The influence of generativity on purpose in life is mediated by social support and moderated by prefrontal functional connectivity in at-risk older adults

OBJECTIVES: Generativity, the desire and action to improve the well-being of younger generations, is positively associated with purpose in life among older adults. However, the neural basis of generativity and the neurobehavioral factors supporting the relationship between generativity and purpose in life remain unknown. This study aims to identify the functional neuroanatomy of generativity and mechanisms linking generativity with purpose in life in at-risk older adults. METHODS: Fifty-eight cognitively healthy older adults (mean age = 70.78, 45 females) with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease were recruited from the PREVENT-AD aging cohort. Participants underwent brain imaging and completed questionnaires assessing generativity, social support, and purpose in life. Mediation models examined whether social support mediated the association between generativity and purpose in life. Seed-to-voxel analyses investigated the association between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum (VS) and whether this rsFC moderated the relationship between generativity and purpose in life. RESULTS: Affectionate social support mediated the association between generative desire and purpose in life. Generative desire was associated with rsFC between VS and precuneus and vmPFC and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rdlPFC). The vmPFC-rdlPFC connectivity moderated the association between generative desire and purpose in life. DISCUSSION: These findings provide insight into how the brain supports social behavior and, separately, purpose in life in at-risk aging. Affectionate social support may be a putative target process to enhance purpose and life in older adults. This knowledge contributes to future developments of personalized interventions that promote healthy aging.