Assignment 1: Midlife Crisis

Individuals in middle adulthood experience both gains and losses in physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning. Although middle adulthood can be a very positive experience, developmental issues associated with middle adulthood can be stressful. Understanding stressors experienced during middle adulthood is the key to effectively counseling this age group.

Tasks:

Research evidence supports that a midlife crisis is not a typical aspect of development. However, most people can provide anecdotal evidence of someone who has experienced such a crisis. Review professional literature—articles from peer-reviewed journals and relevant textbooks—and answer the following questions:

• What stressors during middle adulthood might contribute to such a crisis?
• How might an individual's multicultural identities affect the stressors experienced during middle adulthood?
• As a clinical mental health counselor, what types of preventative or protective behaviors might you suggest to a client experiencing a developmental crisis?

Support your responses and analysis by using at least two resources from professional literature. Professional literature may include the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; peer-reviewed journal articles; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (websites ending in .edu or .gov).