An Affirmative Look at the Stresses of Mid-Life

Abstract

Evidence of negative stereotypes of mid-life are all around us. The mid-life person has been characterized in terms of such traits as "stale", "depressed", "over-the-hill", etc. This study is designed to extend knowledge about , mid-life affirmatively. The first part surveys some of the burgeoning literature, with emphasis upon current, positive treatment of the subject. Next is an analysis of the responses to a questionnaire distributed by the author in November, 1979, to a group of 120 people attending a conference on mid-life changes. These answers corroborate the positive aspects we are discussing here. The third part examines a small group of mid- life adults in terms of changes, attitudes, and self-perceptions. Data were obtained from a small sample of three men and three women, ages 37 - 62, living in middle to upper-middle-class areas of Honolulu, Hawaii. These people were selected because of the author's perception of their living, or having lived, their middle years affirmatively. "Talk Tapes" of one-to-two-hour lengths were designed around the Levinsonian model of biographical interviewing in terms of life structure and its components: occupation, marriage, children, family, peer relationships, and turning points in the life course, among other subjects. These people exemplify successful coping, each in a different way; each has found and established a support system which meets their needs. These glimpses support the author's intention of dispelling a portion of the anticipation, or the consideration, of doom and gloom surrounding mid-life.