Interaction 1.86 ns (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05):

Homemaker > Students > Careerwomen

Influence of age" Trend analysis (c~ = .05): Negative linear trend

ap < .001.

m•'4 II

c.E.

! 3

"5 ~ 2 J= E 2 !1

Homemakers - - 0 - - Students ./i. Careerwomen ]

2o:29 ~39 4o~,~ so:~ Age groups

Fig. 6. Aspirations related to Contact with others according to age and social role.

Future Time Perspective 273

Table IX. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Wishes for Others Category According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons and Trend Analysis

ANOVA (Z-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 1.64 0.55 0.58 0.91 (n = 162) (1.36) (0.96) (0.88) (1.20)

30-39 1.82 0.65 2.07 1.54 (n = 175) (1.87) (1.38) (1.98) (1.87)

40-49 2.66 0.79 2.03 1.89 (n = 160) (2.13) (1.49) (1.20) (2.04)

50-64 2.26 1.18 2.28 2.12 (n = 125) (2.01) (1.70) (2.00) (1.99)

Total 2.08 0.69 1.80 1.58 (n = 622) (1.89) (1.31) (1.92) (1.84)

Age 8.53 b (3,610)

Role 27.20 b (2,610)

Interaction 2.56 a (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (¢t = .05): for each age category 20-29 Overall F (2,159) = 17.57b: Homemakers > Students = Careerwomen 30-39 Overall F (2,172) = 10.23b: Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 40-49 Overall F (2,157) = 10.8¢: Students < Homemakers = Careerwomen 50-64 Overall F (2,122) = 2.26: No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (ct = .05): for each social role Homemakers: Overall F (3,221) = 3.094: Negative linear trend Students: Overall F (3,176) = 1.14: No significant trend Careerwomen: Overall F (3,213) = 8.14b: Quadratic and positive linear trends

ap < .05. bp < .001.

D I S C U S S I O N

In o r d e r to invest igate the extens ion and the con ten t of F T P dur ing a du l t hood , the goals and the asp i ra t ions of 622 w o m e n were g a t h e r e d with a sen tence c o m p l e t i o n t echn ique and were classif ied into t e m p o r a l and mo t iva t i ona l ca tegor ies . T h e da t a analysis t ook into account the age and the social role of the par t ic ipants . T h e a p p r o a c h was b a s e d on the idea tha t changes in F T P (cons t i tu ted by goals, p ro jec t s and asp i ra t ions ) ex- p r e s sed p e r s o n a l changes b rough t fo rward by the aging p rocess and /o r by the social ro le the indiv idual fulf i l led in society. This a p p r o a c h was also b a s e d on the theo ry tha t F T P is r o o t e d in the pe r sona l i ty and has con- s ide rab le in f luence on behavior , self es teem, and men ta l hea l th - - in sum- mary , on the en t i re life.

274 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

I ~ Homemakers - -0 - - Students JIk Careerwomen ]

3

II

2 -

§ 1.5- "5

| - ~0.5-

201-29 30-89 401-49 50-64 Age groups

Fig. 7. Wishes for others according to age and social role.

FTP extension, measured in terms of ratio between short term and long term future, remained stable during adulthood. This conclusion con- firms results of other research (e.g., Cameron et al., 1977-1978; Nuttin & Lens, 1985) and supports the thesis that there is no isomorphic relation between objective time and subjective time (Bouffard, Bastin, & Lapierre, 1991; Kastenbaum, 1982). As one grows older, one can keep an orientation towards the future by maintaining meaningful personal goals.

Although the extension Index of FTP was not influenced by social role, long term aspirations were more frequent in students, who seemed to make sure that they opened new future perspectives for themselves (Bouffard, 1986). Therefore, changes in personal goals and expectations launched by the feminist movement of the sixties and seventies (cf. Helson & McCabe, 1993) seemed to have been felt more strongly by re-entry women.

The content of the FTP underwent numerous changes during adult- hood, especially for aspirations related to "Activity." However, for this cate- gory, the frequency reduction was not observed for students. Also, for careerwomen, the "Self-development" theme did not lose its importance as in the case of Lens and Gailly's (1978) Belgian sample. We must rec- ognize the possible cohort effect in interpreting these results of different age groups.

