Midlife Crisis: A Myth or Reality

Diverse works have associated midlife with mental distress, sadness, anxiety and depression. The aim of this study is to understand the age and sex differences in various psychological features like Alienation, Social non-conformity, Discomfort, Expression and Defensiveness as measured by Psychological Screening Inventory by Lanyon. A 2*3 Factorial design was used with a sample of 90 subjects, forty-five males and forty-five females belonging to age groups of 20–30, 40–50 and 50–60 years. The results obtained indicate significant age and sex differences on various psychological parameters. Findings suggest that midlife is the best period in terms of expressiveness, comfort and conformity. Alienation, discomfort and social non-conformity being significantly high in the younger age group is a call for emergency.