"This volume helps fill the need for literature and research related to adult development (roughly ages 40-64)...All of the selections emphasize a contextual approach to understanding the diversity of middle development--the complex interplay of bio-psycho-social-cultural factors. Academic (upper-division undergraduate and up) and lay readers alike should find this readable volume interesting and useful. It could easily serve as a primary or secondary text in a specialized course." --CHOICE, 1999
"Willis and Reid deserve praise for creating a book that... meets... the worthy goals they set for themselves." --CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY, 2000
There is a growing body of scientific knowledge regarding development during the middle years which as so far been relegated to discipline-specific texts and journals (e.g., clinical psychology and endocrinology). Life in the Middle: Psychological and Social Development in Middle Age consolidates main findings across disciplines, with a life-span perspective of midlife. Coverage includes individual development in middle age from psychological and biological perspectives, as well as the sociocultural context in which middle-aged individuals live and work, including physical health in midlife, psychological well-being, cognitive development, the impact of work on the individual, and the general development of the "self." This age period is increasingly becoming the focus of scholarly attention as members of the largest cohort in U.S. history are now moving into the middle years (e.g., the "baby boomers").|There is a growing body of scientific knowledge regarding development during the middle years which as so far been relegated to discipline-specific texts and journals (e.g., clinical psychology and endocrinology).Life in the Middle: Psychological and Social Development in Middle Age consolidates main findings across disciplines, with a life-span perspective of midlife. Coverage includes individual development in middle age from psychological and biological perspectives, as well as the sociocultural context in which middle-aged individuals live and work, including physical health in midlife, psychological well-being, cognitive development, the impact of work on the individual, and the general development of the "self." This age period is increasingly becoming the focus of scholarly attention as members of the largest cohort in U.S. history are now moving into the middle years (e.g., the "baby boomers").