Learning Objectives

• Describe the characteristics of midlife crises.

• Discuss the concept of empty nest.
• Discuss Erickson's 7th stage of psychosocial
development.
• Describe Levinson's view of midlife's crisis.
• Describe life's event approach to
socioemotional dev. in mid life.
• Stress and Personal Control in mid life
 Learning Objectives
• Describe Context of Midlife development
• Describe Close relationships
• Discuss Sibling and friendship
relationships
• Describe grandparenting roles
• Describe Intergenerational relationships
 Middle adulthood is considered that period
of time between ages 40 and 59. With
increases in human longevity, middle age
Humor is a reflection of the expectations have changed. Currently
human condition and culture. people are living longer, primarily due to
better living conditions and advanced
I demand a recount. After fifty healthcare.
everything that doesn't hurt
doesn't work!. It feel like Just when
I find the key to success, someone
goes and changes all the locks. Its
time to be kind to your kids; they'll
be taking care of you choosing
your nursing home. I don't have
hot flashes, I have power surges.
50 year old; one owner; needs
parts; make offer. Age is important
only if you're cheese or wine. Eat
right, and exercise regularly. Seen
it all, done it all, can't remember
most of it. We are born naked, wet
& hungry; then things get worse.
 A mid-life crisis is an emotional state of
doubt and anxiety in which a person
becomes uncomfortable with the realization
that life is halfway over. It commonly
involves reflection on what the individual
has done with his or her life up to that point,
often with feelings that not enough was
accomplished. The individuals experiencing
such may feel boredom with their lives, jobs,
or their partners, and may feel a strong
desire to make changes in these areas. Rates
of depression, suicide, and divorce,
however, show no significant increase
during the “midlife crisis” years.
The “crisis” condition ranges from the ages
of 35-50, with the average age of onset
being 46. Mid life crises last about 3-10 Midlife crisis may occur naturally or
years in men and 2-5 years in women, but may be triggered by life-altering
length varies. There is research indicating events such as death, divorce,
that midlife crises occur more often in men children leaving, etc… or may not
than women. occur at all.
 This text of this car ad targets men
who may be experiencing boredom,
associated with mid-life crisis:
“These dazzling models ooze style
and power -- perfect candidates for
revving up boring lifestyles and
dispelling the blues!”
“Symptoms” associated with a mid-life
crisis or transition may include…
Exhaustion, or frantic energy
Self-questioning
Daydreaming
Irritability, unexpected anger
Acting on alcohol, drug, food or other compulsions
Greatly decreased or increased sexual desire
Sexual affairs, especially with someone much younger
Greatly decreased or increased ambition
Discontentment or boredom with life or with the lifestyle (including people
and things) that have provided fulfillment for a long time
Feeling restless and wanting to do something completely different
Questioning decisions made years earlier and the meaning of life
Confusion about who one is are or headed life.
The term “midlife crisis” was coined by Canadian
psychologist Elliot Jacques, but the credit for
recognizing and understanding this emotional
state must be given to psychologist Carl Jung. In
his mid-life studies he described the crisis as
“normal” in the process of maturing. He
developed a model containing 5 stages of mid-life:

Accommodation: the different ways people

present themselves to others. Those who present
personas that are not in line with their inner selves
tend to have more difficult times in midlife
Separation: deals with the evaluation of the
different personas and masks and discovering
why certain masks are used and if they reflect the
inner self accurately
Liminality: the person may feel unsure of his/her identity and looks towards
others for feedback
Reintegration: occurs when the person when the person begins to feel
comfortable with himself or herself although a bit of uncertainty is still
normal
Individuation: the person recognizes inner conflict, accepts it, and attempts
to discover a balance between these conflicts.
 Empty nest syndrome refers to feelings of depression, sadness, and/or grief
experienced by parents and caregivers after children come of age and leave
their childhood homes. This may occur when children go to college or get
married.. Sociologists popularized the term in the 1970s, and the media have
helped make its existence part of conventional wisdom.
Empty-nest syndrome was once considered a
problem for women only, as stay-at-home
mothers seemed to exist only for their
children. An unprecedented number of
mothers now work outside the home, however,
giving them a role beyond that of parent. They
may now feel less emptiness when their
children leave home.

