Wait a minute. As a middle-aged baby boomer, isn’t Wood supposed to be having an identity crisis? A landmark interdisciplinary study released last week confirms what millions of middle-aged Americans already knew: midlife isn’t such a crisis after all. The 10-year research project, funded by the Mac Arthur Foundation, surveyed more than 3,000 Americans between 25 and 74. It found that people in midlife, especially between 40 and 60, have a greater sense of well-being about family, work and life in general than at any other time in life. ““It’s not the period of high anxiety that we’ve been led to believe,’’ says research director Dr. Orville Gilbert Brim. ““For most people midlife is the place to be.''
So what about the classic midlife myths? The man who ditches the wife and kids for a 25-year-old and a Lamborghini. The woman who’s devoted her life to being a wife and mother and who suddenly doesn’t know who she is. They’re the exception rather than the norm. Though 23 percent of people confront crises like illness or job loss in middle age, only about 10 percent (of both men and women) experience the existential upheaval directly associated with aging that experts term ““midlife crisis.’’ As for the crisis of menopause, more than half of women said the end of monthly periods was a ““relief.’’ Most of those surveyed experienced no hot flashes at all or less than one a week. ““The embarrassing scenes with sweat running down your face at a dinner party just aren’t happening,’’ says sociologist and study researcher Dr. Alice Rossi.
There are plenty of reasons for midlife bliss. Midlifers are past youthful angst, but haven’t hit the physical decline of old age. Bad marriages have broken up. Sleepless nights with crying children are often over. So are most career struggles. Today’s middle-aged men have felt less pressure than their fathers to stay in unsatisfying careers or marriages. Women and minorities have won access to greater professional opportunities. And today taking risks to better your life–changing jobs, joining AA–is expected rather than frowned upon. The result, researchers say, is that baby boomers feel a healthy sense of control over their lives. And that has paved the way to healthier relationships and greater overall satisfaction.
When it comes to health there may even be some over-optimism. More than 95 percent of those surveyed said good health was within their control. But only a quarter were exercising enough or eating as well as they should. Most underestimated their risk for cancer and heart disease. And nearly half of women and a quarter of men ages 45 to 54 said they couldn’t hurry up a hill without being short of breath.
Expect more on midlife soon. The Mac Arthur team is publishing more in-depth research over the next few years covering issues such as spirituality, ethnicity and social class. For now the message is this: happiness is relative. And it can be had by all. Take the response from one high-school-educated man interviewed for the survey. ““My kids are decent. My wife’s not as healthy as she used to be, but she’s still there. We play board games . . . rent movies. And that’s a pretty good life.’’ Sure is.
