MASTERY BELIEFS AND PRODUCTIVE LEISURE ACTIVITIES IN THE THIRD AGE

The paper examines associations between beliefs of mastery and two important kinds of productive activities in the third age, participation in education and volunteering. Within the broad concept of mastery beliefs, differential aspects of self-regulatory cognitions were studied, that is self-esteem, control beliefs, effort to complete behavior, persistence in the face of adversity, and willingness to initiate behavior. Effects of these aspects on carrying out activities were investigated and controlled for the impact of some situational and demographic factors. Findings suggest that a general sense of mastery, as reflected in self-esteem and control beliefs, is not a precondition for study and volunteering work in the third age. However, special components of self-efficacy turned out to play a part. Willingness to initiate behavior emerged to be a strong predictor for taking on educational activities, persistence in the face of adversity for being active as a volunteer. In the discussion possibilities were looked at of how better to match productive activities in later life to personal dispositions.

Key words: third age, mastery, productive activites.

In this study we attempted to establish whether or not, and to what extent, there is an association between two phenomena which are of considerable importance in determining the life style and life plans of older people: these are beliefs of mastery on the one hand and activities in the third age on the other. It has become accepted practice among life-span psychologists to divide the life stages following youth and working life into the third and the fourth age. The third age covers the years between 55 and 75, designated by the World Health Organization as young old age. This is the period in a person's life when he/she gradually becomes free from the responsibilities hitherto imposed by work and family whilst at the same time, as a rule, still being healthy. However, if the person wishes to remain active in later life, he/she will have to make it his or her own responsibility. Activities in the third age do not "happen" to a person because of social roles or timetables, but are, each in their own right, the result of personal preferences and dispositions. Even though senior citizens make up a considerable proportion of the population we know little regarding the determinants of their life style and self-actualizing activities.

We investigated whether several aspects of mastery beliefs play a part, because self-regulatory cognitions in this field are assumed to be important determinants for personal goals and actions. In the last few decades western society has emphasized the role of the sense of mastery (Bandura, 2000). The secularized and individualized Zeitgeist goes hand-in-glove with high value being placed on personal confidence in one's capability to affect outcomes. According to Schulz and Heckhausen (1996) the kind of activity chosen will largely be determined by whether the person feels that he or she can exercise control. It is universally accepted that high performance tasks demand high mastery beliefs, but little is known about the role of mastery beliefs for voluntary activities in later life when the social environment no longer expects top-rate performance. Hence this issue was addressed in our paper.

ACTIVITIES IN THE THIRD AGE

In his lifespan developmental theory Havighurst (1961) states that the finding of new activities to fill the increasing amount of free time is an essential developmental task for the young old, in preparation for older age. The third age can offer special opportunities for personal and interpersonal enrichment; sociology and adult education construct models of "productive age" (cf. Kohli & Kunemund, 1996). These are based on the expectation that an active aging population might search for new roles and civic responsibilities, for example in volunteer work. Benefits can be expected both on an individual level and on a societal level: on the individual level, the person can still develop his/her potential for further personal growth; on a societal level, the young old can provide valuable contributions, provided they search for - and find - appropriate activities. It is true that this age group makes contributions to society by supporting and helping children, grandchildren, and ailing parents (Kohli & Kunemund, 2000), but in the public sphere they are almost invisible.

Time budget studies show that additional time gained when growing older is being used infrequently for seeking out new tasks and challenges (Breedveld & van den Broek, 2001). Free time gained is generally spent predominantly in two ways: firstly, people allow themselves more time to carry out their daily routines, secondly, they treat themselves more to life's little pleasures as evident - particularly - in the increasing desire to travel and go on outings (Timmer, Bode, & Dittmann-Kohli, 2003). In this study we wanted to center on enriching activities which are visible in the public sphere, so we selected participating in adult education and volunteer work. Participation in educational activities on average has already decreased in midlife even though there is a rich palette of all manner of courses on offer for senior citizens (Breedveld & van den Broek). The same is true for voluntary work. Society urgently needs voluntary effort on a broad front. Here as well, however, statistics show that voluntary work is more often performed whilst people are still in paid employment rather than after retirement (Kohli & Kunemund, 2000). Given the advantages these activities can provide for both the individual and for society, it is worthwhile investigating which factors determine being active in these fields. We presupposed that those individuals who are active in this way have, among other special attributes, higher mastery beliefs than those who are not.