Cheaper long-distance charges, e-mail and

lower airfares have also made it easier to stay
in touch once children leave home. Now men
have as much difficulty dealing with children
leaving home as women.
Many parents actually look forward to,
and enjoy the advantages of the empty
nest. Grocery bills are lower. There's
food in the refrigerator. The house
stays clean. They only have to wash
clothes and towels once a week.
Their calendar is often just as busy as
it ever was, but it is filled with fun
things to do with spouse or friends.

The hard work of raising children is now

finished. With more free time, they are now
able to do projects and hobbies that they
never had time or money for before. There
is an absence of the day-to-day stressors
that come with living together and
children's often stormy adolescences.
 Empty nests are now refilling in record numbers as adult children return
home after college or even after their first post-college jobs. According to
the 2000 census, almost four million young adults between 25 and 34 years
old now live with their parents--possibly the result of a tough job market,
delayed marriage, high housing costs, economics, divorce, extended
education, drug or alcohol problems, or temporary transitions.

Psychologist Allan Scheinberg

coined the phrase "boomerang
kids“, noting that many of these
young adults want the "limited
responsibility of childhood and
the privileges of adulthood.“
Some expect to live the same
lifestyle with the same material
possessions that their parents
have achieved after working
many years… so move back
home to get them.
 Ericksons 7 stageth

