Receiving and Providing Gay Generativity: The Mediating Role of Identity Affirmation

Abstract

The present study examines generativity in a sample of gay men. Specifically, it tests if received gay generativity relates to provided gay generativity through positive and/or negative gay identity, respectively. A sample of 260 German gay men with a mean age of 49 years completed measures of received and provided gay generativity as well as gay identity affirmation and internalized homonegativity (i.e., crucial aspects of positive and negative gay identity, respectively). Preliminary analyses yielded support for the validity of the newly constructed measures of received and provided gay generativity in that they correlated with general generativity and life satisfaction as expected. A parallel mediation analysis confirmed an indirect effect of received generativity on provided generativity through increased gay identity affirmation but not through decreased internalized homonegativity. Results indicate that having benefitted from someone else’s generativity facilitates positive gay identity formation, which itself is a motor of gay men’s own generativity. As a social-policy implication, the study suggests that it is advisable to create contexts in which gay generativity is possible, for example, gay community centers.