Transition In Middle Adulthood

Midlife is a reality that touches us all. The transition from young adult into the midlife years can take place as a smooth physical and psychological adjustment or it can dawn on us in a whirl of emotional chaos.

The term transition refers to “the process of changing from one state or stage to another” (Oxford English Dictionary). It implies movement and openness to change. It may imply growth and change or simply reaffirmation of one’s position. Transition may bring a sense of risk; making choices that will re-configure the way we will spend our mature years and old age. It may bring out our vulnerability and most distressing of all, the nearing of our encounter with death. Indeed the transition into midlife can be a moment of death and re-birth.

Midlife Crisis

The term "midlife crisis" was originally coined by Jaques (1965) who, on the basis of his study of the personal experiences of artists, concluded that midlife people encountered a period of crisis which was triggered by the realization of their own mortality and change in time frame from "time since birth" to "time left to live". The midlife crisis implies significant change in the self and life perspective in one entering midlife. Reviewing the literature on middle adulthood, according to Jaques (1965) or Gould (1978), the typical age for such crisis is at around 37 year old. According to Levinson (1986), the age is between 40 and 45 year old. Kearl and Hoag (1984) claimed that the average beginning age for the