Future Time Perspective 275

Table X. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in Leisure Category According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons and Trend Analysis

A N O V A (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 1.13 0.64 1.05 0.90 (n = 162) (1.44) (1.16) (1.19) (1.28)

30-39 1.23 0.67 1.63 1.19 (n = 175) (1.68) (1.41) (1.57) (1.60)

40-49 0.91 0.98 2.01 1.42 (n = 160) (1.23) (2.05) (2.14) (1.96)

50-64 2.02 0.47 1.23 1.54 (n = 125) (1.69) (0.87) (1.51) (1.63)

Total 1.37 0.71 1.56 1.25 (n = 622) (1.59) (1.46) (1.74) (1.65)

Age 2.40 ns (3,610)

Role 12.03 b (2,610)

Interaction 3.86 b (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05): No significant difference 20-29 Overall F (2,159) = 2.60: No significant difference 30-39 Overall F (2,172) = 5.444: Careerwomen > Students 40-49 Overall F (2,157) = 6.31b: Careerwomen > Homemakers = Students 50-64 Overall F (2,122) = 8.01b: Homemakers > Students = Careerwomen

Influence of age: Trend analysis (a = .01): for each social role Homemakers: Overall F (3,221) = 5.72b: Quadratic and positive linear trends Students: Overall F (3,176) = 0.68: No significant trend Careerwomen: Overall F (3,213) = 3.53b: Quadratic trend

ap < .01. bp < .001.

- ~ - Homemakers - -~-- Students -~Jk Careerwomen [

2.5

°t e~1.5 § "6 ==1 E 2 ~0.5 ~E

20:~ 30:39 40:49 s0:64 Age groups

Fig. 8. Aspirations related to Leisure according to age and social role.

276 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

Table XI. Average Number of Responses and Standard Deviations in the Remaining Motivational Categories According to Age and Social Role; Results of the 2-Way ANOVA, Tukey's Comparisons and Trend Analysis

Contact from others

ANOVA (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 0.66 0.33 0.28 0.43 (n = 162) (0.88) (0.75) (0.45) (0.75)

30-39 0.38 0.31 0.53 0.41 (n = 175) (0.80) (0.86) (0.85) (0.84)

40-49 0.45 0.29 0.42 0.39 (n = 160) (0.90) (0.71) (0.77) (0.79)

50-64 0.26 0.47 0.28 0.30 (n = 125) (0.54) (0.94) (0.63) (0.64)

Total 0.43 0.33 0.40 0.39 (n = 622) (0.79) (0.79) (0.72) (0.77)

Age 1.15 ns (3,610)

Role 1.39 ns (2,610)

Interaction 1.60 ns (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05): No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (c~ = .05): No significant difference

Exploration

ANOVA (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 0.26 0.36 0.14 0.27 (n = 162) (0.32) (0.74) (0.41) (0.60)

30-39 0.18 0.47 0.35 0.33 (n = 175) (0.62) (0.86) (0.71) (0.74)

40-49 0.28 0.57 0.28 0.36 ( n = 160) (0.68) (0.86) (0.57) (0.69)

50-64 0.66 0.47 0.40 0.54 (n = 125) (1.11) (0.62) (0.62) (0.91)

Total 0.36 0.46 0.29 0.36 (n = 622) (0.81) (0.79) (0.60) (0.74)

Age (3,610)

Role (2,610)

Interaction (6,610)

4.5~

3.86 a

1.32 ns

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05): No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (a = .05): Positive linear trend

Continued

Future Time Perspective 277

Table XI. (Continued)

Possession

Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622)

A N O V A (2-Way)

df F

20-29 1.13 0.82 1.14 1.00 (n = 162) (1.23) (1.00) (1.60) (1.26)

30-39 0.58 0.36 0.78 0.58 (n = 175) (1.01) (0.78) (1.38) (1.10)

40-49 0.62 0.14 0.59 0.48 (n = 160) (1.03) (0.35) (0.82) (0.82)

50-64 0.52 0.12 0.72 0.54 (n = 125) (0.90) (0.33) (1.26) (1.00)

Total 0.70 0.46 0.78 0.66 (n = 622) (1.06) (0.82) (1.26) (1.08)

Age 10.40 c (3,610)

Role 8.18 c (2,610)

Interaction 0.27 ns (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (~t = .05): Careerwomen > Students

Influence of age: Trend analysis (¢t = .05): Negative linear trend

Transcendental

A N O V A (2-Way) Homemakers Students Careerwomen Total

Age (n = 225) (n = 180) (n = 217) (n = 622) df F

20-29 0.11 0.12 0.44 0.20 (n = 162) (0.58) (0.33) (1.82) (1.02)

30-39 0.48 0.16 0.17 0.27 (n = 175) (1.60) (0.42) (0.56) (1.03)

40-49 0.40 0.19 0.27 0.29 (n = 160) (0.97) (0.94) (0.65) (0.83)

50-64 0.26 0.06 0.49 0.31 (n = 125) (0.64) (0.24) (0.91) (0.72)

Total 0.31 0.14 0.32 0.27 (n = 622) (1.04) (0.55) (1.02) (0.92)

Age 0.17 ns (3,610)

Role 1.92 ns (2,610)

Interaction 1.53 ns (6,610)

Differences between roles: Tukey's HSD (ct = .05): No significant difference

Influence of age: Trend analysis (tx = .05): No significant difference

ap < .05. bp < .01. Cp < .001.

