Mid Life Crisis Research Paper

APSS 225 Human Behaviour and Social Environment

Presentation Topic 5

Mid-life Crisis

Submitted on: 10th April, 2012 Wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity, graying / loss hair, can’t run fast or heavier than just a few years ago; osteoporosis, menopause, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, mood swing, discontent with life or the life style that may provided happiness for many years; boredom with things or want to do something completed different; question the meaning of life, and the validity of decisions clearly and easily made years before, confusion about who you are or where the life is going, if any of this sounds familiar, then welcome to the territory – Middle life.

Mid-life is something that happens at some point during our lives;
Stagnation
This stage takes place during middle adulthood between the ages of approximately 40 and 65.
During early adulthood, adults continue to build their lives, focusing on career and family.

During this time, adults strive to create or nurture things that will outlast them; often by having children or contributing to positive changes that benefits other people. Contributing to society and doing things to benefit future generations are important needs at the generativity versus stagnation stage of development.

Generativity refers to "making your mark" on the world, through caring for others, creating things and accomplishing things that make the world a better place.

Stagnation refers to the failure to find a way to contribute. These individuals may feel disconnected or uninvolved with their community and with society as a whole .

Those who are successful during this phase will feel that they are contributing to the world by being active in their home and community. Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the
However, the findings did not support this expectation. The analysis of variance data further showed that although there were significant differences amongst different age groups in the midlife period, there was no sign indicating that the level of midlife crisis was highest in a particular age group. The data do not seem to support that midlife crisis was a normative developmental phenomenon [1]. They also did not give strong support to the popular Chinese sayings of “人到中年百事哀”