Prompted by the lack of information about the post-parental, pre-retirement generation, this study identified the nature of stress in the lives of a stratified cluster sample of 113 men and women who were 45 through 64 years of age. In semi-structured, in-depth interviews with experienced M.S.W. social workers, subjects identified the stressful…

Between the ages of thirty-five and fifty, adults become engrossed in questioning the meaning of work, marriage, and life itself. In the process, they must confront long-held false beliefs in their own immortality, safety, and innocence. (Author)

This is a preliminary statement of a theory of psychosocial periods in the development of men from the end of adolescence to the middle 40s. The theory has emerged from a study of 40 men currently in the mid-life decade (age 35-45). The method was biographical. (Author)

Suggests that cycles of stress and anxiety in middle age may have a developmental etiology and may be a necessary part of the developmental process. Proposes reintegration of the cognitive structure to accommodate new elements reduces stress, leaving the adult changed with respect to certain beliefs. (Author/JAC)