Psychological Growth and the Impact of Stress in Middle Age

Abstract

Cycles of stress and anxiety in middle age may have a developmental etiology, and may be a necessary part of the developmental process in this phase of life. Middle age often is punctuated by recurrent episodes of stress which do not appear to have a basis in any specific event. These cycles of stress instead are a function of psychological development in mid-life, with stress resulting from the need to integrate newly differentiated aspects of experience which cannot be integrated with an existing cognitive system of beliefs and values. Reintegration of the cognitive structure to accommodate these new elements reduces the stress, leaving the adult changed with respect to certain beliefs about self or world. These reintegrations are facilitated by an internal locus of control and an articulate self-other differentiation, both of which are important for a positive response to stress in middle age.