Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1999

Crisis in Midlife ? Th eQuality ofMarital Life , Parent-Child Relations, and Mental HealthofMidlif e Adult s What Is Midlife Crisis? The concept of 'mid-life crisis' originates from the observations made by a French business theorist and psychologist, Elliott Jacques, on a group of artists. Jacques noticed that his subjects, in their fervent strive to reach new heights in their career, felt by the time they were in their forties that time was miming out. Plagued by different psychological problems, lacking interest in life, and even doubting the meaning of existence, they had all the symptoms that constituted a 'midlife crisis'. If unresolved it may lead to doubts about one's choices in marriage and career. The combination of anxieties may also lead to insomnia and depression. Despite the numerous stories and stereotypes surrounding midlife crisis, there has been a paucity of scientific data and research literature on the phenomenon. Systematic research on midlife began only 15 years ago. To make up for this gap in social research, Prof. Daniel Shek, Prof. M.C. Lam, Prof. K.W. Tsoi, and Miss C.M. Lam of the Department of Social Work began investigating the midlife adjustment of Hong Kong Chinese w i th a grant of HK$490,000 from the Research Grants Council (RGC). Their project, entitled 'Marital Adjustment, Parent-Child Relations, and the Psychological Well-being of Midlife Married Adults in Hong Kong', was rated 'excellent' by the RGC in 1997. Popular Chinese wisdom has it that 'when a person reaches the midlife years, everything is sad.' Portrayals abound in Woody Allen films of men and women in middle adulthood — awkward, bored with life, beset with fears of their own mortality and an array of other feelings of insecurity...in short, having what is known as a 'midlife crisis'.