Table 1.
Differences between young and older adults in content of both report types.
| Hopes and Aspirations | Young | Older | t(40) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of words | 119.76 | 85.38 | 2.81 | .01 |
| prop of words dealing with time | .04 | .07 | 2.16 | .04 |
| prop of words dealing with a spec time in the past | .000 | .004 | 2.08 | .04 |
| number of meaning units | 9.52 | 6.52 | 3.43 | <.01 |
| prop of units mentioning the past | .01 | .12 | 2.10 | .04 |
| prop of units mentioning the present | .11 | .35 | 3.38 | <.01 |
| prop of units involving “do” | .76 | .58 | 2.74 | .01 |
| prop of units involving retaining | .02 | .12 | 3.38 | <.01 |
| prop of different specific people referred to | .01 | .02 | 1.91 | .06 |
| number of life domains mentioned | 7.62 | 5.24 | 3.06 | <.01 |
| prop of physical functioning & health | .02 | .19 | 4.97 | <.01 |
| prop of education, work, & work-related activities | .29 | .09 | 3.09 | <.01 |
| Duties and Obligations | Young | Older | t(40) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of words | 118.14 | 84.76 | 3.37 | <.01 |
| prop of words referring to self (I, me) | .10 | .08 | 2.14 | .04 |
| prop of words dealing with people | .05 | .07 | 2.01 | .05 |
| prop of references to specific people | .01 | .04 | 2.78 | .01 |
| prop of different specific people referred to | .01 | .02 | 2.46 | .02 |
| prop of words mentioning people in the abstract | .02 | .01 | 2.04 | .05 |
| number of meaning units | 9.33 | 7.57 | 1.92 | .06 |
| prop units involving “do” | .96 | .84 | 2.45 | .02 |
| number of life domains mentioned | 6.14 | 4.43 | 2.58 | .01 |
| prop of education, work, & work-related activities | .34 | .18 | 2.85 | .01 |
Note. Young adults produced significantly more words, meaning units, and life domains on both report types, thus, items are expressed as a proportion of the number of words (meaning units, life domains) produced.