Responses of 56 (32 women, 24 men) subjects to the Men's Adult Life Experiences Inventory, a 97-item self-report assessment of the frequency and intensity of 11 developmentally related domains (relationships with parent, spouse, children, friends, death, health, job, leisure, sex, self-reflection, and pressure of time) of concerns of middle-aged men and women in India were similar. The men and women differed only in their response to the self-reflection and health domains of the Men's Adult Life Experiences Inventory. This study indicates that there is no midlife crisis in India.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlerL. A.MrinalN. R.AdlerH. E.DavisW. M.GoldbergJ., & WalshS. P. (1989) Perceptions of middle age and old age. In AdlerL. L. (Ed.), Cross-cultural research in human development: life-span perspectives.New York: Praeger. Pp. 164–172.
2.
AnantharamanR. N. (1979) [Perception of old age by two generations.]Journal of Psychological Researches, 23, 198–199.
3.
BlattbergK. J., & HoganJ. D. (1994) Marital distress across the mid-life transition among middle-class Caucasian women. Psychological Reports, 75, 497–498.
4.
ChattopadhyayS., & AgarwalK. G. (1977) The dying Ulysses: middle-aged middle managers in the Indian public sector. Vikalpa, 2(3), 135–150.
5.
ChopraD (1996) Good Morning America, Jan 8. 1996
6.
De LuccieM. F.ScheidtR. J., & DavisA. J. (1989) The Men's Adult Life Experiences Inventory, an instrument for assessing developmental concerns of middle age. Psychological Reports, 64, 479–485.
7.
GutmannD. L. (1965) Women and conception of ego-strength. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 11, 229–240.
8.
KakarS. (1976) Middle age and organizational role. Vikalpa, 1(1), 31–37.
9.
KrugerA. (1994) The midlife transition: crisis or chimera. Psychological Reports, 75, 1299–1305.
10.
LevinsonD.DarrowC. N.KlienE. G.LevinsonM. H., & McKeeB. (1978) The seasons of a man's life.New York: Knopf.
11.
McCraeR. R., & CostaP. T.Jr. (1990) Personality in adulthood.New York: Guilford.
12.
NeugartenB. L. (Ed.) (1964) Personality in middle and later life.New York: Atherton.
13.
Registrar General & Census Commissioner (1991) Census of India: Final population totals: brief analysis of primary census abstract. Paper-2 of 1992, Series 2. New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General, India.
14.
Ujjwala-RaniM. V., & RamavaniY. V. (1989) Age differences in expression of aggression in men and women. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies, 5, 169–173.
