Changes in Middle Ages
Physically, both men and women find their most difficult adjustment in middle age during the change of life. In women this period, with its loss of child-bearing capacity, is called umen'opause". The average age for menopause is about forty-five years, but it varies greatly with heredity and general health conditions. Early puberty usually means late menopause and vice versa.
The physical aspects of the male climacteric are quite different from those of menopause. It comes later, usually in the sixties or seventies, and occurs at a very slow rate. Psychological change, however, occurs during the forties in terms of the revolt we have spoken of.
Self Concept in Middle Age
For some two decades the young adult has become used to himself or herself. The male knows much about his assets and weaknesses, and has learned to play various occupational roles accordingly. The female has learned to play even more roles. But gradually, following the middle-age revolt, roles begin to change, and so does self concept. To replace the roles of parent, social affiliations widen; citizenship activities expand; homemaking and hobbies are in tensified. However, the person who has played few roles is less likely to expand interests. It is particularly important for adjustment that one be able to shift emotional attachments as well as ego involvements. As one psychologist put it, "The individual must withdraw emotional capital from one role and in vest it in another one."
Revision in self concept comes gradually. Changes relate more to physical than to intellectual abilities. Because the individual feels that there is a cultural demand to "stay young," the man junges himself in terms of appearance, dress, and youthful activities. Women who find earlier roles ending, whose husbands (if successful) are emphasizing work and community activities, and whose children no longer need care often express feelings of uselessness. Boredom is sometimes added to. the "three B's" of bridge. bonbons, and bourbon. The poorly adjusted woman has the exaggerated idea that she is losing her sex appeal and that her husband may turn to other women. The unmarried career woman also undergoes change. Realizing that her career (particularly in glamour fields) is in danger from competition with younger women brings on stress. The realization that her chances of marriage are dwindling enhances the problem.
Because men continue to work, they feel the effects of role change less than women. Competition at work disturbs the man who never felt himself too successful even in youth. Some men in their forties or fifties have symptoms similar to those of the female ml'n· opause. They complain of anxiety, depression, irritability, and fatigue. They are conscious of having to cut down on their intake of food and drink, and at a time when finanCially they can best afford som luxury. Some adopt the attitude that if you ure over flt'ty you ar entitled to indulge yourself.
Changes In Interests
The shift in the direction of cultural pursuits is characteristic of both men and Women in middle age. There is a tendency to turn from interests that deplete the energy reserves to reading, art, and music, from participative roles to observer roles.
Well-adjusted middle-aged men and women become generally more conservative. The less.fortunate are conscious of the lack of money. The man who has been comfortably well off in earlier years is less concerned about making money than when he was youngerassuming, of course, that there are no marked demands on him by children and relatives. The middle-aged woman, however, finds money of more concern, because it means security to her. In middle age there is a change in attitude toward the use of money. Studies show that middle-agel's consider extravagance more serious than do college students.
Some of the frictions between youth and parents relate to reactions to interests. One reason why solutions are hard to come by centers on communication of feelings. A comparison of college students with middle-aged business and professional men revealed that the older group responded more quickly to emotion-provoking stimuli. The older men were less calm and easygoing than the younger, but they were more reserved in expressing their feelings. Younger men had more frequent periods of excitement, restlessness, and "blueness" than did the middle-agers.
Success and Failure
Some people enter middle life with a background of success revealed by various types of recognition. Others enter the prime of life with a past history of failure. In either case there is no quarrel with the criteria of evaluation. But what of the man who feels himself a failure while others applaud his successes? What about the man who questions the standards for judging success and failure? What about the 'woman who felt handicapped just because she was female?
For most adults the early forties are a period of evaluation. The man examines his career to see how he rates according to goals established in youth; the woman looks at her career or marriage in terms of earlier alternatives.
In a culture such as ours, which both idealizes and rewards youth, some pressures act to prevent people from admitting to themselves that they are becoming older. Add to this the fact that cur culture encourages youth to set aspirations beyond the bounds of realization. One can see how when evaluation comes, it comes with a jolt.
A person's criteria of success may be greatly different from those of his or her colleague. We cannot establish universal criteria, and the generally accepted definitions of success seldom satisfy anyone person. Sometimes individual criteria. for personal success do not satisfysociet)' in its abstract, mass personality. A man may hold a position of authority, with responsibility and prestige; he may be making a good salary; yet in his own judgment, he is a failure. In constrast, the world at large may think a man a virtual failure, while he himself has reached a peace of mind which can fairly be called success. Through thoughtful career planning in youth, thi:o'middleager attempted to balance the levels of ability, of opportunity, and of aspirations within a critical set of limits to achieve success in work and in personal life. He gradually learned that repeated frustrations lowered his aspirations, and he also learned that repeated successes raised them. But when he sought to keep in balance his levels of ability and levels of aspiration, he found he was walking a tightrope.
Many people who pass the middle-age test find their most psychologically rewarding years are ahead. There are others who age without growing up.
