Midlife Crisis: Perpetually Persistent Myth

Ah, the midlife crisis! We often envision a man in his 40s, possibly pushing 50, who wakes up one morning to realize that half his life is passed. He panics in an existential crisis, bemoaning the lost youth and missed opportunities. Then he decides to try to turn back the clock by ditching his wife of 20 years and their children, dying his hair, hitting the gym every day or enrolling in extreme recreation (e.g. sky diving), trading in the family mini van for a brand new Mustang, and dating his 22-year-old secretary.

If we're being gender-equal, then perhaps we see a woman in the same age range (45-55) who decides to get some plastic surgery, dye her hair, get some piercings or tattoos, leave her husband to date the 20-year-old pool boy, and take monthly or quarterly booze cruises with her fellow mid-life crisis girl friends.

The truth of the matter is that the midlife crisis is more of a mythical excuse to behave immaturely instead of dealing with the realities of aging and adult responsibilities. Two primary psychosocial developmental theories that address this age range are Carl Jung's and Erik Erikson's. I will discuss Erik Erikson's theory in a future blog post. Most of the other developmental theories cover childhood, not any part of adulthood. Let's take a look at the original theory, the one that actually mentions the midlife crisis: Carl Jung.

Stage 1: Childhood (age 0 to 25 years). This is the dawn of life. Jung believed that human personality emerges from the Universal (i.e. collective) Unconscious at birth and returns to it at death. We spend childhood learning the ins and outs of the world and growing (emotionally, psychologically, physically) so that we have the skills and abilities to handle the requirements of adulthood.

Stage 2: Youth (age 20-38). This is the morning of life. We set out on our independent life-careers, acquiring whatever we think we need for our happiness and well-being. According to Jung, people in this life stage usually define life goals in terms of family, money, social position, and career success. Basically, this time is spent in acquiring "stuff" and focusing on personal needs.

Midlife crisis: age 37-43 years. This is what Jung called the noon of life, a time of spiritual bankruptcy. According to Jung, life ceases to have any meaning for most individuals at this stage, especially for men. [NOTE: most of Carl Jung's patients were affluent men in the post-Victorian era.] At this point in life, individuals begin to focus on their transpersonal needs--tenderness and caring in families, intimate friendships and challenging companions, moments of deep conversation and quiet intimacy, appreciation of nature.
Jung did propose a "midlife crisis" of sorts for women of this age as well. Unlike men, however, he hypothesized that women spend their Youth concentrating on meeting the needs of others, enjoying intimate conversations with other women, and enjoying nature and spirituality. During midlife, they devote their time and efforts to new career goals outside of their nurturing role. In other words, for Carl Jung women and men switch their life focus during this Noon of life.

Stage 3: Maturity (age 42-69). The afternoon of life, this is the time in which our focus shifts from getting "stuff" to devoting our efforts toward suprapersonal values, developing our relationships with others. People see their grown children as worthy of mutual respect and friendship. They spend more time sharing activities with their spouse, going on vacations, visiting friends and relatives. This is also a time in which an individual becomes his/her own person. They finish deciphering who they want to be and pursue their own non-material needs and express their own values.

Stage 4: Old Age (retirement to death). This is the evening of life, a time when a person accepts the waning of their years with grace and no regrets. They prepare to reemerge into the Universal Unconscious, to add their personal life experiences to the collective unconscious so that it can become fodder for future generations. This is a time for the aged to attempt to pass on their wisdom to future generations, though chances are pretty good that the youth aren't listening.

