75 years ago, midlife crisis was a global issue. Now it’s an American problem, and it’s ‘not only about buying a sports car’
Put aside the red Porsches, promiscuous antics, and questionable fashion choices. The genuine sign of a midlife crisis appears to be a far more serious, hard-to-treat issue, and Americans seem to grapple with it more frequently than their counterparts.
In the late 1950s, psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques was the first to contend that individuals in their mid-30s, mostly men, could undergo a multi-year bout of depression triggered by the awareness of their own mortality. Consequently, the ‘midlife crisis’ came into being, characterized by a sudden drive to take control of one’s circumstances and reinvent oneself in ever more far-fetched manners.
Due to longer life expectancies, the onset of symptoms wasn’t fixed at 35, thankfully. But regardless of when people entered their midlife crisis, evidence of the phenomenon was seen globally. Jaques, who was born in Canada, first to the British Psycho-Analytical Society in London in 1957. But in the decades since, as some countries have taken steps to lighten the burden of midlife depression in their society, mental health for middle-aged people has become a distinctly American issue.
While middle-aged adults in many modern nations are witnessing their health and well-being stabilize or even improve, Americans born between the 1930s and 1970s are faring considerably worse, as per a published Monday in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, led by researchers at Arizona State University. The top afflictions include unprecedented levels of loneliness, depression, and cognitive decline.
“It’s not merely about buying a sports car. It’s about, ‘How do I get through life?’” Frank Infurna, a psychologist at Arizona State and the study’s lead author, said.
It’s not the lifestyle, it’s the system
The study contrasted American adults who were part of the Silent Generation or early Gen-Xers with their counterparts in Mexico and 15 other European and Asian nations. The research utilized metrics encompassing loneliness, depressive symptoms, memory, and grip strength to evaluate physical health.
Across all four categories, Americans did equally or worse the later they were born, the only country where such a pattern was noted. The researchers discovered that while in most of the world social policies have helped ease the factors causing midlife crises, the opposite was true in the U.S.
The authors stated that a series of ‘upstream’ factors—including healthcare access, income inequality, and paid parental leave—left Americans particularly at risk. In actual terms, public spending on child and family benefits in the EU between 2000 and 2022, whereas in the U.S. it has mostly stayed stagnant. The same goes for income inequality. by the U.S. Government Accountability Office revealed that income and wealth disparities among Americans older than 55 were far wider than in Canada, Germany, or the U.K. The ASU study found that wealth stagnation among middle-aged Americans compared to baby boomers impacted mental well-being, factors worsened by the need to support millennial and Gen Z children who face their .
The U.S. also stands out in terms of loneliness. While younger age groups are typically seen as , older Americans aren’t unfamiliar with isolation. A on loneliness in 29 countries last year found the U.S. was one of only two nations where middle-aged people were lonelier than older generations.
The midlife crisis trap
Other research has provocatively suggested that the midlife crisis is fading in the 21st century, replaced by a quarter-life crisis as individuals in their 20s grapple with a rise in ‘despair,’ and that it’s an economic phenomenon. In the work of David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson, , a widespread sense of meaninglessness fuels discontent with work and thus life.
Viewed through that perspective, something analogous could be occurring to middle-aged individuals, even if it doesn’t neatly match a stereotypical midlife crisis. Instead of impulsive purchases and actions, those going through a midlife crisis are actually grappling with everyday concerns, such as attending to their physical and mental health and supporting extended family.
“I believe you could term it a different kind of crisis, but not one centered around a sports car or a complete career overhaul,” Infurna stated. “It’s about managing your finances, your health, and your caregiving duties towards your aging parents or adult children who have returned home.”
Blanchflower and Bryson’s argument might coincide with Infurna’s research, as precarious economic conditions push young workers into mismatched jobs, fostering a sense of despair that endures into middle age if they can’t improve their circumstances. Bryson said a broken career ladder was a speculative but compelling piece of research: “Climbing the ladder, it seems as if, maybe for some, someone’s removed some rungs,” he said, noting he hadn’t seen research directly backing this idea.
With their own financial woes, millennials could face the exact same conditions as the oldest millennials begin entering midlife.
“I wish I could be optimistic,” Infurna said. “With the high cost of living for housing, then student debt, and our wages not stretching as far, it’s trending such that things will only stay this way for millennials.”