Middle Adulthood and Gender

Definitions of middle adulthood and gender vary widely throughout the relevant literature. For the purposes of this entry, middle adulthood is defined as a period in an individual’s life that begins at the [Page 1186]end of young adulthood (around age 40 years) and ends at the onset of the young-old stage (around age 65 years). Due to an increase in life expectancy in recent history, the upper limit of this age range continues to expand as many adults are now enjoying longer, healthier lives than ever before. For many, this is the happiest and most satisfying time of life, due to new levels of self-awareness and accomplishment of a host of difficult life tasks. The concept of gender as it relates to this entry is ...