Midlife Crisis in Chinese Men and Women

Abstract

Married adults (N = 1,501) between the ages of 30 and 60 years responded to the 15-item Chinese Midlife Crisis Scale. An examination of the levels of concerns in six midlife age groups showed that although some respondents were dissatisfied with their work and personal achievement, a majority did not indicate dissatisfaction at the crisis level; thus the findings did not lend strong support to the existence of a normative midlife crisis. The findings also revealed that although midlife crisis levels were different in the various age groups, there was no clear rise or peak in concerns in any particular age group. Further analyses based on different dimensions of midlife crisis showed that women displayed higher levels of overall midlife concerns and problems and fear of aging than men did.