• The crisis of generativity versus stagnation

 Generativity -- adults’ desire to leave
legacies of themselves to the next
generation
•  Stagnation -- develops when individuals
sense that they have done nothing for the
next generation o also known as self-
absorption
 Generativity
Commitment to continuation and
improvement of society as a whole
•Biological generativity -- bearing offspring
•Parental generativity -- nurturing children
•Work generativity -- skills to pass on
•Cultural generativity -- creating, renovating,
and conserving some aspect of culture
Levinson's view Of Middle
Adulthood
• 40 to 45 years -- transition to middle
adulthood requires facing four main issues o
being young versus being old
• o being destructive versus being
constructive
• o being masculine versus being feminine
• o being attached to others versus being
separated
•  40s -- middle age
 Midlife crisis
Levinson’s view of the crisis
• being suspended between past and future
•trying to cope with threats to continuity
Vailliant’s “Grant Study”
•a time of reassessing and recording the
truth about adolescence and adulthood
•only a minority of adults actually experience
a crisis in midlife
 Life's Event approach
• Some events tax ability to cope and force
personality change
• Contemporary life events approach
emphasizes considering event as well as
mediating factors, adaptation to the event,
the life-stage context, and the historical
context
• May overemphasize change and discount
the importance of everyday stressors
 Stress and Personal Control
• Do middle-aged adults experience stress
differently than young adults and older
adults?
• Young and middle-aged adults have more
stressful days than older adults.
• Middle-aged adults experienced more
“overload” stressors from juggling too
many activities at once
 Context of Midlife development
Historical contexts -- cohort effects o
•cohort -- individuals born in the same year
or time period o cohort and context influence
values, attitudes, expectations, and
behavior.
•social clock -- timetable according to which
individuals are expected to accomplish life’s
major tasks; provides a guide for life
 Context of Midlife development
Cultural contexts
• midlife is unclear and/or absent in many
non- industrialized cultures.
•some cultures even divide the life course
differently for males and females
•midlife is influenced by degree of modernity
and society’s gender roles
• Eligibility for certain statuses is influenced
by gender
 Close relationships
Love and Marriage at Midlife
•affectionate, companionate love increases
in middle adulthood
•security, loyalty, and mutual emotional
interest become more important as
relationships mature.
– even difficult marriages become better
adjusted in middle adulthood
– married people express satisfaction
 Close relationships
Divorce in middle adulthood
•couples may be alienated and avoidant
•marriages may have become “empty” -- lacking
laughter, love, and interest in one another.
•Divorce may be more positive in some ways and more
negative in others.
• + -- often more resources
•+ -- children less “damaged” and can cope better
•minus -- may be seen as personal failure or as betrayal
 Empty nest and its refilling
• Empty nest syndrome -- decline in marital
satisfaction after children leave the home;
a time for pursuit of other interests, career,
and time for each other .
• Refilling of the nest when young adult
children return home to save money or
recover from career setback
• Parents continue to provide emotional
and/or financial support
 Sibling Relationships
• Sibling relationships persist over the entire
life span .
• Majority of adults have at least one living
sibling.
• Most have been found to be close.
• Siblings who were not “close” tend not to
become closer in midlife
 Friendships
• Continue to be important just as they were
in early adulthood.
• Enduring relationships become deeper
 Grandparenting
• Grandmothers have more contact with
grandchildren than grandfathers.
• Satisfaction -- easier than parenting .
• Styles and roles -- 3 meanings
– source of biological reward and continuity
– source of emotional fulfillment.
– remote role .
• Differing functions in families and in
cultures or in situations
Changing roles of grandparents
• Divorce, adolescent pregnancy, and drug
use have contributed to increasing
numbers of grandparents assuming
parental roles.
• Grandparents who are full-time caregivers
for grandchildren are at elevated risk for
health problems, depression, and stress
• Grandparent visitation issues in divorced
and stepfamilies.
– Grandparents’ legal rights for visitation
 Intergenerational Relationships
• Middle-aged adults share experiences and
transmit values to the younger generation.
• As children become middle aged, they develop
more positive perceptions of parents
• Family members maintain contact across
generations.
• Most common conflicts are interaction style,
habits and lifestyle choices, child-rearing
practices, and values
Intergenerational Relationships
• Sandwich or Squeeze Generation --
responsibilities for adolescent and young
adult children and for aging parents.
• Relationships between aging parents and
their children are usually characterized by
ambivalence.
• When necessary, responsibilities are
assumed by daughters.
 Psychologist Erik Erikson
developed the 8 stage theory
The 7th stage is called generativity which of psychosocial development.
individuals experience during middle adulthood. A
chief concern is to assist the younger generation in
developing and leading useful lives. We give back to
society through raising our children, being productive at
work, and becoming involved in community activities
and organizations. When we fail to achieve these
objectives, the result is “stagnation”.
Men tend to decrease the number and intensity of
same-gender friends. Men most often meet other men
in work settings. Because of this, many of their
potential friends are people with whom they compete
for raises or advancement, or with whom they are
involved either as supervisors or subordinates.
Neither of these conditions is conducive to the
openness and concern necessary for the development
of a close friendship.
Social relationships may depend on family availability and interaction. Friendships
and neighbor interactions are important. Women’s friendships are very personal,
but they tend to separate friends into “work friends”, “activity friends”, and “real
friends”.
The Red Hat Society is a social organization for women over 50, founded in 1998
by Sue Ellen Cooper of California. As of October 2006 there are about 1.5 million
registered members in over forty thousand chapters in the United States and
thirty other countries. The founder or leader of a local chapter is usually referred
to as a "Queen". Members are called "Red Hatters".

The Society takes its name from

the opening lines of the poem
Warning by Jenny Joseph, which
starts:

“When I am an old woman I shall

wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go
and doesn't suit me.”

Queen Sue Ellen Cooper and her

court.
 The Red Hat
Society fondly
refers to itself
as a
"dis-
organization" with
the aim of
social interaction,
tea parties, and
to encourage
fun,
silliness, creativity,
and friendship in
middle age
and beyond.

The Society is not a sorority or a voluntary service club. There are no

initiations or fundraising projects. Members over fifty years old wear red
hats and purple attire to all functions. A woman under age fifty may also
become a member, but she wears a pink hat and lavender attire until reaching
her fiftieth birthday.