So, while Carl Jung did take it for granted that the majority of men in their late 30s to early 40s would experience some sort of midlife crisis, he saw it as more of a turning point to realign priorities from youthful selfish materialism to mature wisdom of spiritual growth and social relationships. This is not a time to try to turn back the clock, as is the typical scenario for what we expect of a midlife crisis according to modern media. The fact is that even what we usually think of as a midlife crisis (see the examples above) is pretty rare. Most individuals in middle adulthood transition fairly well from their youthful days into mature responsibilities. It is primarily persons suffering from some form of psychological malady--depression, personality disorders, anxiety disorders--who behave so irrationally. Aging is a part of life. Many of us accept it for what it is. We maintain the positive aspects of youth--optimism, enthusiasm, curiosity--and supplement them with the new benefits of maturity--nurturing, responsibility, forward-thinking.

Confusion about Developmental Age Groups

I will admit that a lot of the confusion alluded to in the title of this post is most likely on my part due to the fact that I look at developmental "age" groups from a psychological standpoint. One of the first classes I taught was a human development class, so any time someone uses the term "young adult," I automatically begin to think in terms of the delineations agreed upon by most developmental psychologists. Unfortunately, these distinctions are apparently not universally recognized by every industry that uses these labels, especially publishing, thus my frustration and confusion. Below are the defined and designated development age groups, as used by developmental psychologists. I am referring to the chronological age only. Each age group is differentiated from the others not arbitrarily, but as a result of years of research indicating a significant difference in the quality (and sometimes quantity) of advancement in each of 4 areas: physical, cognitive, personality, and social development.

Prenatal period: conception (when the ovum and sperm united and the cell begins to grow and divide) to birth (the end of the gestation period, typically 38-40 weeks from conception, when the child leaves the womb). Although the majority of development that has been studied is in the realm of physical development, psychologists are discovering that some rudimentary social and cognitive, perhaps even personality, development also occurs in the womb.

Infancy: birth (day 1, year 0) to 18 to 24 months (usually around the time the child is completely mobile or walking on their own and begins to acknowledge a world larger than themselves). Again, most of the development known is physical development, primarily because it is the most notable. However, many researchers (including Freud, Piaget, and Erikson) have noted other developmental milestones in this age range in social, cognitive, and personality realms.

Toddlerhood: 18-24 months to 4 years (about the time the child enters a pre-k program in most states in the US). This time period represents additional physical development, especially increased coordination and mastery over the major muscle groups. Cognitively, children begin to expand their understanding and curiosity about the world. They are also evolving socially, recognizing that they might not actually be the center of the universe, as they previously believed. Personality is shaped through social interaction and experimentation with the natural and imaginary worlds.

Middle childhood: ages 5 years to 11 years, or the "elementary school" years. I believe some authors and publishing houses are starting to call this age "mid-grade," but as I am not in publishing, I am uncertain. From a developmental standpoint, children continue to grow physically, though not as much as in the next phase. Also, as their cognitive development progresses, they not only learn new facts, but also begin to understand different viewpoints, which aids in their social and personality development.

Adolescence: Ages 12 years to 19 years, also know as the teen years, or the middle-school/high school years. My limited understanding of the publishing industry has led me to believe that this is the age group tentatively designated as "young adult." If this is correct, then I am completely confused about this misnomer, as Young Adult in developmental psychology is a completely different age group. Developmentally speaking, adolescence represents that last great period of physical growth, culminating in the growth spurt(s) associated with puberty. Cognitive development sees an introduction of the ability to see the world abstractly and hypothetically. Social and personality development are the greatest focus of research for this age group, as these seem to be the areas in which an individual will experience the most significant differences from start to finish.

Young Adulthood: Ages 20 years to (roughly) 39 years, also known as Early Adulthood to some developmentalists. In publishing, it seems as if this is a newer subdivision, known as "New Adult." Again, I'm a psychologist, not an author or publisher, so I am not fully versed in this area. What I do know, from a developmental psychology perspective, is that young adult means the 20s and 30s in life. Individuals reach their peak physical abilities during this time and their cognitive abilities continue to expand and specialize. Not too much research (compared to previous age groups) has been conducted on the social and personality develop during this age, though developmental psychologists are recognizing that this time in one's life does represent certain challenges and expectations that are not seen in previous or subsequent years. However, we see societal influences grow in greater importance during all of the adult years, as variations between individual behaviors and expectations tend to increase between cultures with adult subjects. I think that part of the reason research is more scant from a developmental view is that we take for granted that all "adults" are alike--i.e. have the same expectations placed upon them--once they reach the "magic" stage of adulthood.

