MIDDLE AGE?

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

So, at what age does 'middle age' begin? We live in a youth-obsessed culture, fueled in part by Baby Boomers who refuse to grow old gracefully, insisting 50 is the new 30. Well, if that's the case, when does that murky milestone of middle age begin? Pick a number. It's almost anyone's guess.!) Florida State University sociology professor Anne Barrett examined how people view the start and end of middle age. "There are so few clear markers of its boundaries, unlike adulthood or old age," she says. Her team pored through two waves of nationally representative data collected in the United States in 1995 and 1996 and 2004 to 2006 that examined how various factors influence people's views of the timing of middle age. The key findings: Both women and men view the start and end of middle age as occurring earlier for women than for men, consistent with the argument that a "double standard of aging" exists that disadvantages women. • Younger adults tend to see middle age as occurring at younger ages than do older adults. In other words, as people grow older, they tend to see this life stage as occurring later. • People who are more socioeconomically disadvantaged or belong to racial or ethnic minority groups tend to view this stage as occurring earlier than do their peers. • Others likely to view middle age as occurring earlier include those in poor health, those who began families young, those who are divorced and those without living parents. So just when does middle age begin and end? Though there's no hard data that clearly defines the bookends of mid-life, it seems we have a pretty good idea about when it's time to view our youth from the rearview mirror. Most people think middle age begins at 44 and ends at 60.