The author reviews the literature and provides a bibliography on middle aged and mid-life transitions. (SK)

Reviews an extensive list of books and articles on middle-aged adults to assist practitioners in the helping professions (including educators and career and psychological counselors). (SK)

In dealing with middle-aged male protagonists, fiction writers have produced dramatic portrayals of mid-life changes that provide useful insights into adult development. (SK)

Describes the creation of the University of Kansas Adult Life Resource Center and the mid-life concerns addressed by the center's workshops on the adult life cycle and on career change. (SK)

Issues such as the nature of maturity, relationship between work and family, and social class differences in adult development will affect the content and planning of future continuing education programs for adults facing mid-life change. (SK)

Examined whether ego identity status transition pathways and change rates differ significantly across domains of identity development from adolescence through middle adulthood. Interviews with 100 middle-aged adults regarding development of values in vocation, religion, politics, gender roles, and relationships identified 8 subgroups which varied…

A middle-aged teacher reflects on her career, finding that her relationship to teaching has deepened and changed. She describes how her students have educated her as much as she has educated them. (SK)

Literature concerning women's development at midlife is reviewed. Attention is given to the tendency to focus on women's reproductive roles and to frame psychosocial development in relationship to reproductive status. Such deterministic approaches are entwined with heterosexist bias. The loom of Penelope is proposed as a metaphor of women's…

Interviews with 60 women aged 40-55 suggest no significant associations between a woman's menstrual status and her affective state. However, subjects strongly desired information about menopause and bodily changes. They protected themselves from exposure to the social rejection often experienced by older women but did not regret cessation of…

Discusses misinformation that women have about the experience of menopause, the midlife acquisition of opposite sex characteristics, and the midlife shift from a focus on significant others to a focus on more personal needs. Suggests potential educational programs for women on midlife topics. (SK)

More women remain in the work force in midlife and later due to changing socioeconomic structures and attitudes, inadequate finances, and increased longevity. Many need ongoing career development to remain technologically current and employable. (SK)

Investigated life history of American career women (N=24) at midlife. The transitions experienced by these women during their lifetimes were categorized into "masculine" or "feminine" types. It was found that they were distributed about equally between the two types of transitions, thus excluding a simple biological approach.…

Presents a critique of research on midlife adult career development, outlining a multidimensional theory based on the work of Levinson, Super, Erickson, Hall, and others. Elaborates some limitations of life stage research and discusses implications for education-work policy and practice. (SK)

Activities of the Adult Student Personnel Association emphasized life planning and counseling services for adult learners. (SK)

Examined commonalities of aging consciousness among 72 professional men and women between 50 and 60 years old. Found frequency and intensity of aging messages increased in the fifties, fostering a quickened sense of aging during this decade. Identified four categories of age reminders characteristic in the fifties: body, generational, contextual,…