Midlife stress pushes mental illness to peak

Researchers find midlife crisis does indeed exist as parents face challenges in the family and at work

‘Middle age is also often associated with changes to family structure, which may be linked with mental health – such as empty nest syndrome and rising divorce rates’

MIDDLE AGE is the worst period for mental ill health as the stress from increased responsibility at home and work peak, a study has found.

UCL’S research into the so-called midlife crisis found between 15 and 20 per cent of both baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964) and Generation X (born 1965 to 1980) suffered mental ill health as they turned 50, a far higher proportion than at any other time in their lives.

Academics at UCL attributed it to the stress of being in more senior positions at work with the added pressure that brought, increased family responsibilities including bringing up children and caring for ageing parents, plus the first experience of declining physical health.

The study found significant differences between each generation in the levels of anxiety and depression, with Generation X more likely to suffer mental ill health. According to the research by UCL’S Centre for Longitudinal Studies, 20 per cent of Generation X-ers, the first of whom turned 50 last year, were suffering middle-age mental ill health, up from 16 per cent at 26 years old, 14 per cent at 30 and 16 per cent at 34.

The researchers had two cohorts of baby boomers they had tracked through their lives – in the style of the ITV “Up” documentary series – one born in 1946 and the second in 1958. Those born in 1958 had the lowest rates of mental ill health at 15 per cent at age 50, compared with just 10 per cent at age 23, eight per cent at age 33 and 13 per cent at age 42. Of those born in 1946, 19 per cent were judged to be psychologically distressed at 50.

UCL professor George Ploubidis, coauthor of the study, said: “Midlife tends to involve a ‘peak’ in career, with middle-aged adults acquiring increasing responsibility as the ‘decision-makers’ in society, which is accompanied by reduced leisure time, and elevated jobrelated stress.

“Middle age is also often associated with changes to family structure, which may be linked with mental health – such as empty nest syndrome and rising rates of divorce.

“As people approach their 50s, they are also more likely to be parents and simultaneously care for ageing parents.”

Dr Dawid Gondek, one of the UCL researchers, said Generation X appeared to suffer higher rates of anxiety throughout their lives and suggested it could be linked to the decline of the nuclear family in the Seventies and the economic difficulties they faced in securing jobs during recessions.

“Generation X saw a decline in the stability of households in the Seventies and Eighties with an increase in rates of divorce, more step families and more lone parents. This coincided with the decline of the nuclear family,” he said.

“The transition from education to work was very difficult for them. There were unemployment rates of 10 per cent when they moved into work in their late teens, compared with two per cent for other generations. This economic climate might partially explain the higher rates of mental ill health.” However, the research also showed that rates of mental ill health declined once people had passed the so-called midlife crisis.

Among those born in 1946, rates of psychological distress declined as they reached their 60s. Prevalence of mental ill health fell from 18 per cent between the ages of 60 and 64 to 15 per cent at 69.

Across all three cohorts, at all ages, rates of psychological distress were higher among women than men. In midlife, 23 per cent of women born in 1970 had mental health problems compared with 17 per cent of men.

Among baby boomers in middle age, 19 per cent of women born in 1958 had psychological distress compared with 11 per cent of men, and of women born in 1946, 24 per cent had mental ill health, compared with 14 per cent of men.