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The idea of a “creativity crisis” is widely accepted in the creativity and education literature. Its popular interpretation as a decline in creativity across generations originates from Kim’s (2011) influential analysis of the re‐norming data in the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The present work offers a critical review and reappraises the findings of Kim (2011), while incorporating new data from the latest norming edition of the TTCT. We posit that Kim’s (2011) claim of creativity decline was grounded on problematic empirical decisions, statistical approaches, data representation, and interpretation of findings. Based on a sample of over 330,000 participants across TTCT norming editions, we further present a set of cross‐temporal meta‐analyses to revisit generational trends. These analyses reveal no evidence for the notion of a generational decline of creativity, and even less so, for a “creativity crisis.” We conclude by discussing more broadly how beyond the lack of empirical evidence, the notion of creativity crisis represents a counter‐productive societal and scientific myth. A few directions for the improvement of research and assessment practices in creativity are also discussed.

The present study examines effort in narrative creative writing (operationalized as time‐on‐task) using a new assessment approach, the storyboard task. Participants (N= 125) completed alternate forms of the storyboard task in two sessions five weeks apart. They also completed measures of divergent thinking and self‐reported ideational behavior. Time‐on‐task, story length, and rated creativity scores were obtained for the participants’ stories. The storyboard task demonstrated good alternate form reliability and convergent validity with the criterion measures. Although time‐on‐task was strongly, positively associated with creativity scores, this relationship was confounded by the contribution of story length. Relationships amongst these variables were similar when creativity was rated by novice raters using a rubric or experienced raters using the consensual assessment technique. Additionally, story length and time‐on‐task were moderately correlated with the external criterion measures of creativity. Thus, the strong associations between rated creativity, story length, and time in creative writing raise important issues and avenues for future research, and results for the storyboard task suggest that it is a valuable assessment of narrative creative writing.

This manifesto, discussed by 20 scholars, representing diverse lines of creativity research, marks a conceptual shift within the field. Socio‐cultural approaches have made substantial contributions to the concept of creativity over recent decades and today can provide a set of propositions to guide our understanding of past research and to generate new directions of inquiry and practice. These propositions are urgently needed in response to the transition from the Information Society to the Post‐Information Society. Through the propositions outlined here, we aim to build common ground and invite the community of creativity researchers and practitioners to reflect up, study, and cultivate creativity as a socio‐cultural phenomenon.

Although empirical investigations on the Creative Self have historically started with a focus on self‐esteem, the literature on its relationship with creative performance remains thin and inconsistent, with estimated relationships ranging from moderate and negative, to strongly positive. Discrepancies may be explained by the domain‐specificity of both creativity and self‐esteem that have been widely overlooked in this line of work. Therefore, this study explores the multivariate relationships between creativity in three domains (Music, Literary‐Verbal, Graphic) and self‐esteem in seven domains (e.g., Academic, Emotional) among 170 adolescents. Creative productions were scored by four raters, and latent consensus in each domain captured using a multi‐informant latent‐consensus model in SEM. This model was further extended in a structural model reveling that (a) creativity is mainly domain‐specific, and (b) the contribution of domain‐specific self‐esteem on domain‐specific creativity greatly varies according to both the domains of creativity and self‐esteem. Up to 30% of the variance in creative performance was explained by “domain‐relevant” self‐esteem facets, and a moderate contribution of creative self‐esteem across creativity domains. Results are discussed in light of several important methodological directions for this line of work, as well as its implications for creativity‐based interventions designed to support positive self‐esteem development in adolescence.

AbstractThe Messaging Motivations Questionnaire (MMQ)is a concise 8-item measure, which consists of two subscales capturing people’s typical motivations to text. The MMQ was developed through focus groups and item analysis based on a pilot study, followed by a larger validation study involving a sample of 982 young adults. Factor analyses supported a 2-factor structure, yielding highly reliable scale scores: Escape, characterized by the wish to escape or avoid internal or external stimuli when texting; and Express, characterized by the use of text messaging over richer forms of communication media to facilitate self-expression. Criterion validity of the MMQ scores was established using measures of problematic smartphone use, social anxiety, self-esteem, and the Big Five dimensions of personality. Women exhibited slightly higher scores on both subscales. There were no race/ethnicity-related MMQ score differences, and marginal age-related differences. The MMQ is a promising tool for counselors to better understand and discuss their young adult clients’ texting behaviors, as well as for future research focused on texting behavior and its consequences.

Abstract.Background:Research on young adults in the general population has identified a relationship between sexual minority identification and risk for suicide. Differential rates of suicidal ideation and attempts have also been found across racial and ethnic groups. Aims:This study examined risk for suicide among university students, based on membership in one or more marginalized groups (sexual minority and racial minority identification). Method:Data were collected from first-year college students (N= 4,345) at an urban university. Structural equation modeling was employed to model a suicidality construct, based on which a "risk for suicide" category system was derived. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were then conducted to estimate the relationship between the background variables of interest and suicide risk. Results:Students who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) were associated with higher suicide risk than their heterosexual peers. Students of color were slightly less at risk than their heterosexual peers. However, LGB students of color were associated with elevated suicide risk relative to heterosexual peers. Conclusion:Results indicate that belonging to multiple marginalized groups may increase one's risk for suicide, though these effects are not simply additive. Findings highlight the complexity of the intersection between marginalized identities and suicidality.