The Experience of Midlife Crisis: A Developmental Contextual Perspective

Abstract

This research explores midlife crisis as it is experienced by both men and women. Midlife crisis is a time of painful inner turmoil and conflict with the external world. The experience has a dramatic impact on individual lives, yet midlife crisis is neglected in adult development literature. A review of the literature suggests that prevailing theories of adult development are based on research grounded in organismic metatheory. Traditional theories fail to address the complexity of human development and are criticized by feminist researchers for ignoring salient _ aspects of women's experience. Proposed models of women's adult development, however, also have significant shortcomings. Psychology is moving towards conceptualizing human development within a contextual worldview and focusing on the dynamic relations between individuals and their contexts. In this study, it is proposed that: 1) the experience of midlife crisis is best understood within the metatheoretical perspective of developmental contextualism; and 2) the fundamental experience of midlife crisis is shared by men and women. The basis for the research question is drawn from an analysis of the contrasting metatheories, and what is known about adult development, midlife transitions, developmental crisis and midlife crisis. The research question is: What is the meaning of the experience of midlife crisis? Existential-phenomenological research methodology is used in this study. Transcripts of interviews with the co-researchers, twenty men and women experiencing midlife crisis, are analyzed to develop a phenomenological description of the experience. Data analysis involves a hierarchical thematic analysis resulting in a synthesis of the structure of the shared experience. Four structural themes emerge: the onset of the experience, the disruptive nature of the experience, the revealing power of the experience, and developmental change in relation to the experience. Results are discussed within a developmental contextual perspective. The intent of this work is to enable educators, clinicians, and the general public to gain an understanding of the experience of midlife crisis in order to maximize the opportunities presented in this experience while minimizing or avoiding the inherent dangers. Implications of the results for education, clinical practice, and adult developmental theory are discussed