The Transition to Middle Age: Men in Their Forties.

There is much speculation in the current popular and scientific literature concerning life at middle age. Middle aged men, while expected to be at the peak of their lives, are also described as confronting a potential midlife crisis. There is little scientific research, however, to confirm or contradict these speculations. The present exploratory study investigates men who are making their transition to middle age, a period defined as ranging between ages 40 and 49, in order to determine whether their lives are qualitatively different from those of men older or younger. National survey data collected in 1976 and entitled A Study of Modern Living (Douvan, Veroff, and Kulka) provide the basis for this analysis. The life domains which are analyzed are the Quality of Life Experience, of which general Well Being is a basic component, Work, Family, and Social Relationships. Men ranging from ages 25-69 years who are married and parents are utilized as the subject sample for this investigation. The sample, additionally, is stratified by education into two groups: college educated and non-college educated. Statistical techniques used to determine whether men aged 40-49 are different from men older or younger include analysis of variance, time series plots, and contingency table analysis. Correlation, dummy variable multiple regression and a test for differences in correlations based on the r to z transformation formula are used to determine whether the interrelationships between variables within the specific life domains investigated -- and between variables of the life domains of Work, Family, and Social Relationships with variables of Well Being -- differ at ages 40-49. Results indicate a qualitative difference between men in their forties and men of other ages. Men in their forties display decreased well being on a number of variables suggestive of inner conflict, though the form of this internal state differs with educational background. Time orientation and values are also transformed during this period. At the work place, job satisfaction and a sense of having "clout" increase rapidly during the forties; and results are suggestive of enhanced social sensitivities on the job, again with differences between college and non-college educated men. Work, during the forties, however, loses its significant relationship to general well being. The analysis of family variables indicates that for college educated men well being becomes more highly and significantly related to marital happiness during the forties, whereas the analysis of social relationship variables indicates that for non-college educated men well being becomes more highly and significantly related to a more general sense of social connectedness during this age. Results for all strata are also suggestive of greater focus on the marital as opposed to parental role for men making their transition to middle age. It is concluded that the transition to middle age constitutes a unique period in the lives of men, where inner assessment and reorganization of life priorities are taking place. Social relationships, be they marital or more general, in comparison to job related activities, come to prominence at this time as major components of general well being. Suggestions for further research are discussed for their utility in clarifying the causal relationships uncovered in the data analysis, and explaining possible cohort differences in the experience of middle age.PhDDevelopmental psychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/157847/1/8017380.pd