Midlife Crisis

One of the most common expectations for the middle years of the life course is that there is an inevitable crisis, but research evidence in this regard is mixed (Lachman, 2004). Approximately 26% of the participants over age 40 in the national survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) reported having a midlife crisis. Most life crises, however, were reported to occur before age 40 or after age 50, thus raising questions as to whether a crisis is unique to midlife or to specific birth cohorts (Lachman, 2004).

Keywords: midlife development; mastery; generativity; midlife review