Middle Adulthood: Ages 40 years to 60-65 years. I have noticed that publishing seems to treat the rest of adults the same way in that they no longer make any distinctions about age of characters or life situations once the adult threshold has been passed. Developmentally, we see a gradual decline in physical abilities, though cognitive abilities may continue to increase or at least stay static. Social development takes on new meaning as different expectations and roles are faced in this life stage. Personality development is believed to also stay mostly static, yet some minor tweaks may occur if the right experiences come along.

Late Adulthood: Ages 65 years and older. Again, there seems to be no distinction here in the publishing industry. Developmental psychologists study life from the womb to the tomb, however, so they do have an interest in changes that occur as we continue to age further. Despite stereotypes, cognitive abilities reach a plateau (at least fluid intelligence does; crystallized intelligence continues to increase), they do not decline in late adulthood. Physical development continues its decline. This may be more rapid for some and slow for others, depending upon their general health throughout their lifespan. Social development revolves mostly around cultural expectations for individuals at this stage. Some cultures value the wisdom and experience of age, some feel older individuals should be neglected because they have moved beyond their usefulness. Personality development will be greatly influenced by this social development.

My Confusion with Publishing Labels

The beginning of my confusion when it comes to authors and/or publishers trying to label their stories comes from the qualifications necessary to place a story in a particular reading age group. Perhaps someone can answer this for me. What makes the book "mid-grade" or "young adult" or any other age-related designation? Is it that the characters fall within this age group, or that the language is at this cognitive developmental level, or that the subject matter is at this social development level expected in that particular age range? Have publishing houses actually looked at the research to determine that the book is written in the language level appropriate for the cognitive development for the stage, if it is based on comprehension level? If it is based on just the age level of the main characters (or simply the majority of the characters), then there might be quite a few books that may need reconsideration in their age designation. And what happens if the characters progress from one age level to the next? Does some of the series then fall into the next category? I'm sure that would cause some confusion for book stores and libraries, as they have also separated their juvenile (or children's) sections into varying age groups, specifically distinguishing between young adult, juvenile, easy reader, and (sometimes) teen. If the books are placed in a particular designation because of the social developmental level, I wonder if publishing houses have done their homework to determine that the characters are facing appropriate age-related social challenges to garner the distinction given.

I am not trying to reformat the publishing industry. I am pretty sure that if anyone actually reads this post they might take offense at my questions, misinterpreting my purpose. I am truly confused and curious as to how these (to me) sometimes arbitrary age-related labels get slapped onto a book or series. I can tell you from personal experience that it doesn't always guarantee more or fewer readers. Many full-grown adults will read "children's books" if the story is well-written and the characters are personable. I think it is misleading to label something in the hopes of getting a larger audience--much like movie studios do when they vie for a particular rating in order to encourage or discourage a certain population from seeing it. Believe it or not, the public (possibly in error) trusts industries to be honest with them when categorizing their offerings. Placing a book--or a movie, television show, video game--in the wrong category can create unnecessary anxiety, especially for parents who want to make sure that their children are exposed to age-appropriate content. That anxiety can also be felt by others who fear ridicule and harsh judgment from their peers for reading (or watching or playing) content that is supposedly developmentally below their current stage.



Hopefully, I have enlightened a few people about the current age-related distinctions that those who research developmental stages use to determine when an individual has transitioned from one age group to the next. Perhaps I have even started some person on the road to understand why one child may be considered developmentally delayed in one of the four categories. I, myself, am also looking for enlightenment in those areas with which I am not fully inducted so that I can continue to grow and learn on my life journey.