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:''For the song by Faith No More, see Midlife Crisis. For the psychological concept, see Generativity vs. Stagnation''. Midlife crisis is a term first coined by Elliott Jaques referring to a critical phase in human development during the forties to early sixties, based on the character of change points, or periods of transition. The period is said to vary among individuals and between men and women.〔Elliott Jaques. "Death and the Midlife Crisis," ''International Journal of Psychoanalysis'', 1965〕 Despite popular perception of this phenomenon, empirical research has failed to show that the midlife crisis is a universal experience, or even a real condition at all. According to psychologist and writer Oliver Robinson, a life crisis is defined as a period characterized by unstable mental and emotional health, altering the course of life of those affected by it, and affecting them for a year or longer. Life crises usually have similar characteristics for each age group. Those in the early midlife stage are more likely to experience the deaths of loved ones, while declines in physical strength and vitality and impending death or work stoppage are more likely to affect people in late midlife. Effects of crises vary from being beneficial to some and life altering in a negative way for others. About half the people studied found results of their crises to be positive.〔Griggs, J. (2013) What is a midlife crisis? ''New Scientist, 219'' 2936, 29.〕 Midlife is also significant as a time adults come to realize their own mortality. A mid-life crisis is experienced by some people as they realize they have reached a midpoint in their lifespan and experience conflicts or dissatisfaction within themselves because of unrealized goals, self-perceptions or physical changes as a result of aging or health issues.〔Wethington, Elaine. “Expecting Stress: Americans and the "Midlife Crisis”. Motivation and Emotion 1 June. 2006: 85-103. Google Scholar. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.〕 Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. Additionally, when experiencing a mid-life crisis, people may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in areas such as career, work–life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, finances, or physical appearance. Researchers have found men and women, during their 40s and 50s, experience this time when feelings of happiness and life satisfaction decrease and feelings of depression and discontentment increase. The circumstances unique to their lives such as their financial or marital status, health condition, culture or family structure do not necessarily influence or prevent having a time of crisis during mid-life. The worldwide study found that during one’s youth and senior years feeling satisfied and happy tend to peak and then dip during the middle years of life. This appears as a U shaped curve on the time line of a lifespan, which correlates to the time between 40 and 60 years of age. The study conducted by researchers and economists Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick, and David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College in the United States found this dip to be common and more the norm to people globally. Some people experience more difficulty in reconciling their feelings of turmoil while others transition more easily.〔Parker-Pope, Tara. (2008, January 30). The midlife crisis goes global. : The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.well.blogs.nytimes.com〕 ==Crisis vs. stressors== Academic research since the 1980s rejects the notion of mid-life crisis as a phase that most adults go through. In one study, fewer than 10% of people in the United States had psychological crises due to their age or aging. Personality type and a history of psychological crisis are believed to predispose some people to this "traditional" midlife crisis. People going through this suffer a variety of symptoms and exhibit a disparate range of behaviors. It is important to understand the difference between a mid-life crisis and a mid-life stressor. Mid-life is the time from years 40–60 where a person is often evaluating his or her own life. However, many mid-life stressors are often labeled as a mid-life crisis. David Almadia states that day-to-day stressors are likely to add up and be thought of as a crisis, but in reality, it is simply an "overload".〔(【引用サイトリンク】first=Rebecca )〕 Women often experience multiple stressors because of their simultaneous roles as wives, mothers, employees, daughters, etc.〔Clay, R. A. (2003). Researchers replace midlife myths with facts. American Psychological Association, 34(4), 36. Retrieved December 11, 2014.〕 Many middle-aged adults experience major life events that can cause a period of psychological stress or depression, such as the death of a loved one, or a career setback. However, those events could have happened earlier or later in life, making them a "crisis," but not necessarily a mid-life one. In the same study, 15% of middle-aged adults experienced this type of midlife turmoil. Being of a lower educational status is related to feeling stressors to a greater degree than those of a higher education level during midlife〔 Studies indicate that some cultures may be more sensitive to this phenomenon than others; one study found that there is little evidence that people undergo midlife crises in Japanese and Indian cultures, raising the question of whether a mid-life crisis is mainly a cultural construct. The authors hypothesized that the "culture of youth" in Western societies accounts for the popularity of the mid-life crisis concept there. Researchers have found that mid-life is often a time for reflection and reassessment, but this is not always accompanied by the psychological upheaval popularly associated with "mid-life crisis." Those who made career or jobs changes early in life were less likely to experience a crisis in midlife.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Midlife crisis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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