Chapter 12:Midlife

Robin Lee, Middle Tennessee State University

MIDLIFE: SETTING THE CONTEXT

• This stage typically runs from forties to the fifties.

EXPLORING PERSONALITY (AND WELL-BEING)

• Personality: No change (personality remains the same)• Temperamental dispositions begin to stabilize by mid-

twentiesNeuroticismExtraversionOpenness to experienceConscientiousnessAgreeableness

• Positive traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness) actually tend to strengthen with age.

WE DON’T CHANGE MUCH: EXPLORING THE “BIG FIVE”

Neuroticism Tendency toward mental health vs. psychological disturbance Resilient, stable and well-adjusted vs. hostile and high-strung

Extraversion Outgoing attitudes (warmth, gregariousness) Social and friendly

Openness to experience Tendency to be risk-takers, seeking out new experiences

Conscientiousness Industrious worker Hardworking, self-disciplined, reliable vs. erratic, irresponsible, forgetfulness Tend to live longer

Agreeableness Kindness, empathy, ability to compromise Pleasant, loving, easy to get along with vs. stubborn, hot-tempered, prone

to fights

WE DO CHANGE: EXAMINING GENERATIVE PRIORITIES

• Generativity – focus on nurturing the next generation and enriching the lives of others

• If generativity is not achieved, stagnation occurs, having no sense of purpose in life.

IS GENERATIVITY THE KEY TO HAPPINESS DURING ADULT LIFE?

• “It depends.”• (having a purpose and meaning in life)?

DOES ENTERING NEW STAGES OF LIFE OR HAVING SIGNIFICANT LIFE

EXPERIENCES CHANGE PERSONALITY?

• Highly generative people rate their lives as much more fulfilling than non-generative people.

• Highly generative people have a positive impact on their children.

• Highly generative people report having positive childhoods.

HOW DO WE STAY COGNITIVELY SHARP?

• Healthy living (both mental and physical) − lack of major health concerns or illnesses

• Mental stimulation (with people)• Finding a mentally stimulating partner and/or

interesting friends that expand self • Engaging in mentally enriching activities (e.g.,

reading, attending lectures)

BODY IMAGE, SEX, AND MENOPAUSE

• A myth is that middle-aged people may feel worse about our bodies in midlife; actually young women (as a group) feel worse about their bodies than middle-aged women!

• Female changes:• Reach peak in the thirties• Physiologically, there are far fewer changes, but many

women give up having sex due to not having a partner (or not being seen as attractive).

• Male changes (by midlife):• Trouble getting and keeping an erection• Not able to have sex more than once in a 24-hour period.• Erections not as intense• Physiologically, men decline from a young age.• Reason for sales of erection-stimulating drugs

MENOPAUSE

• Defining marker: not having menstruated for a year• Cause: ovulation becomes erratic and then ceases

• Variable symptoms − Some women have less trouble; others have severe difficulties.

• Post-menopause − Vaginal walls thin and lubrication decreases.

• Major sexual consequence: Intercourse becomes painful.

• Effects on desire: also varies Some women report feeling sexier when they don’t need to use

contraception.