Life Patterns and Coping Strategies in High and low Creative Women
Authors: Rieger Marilyn Partridge 
Published: November 2015

Part of a 21-year follow-up, this inquiry focused on the female subjects in a longitudinal predictive validity study of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Women identified as High or Low Creatives were compared on three aspects: (a) creative achievements; (b) educational history and career development; and (c) lifestyle, sources of support and coping strategies.

During the initial investigation, conducted by E. Paul Torrance, children enrolled in two Minneapolis schools were tested annually from 1958–1964 on the TTCT. The subjects of this study were 83 women, ranging in age from 23 to 34, who participated in the original testing and who responded 21 years later to two questionnaires. The questionnaires elicited information such as current marital and family status, educationl and career history, sources of support and domestic coping strategies, as well as long-range personal goals and satisfaction with present life. Checklists and other items designed to measure high school and post-high school creative achievements and aspirations for the future were included.

The subjects were categorized as High or Low Creatives based on a creativity index calculated from their scores on the TTCT over a three year period (grades 3–5). Women whose creativity index fell above the median were classified as High Creatives (N =42); those whose index fell below the median, as Low Creatives (N =41). The descriptive data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed by percentages or means and standard deviations and chi squares were computed to compare High and Low Creatives. When appropriate, comparisons were made with data from the Torrance longitudinal study of creative high school students. Multiple regression procedures were used to analyze the relationship of selected background variables with five measures of adolescent and adult creative performance: quantity of high school creative achievements; quantity of post-high school creative achievements; quantity of self-actualizing, publicly unrecognized creative activities; quality of creative achievements; and creativeness of aspirations for the future.

The predictive validity of the TTCT as a measure of creative potential is clearly demonstrated. The women identified as High Creatives in elementary school have been fulfilling that potential as adults to a significantly higher degree than the Low Creatives, as measured on all five measures of adult creativity utilized. By using the composite creativity index to predict the combined creativity criteria, a canonical correlation of .69 was obtained.

A great many other differences were found between the groups. The High Creatives seem to maintain a stronger sense of personal independence. They were more likely to be unmarried (never married, or divorced), to marry at a later age, and to have fewer children than the Lows. Educational differences also were indicated: the Highs were more likely to have an undergraduate degree, and they completed an M.A. or professional degree such as law, medicine or Ph.D. more than twice as often as the Lows. Career commitment was strikingly intense in both groups, but particularly among the High Creatives. Not only do 95% of the Highs work for pay, they are much more likely to be in high status jobs: 68% are in professional or managerial level positions, in contrast to 46% of the Low Creatives. Significant differences in family and career patterns also were found, with Highs choosing to concentrate on career responsibilities only or to handle career and family roles simultaneously, and Lows tending to focus exclusively either on career or on family roles. Substantial differences in domestic coping strategies also were indicated: although women continue to bear primary responsibility in the domestic sphere, the High Creatives were opting for more egalitarian, less sex-typed sharing of domestic tasks than the Low Creatives.