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Multiple Paths of Midlife Development

In this collection, twenty-four leading researchers analyze the middle years of the lifespan, paying close attention to the many different facets of adult development. They study the various changes that middle-aged adults experience—from children moving in and out to going back to work and dealing with promotions, firing, and topping out. This work explains how these different experiences interrelate and how a better understanding of them can foster successful midlife development.

Much of the past work on midlife has been limited by its use of cross-sectional data, its focus on clinical populations, and the analysis of only one target group. Using a diverse set of longitudinal data, this volume provides a broader perspective by examining the similarities and differences in the midlife experience as a function of gender, social class, and birth cohort.

Of interest to scholars as well as to those interested in the midlife period for clinical or personal reasons, this volume informs us of the enormous potential and promise amid the gains and losses of the middle years.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Anne Colby
Preface
Margie E. Lachman, Jacquelyn Boone James.
1: Charting the Course of Midlife Development: An Overview
Margie E. Lachman, Jacquelyn Boone James.
2: The Self in Middle Age
Ravenna Helson
3: Stability and Change in the Transition to Midlife: A Longitudinal Study of Midlife Adults
Carol E. Franz
4: Do Aspects of Gender Identity Change from Early to Middle Adulthood? Disentangling Age, Cohort, and Period Effects
Rebecca A. Parker, Carolyn M. Aldwin.
5: Themes of Power and Affiliation across Time
Jacquelyn Boone James, Corinne J. Lewkowicz.
6: Concern with Others at Midlife: Care, Comfort, or Compromise?
Toni Antonucci, Hiroko Akiyama.
7: A Longitudinal Analysis of Midlife Interpersonal Relationships and Well-Being
Elizabeth L. Paul
8: The Generativity of Employed Mothers in Multiple Roles: 1979 and 1991
Shelley M. MacDermid, Gabriela Heilbrun, Laura Gillespie DeHaan.
9: Promoting Health and Minimizing Stress in Midlife
Ilene C. Siegler
10: Psychosocial Correlates of Women’s Self-Rated Physical Health in Middle Adulthood
Sandra P. Thomas
11: Crisis, Challenge, and Stability in the Middle Years
David A. Chiriboga
12: Gender, Employment, and Psychological Well-Being: Historical and Life Course Perspectives
Rosalind C. Barnett
13: Antecedent Life Events and Consequences for Homemakers and Women Employed in Atypical, Typical, and Androgynous Professions
Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, Jessica Gomel.
14: Women’s Career Commitment Patterns and Personality Development
Elizabeth A. Vandewater, Abigail J. Stewart.
15: An Individual Differences Approach to Midlife Career Adjustment: An Exploratory Study
Frederick T. L. Leong, Kristin A. Boyle.
Appendix: Data Sets Used for Secondary Analysis
Contributors
Name Index
Subject Index

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