278 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

5 II

~4- ~ 3 - 15

t-

- - B -

+

Activity + Self-development Self ~ Contact with others Wishes for others

p.___---

F-- . . . . . . . . 7 / i i

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 Age groups

Fig. 9. Motivational profile of homemakers.

12-

,--10- II

~8-

"5

t-

~ 2 -

o

Activity + Self-development A Self - - 0 - Contact with others

Wishes for others

]

20!29 30!39 40-49 501-64 Age groups

Fig. 10. Motivational profile of students.

Future Time Perspective 279

8 -

i~ 7 -

" 6 ' c q

"6

E ==2- c

11

Activity • Self-development Self ---0-*- Contact with others Wishes for others

. . . . . . . . I . . . . . . l

20~29 30~39 40-49 50-64 Age groups

Fig. 11. Motivational profile of careerwomen.

We mentioned the effect of social role on "Self-development" and "Contact with others." The interaction between age and social role was observed for the following categories: "Self," "Activity," "Wishes for others," and "Leisure." The influence of social role --with or without the interaction with age -- supported the theory stating that one's future perspective, as many other aspects of life, is modulated by the environment and by the role the indi- vidual is fulfilling at that time in life (Neugarten, 1976; Nurmi, 1992; Rossi, 1980; Trommsdorff, 1983).

The results of the present research did not allow us to identify stages, transitions or crises during adulthood, nor to relate these changes to the rhythms of family or professional life. This conclusion should be understood by taking into account the limits coming from the type of research chosen (cross-sectional), from the age categories (10 year-age groups) and from the type of data (personal goals). Nevertheless, the goals are rooted in the per- sonality (Pervin, 1989) and are likely to describe intra-individual changes during adulthood (Nuttin & Grommen, 1975). The present results can easily be explained in the context of the cautions that were expressed in connection with the stages in the theoretical part of this article. Transformations of goals can be done in continuity (Troll, 1982); they can express a changing self concept and a constant search to adapt oneself to the requirements of aging, roles, and life's ups and downs (Atchley, 1994). In short, goals change,

280 Bouffard, Bastin, and Lapierre

but their fundamental function remains: to ensure the person-environment fit (Nuttin, 1984; Robbins, Lee, & Wan, 1994). An adequate study of the evolution of goals across the life span should examine the possible effect of changing roles and multiple roles as suggested by Doress-Worters (1994). So, longitudinal data and case studies would complete our understanding of the developmental processes.

The present study was done with women, leaving open the question about the difference between the genders. However, other researchers con- clude that there are no differences between men and women's extension of F rP (Bouffard, Bastin, & Lapierre, 1994; Bouffard, Lapierre, & Bastin, 1989; Lens & Gailly, 1980). Concerning the content of FTP, the observed differ- ences between women playing different roles suggests the possibility of dif- ferences between men and women. Results obtained with an elderly sample provide the same conclusion (Lapierre, Bouffard, & Bastin, 1993). It would be interesting to follow this field of research and to verify if the hypotheses of Giele (1982), Gilligan (1982), Hyman (1988), Weinreich (1977) and others, who postulated different patterns of development for each gender, will be confirmed for the content of personal goals.

The description of profiles (Figs. 9-11) agrees with conclusions of Erd- wins and Mellinger (1984) on the main characteristics of each group: impor- tance of interpersonal relationships for the homemakers, greater importance of achievement goals for students as compared to careerwomen; and decline of achievement goals with age was also noticed by Veroff, Reuman and Feld (1984). In our research, older women also showed less concern with career, but this was not the case with the students. The importance of achievement and career concems among the students in our study is in agreement with the literature associated with the re-entry women (MacKinnon-Slaney, Barker, & Slaney, 1988; Read, Elliott, Escobar, & Staney, 1988).

The profiles by social roles reveal an interesting phenomenon about the value of goals during life. At the beginning of adulthood, students and career- women showed differential valuation of the goals in the five main motivational categories. For the homemakers, the variation between categories was less marked and was reduced again when they were in their forties. At this age, different types of goals seemed to have equal importance for them. No special type of future perspective seemed to characterize or to attract the homemakers more than any other. As for careelwomen, there was a progressive variation reduction which was not replicated for the students. These results raise two questions. Does the absence or the reduction of variation between the various goals mean a lower level of motivation or interest? Is it rather an expression of an absence of conflict between different aspirations and an expression of a more balanced and adjusted life (Emmons & King, 1988)? The answers to these questions constitute an interesting goal for subsequent research.

Future Time Perspective 281

R E F E R E N C E S

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Bart, P. B. (1971). Depression in middle-aged women. In V. Gomick & B. K. Moran (Eds.), Women in sexist society. New York: Basic Books.

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