You will need to interview someone who is considered to be in middle adulthood. You may interview someone you are related to or married to. Please allow them to answer the questions honestly and as thoroughly as possible. This means that you may need to expand on the questions and ask follow-up questions. The best way to do this assignment is to simply have a conversation with your interviewee. Remember to thank the person you interviewed as they are doing you a favor helping you with this assignment.
Thank you for agreeing to participate in this conversation about your experience as an adult who is in what society deems middle adulthood (middle age which is ages 40-65 years). Although middle age is one of the most often portrayed age ranges in mediums like television, it is one of the least studied phases of life. This assignment is designed to help students understand the concerns, realities, and goals of this age group. Please share as much information as you feel comfortable sharing. This information will only be shared with my instructor, who will keep the information confidential.
General Demographics
- Age: Are you considered part of the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-1964)? If not, what generation are you considered part of?
- Sex/Gender: Please ask what gender pronoun your interviewee prefers if you don’t already know. It is not necessary to disclose sexual orientation unless you and your interviewee feel comfortable doing so.
- Relationship Status: If in a long-term relationship or marriage, how long that relationship has been. If a widow(er) or divorcee, how long has it been since your partner/spouse passed away or you were divorced?
- Race/ethnicity:
- Education level:
- Employment status: Remember, caring for a family or family member is a valuable purpose and goes in this category if the person doesn’t not have paying employment.
Interview Questions
- Please describe how you would define middle adulthood or middle age.
- Please describe stereotypes for this age group. Do you think that there are differences between how men and women in this age group are viewed by society?
- Aging is a normal part of this stage of life. How has the aging process affected you psychologically, cognitively, and physically? (*You may have to provide some examples to your interviewee to help them with this section. This may include normal memory issues, weight gain, loss of muscle, eye sight changes, less energy, loss of sex drive, injuries, health issues, etc. May also include feelings of sadness or frustration due to changes. May also have positive changes)
- Society, especially the media, seems to want to stop the aging process. Discuss your thoughts on the focus in the media with looking younger (products–skin, hair, neck, hearing, weight; expectations of looks; clothes; activity, etc.). How do you feel about this focus on youth as compared to aging naturally?
- For women: Hiding gray hair via coloring it has been the norm for years because in society’s view—gray hair is for old women and middle age is too young for gray hair; however, during the pandemic, many women decided to forego coloring and allow their natural gray or white hair to grow. How do you feel about your gray hair? Please share the choice you made- color or not color- and why. Has your decision had any effect on how you feel about yourself? What, if any, comments have you received from others about your choice if you decided to stop coloring your hair?
- Perimenopause/Menopause and loss of testosterone have been taboo subjects for generations. If you are willing, would you discuss your experiences (physical and psychological) with the symptoms of these normal, age-related, issues? How do you think society portrays these issues? Do you think men and women are treated equally in these portrayals? Why or why not?
- Please discuss your family situation. Do you have children? If so, what are their ages? What are some of the challenges of parenting have you encountered due to being in this stage of life? What are some of the positive experiences that you have encountered? If your children are grown, please answer the next question.
- Empty Nest. If your children are grown, are they living on their own and fully supporting themselves? In other words, are you part of the sandwich generation- helping grown children? If so, how does this affect your life? If your children are grown but one or more (with or without children) is living with you, how do you think that has affected this stage of your life—time wise, physically, financially, emotionally, etc.? (this can be positive or negative)
- Are you caring for an aging parent? If so, please explain how this affects your life- time wise, physically, financially, emotionally, etc.? Does your parent live independently, with you, in nursing home or other living environment?
- What major changes (divorce, death, health scares, job loss/change, relationship changes, going to school, etc.) have you experienced as part of middle adulthood (middle age)? How would you describe the impact that these changes have had on your life?
- Today, many people in this age group find themselves raising their grandchildren or children of relatives. Have you experienced this? How has this changed your life? (skip if you haven’t experienced this). What are the challenges you’ve encountered? What are the positives that you’ve encountered?
- How well do you believe that you planned for or gave any thought to this stage of your life when you were younger? (Mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, job wise, etc. Please do not share your financial information).
- If you believe that you didn’t plan as well as you could have or you didn’t anticipate some of the things that you are experiencing now (physical/health issues, financial issues, etc.) what do you think you would have changed if you could go back in time knowing what you know now?
- The common perception of middle age is that this is a time of the dreaded midlife crisis. Would you describe yourself as experiencing this? (**Now explain that most people don’t experience a midlife crisis the way that media portrays it. Most people experience a desire for change, to try something new or something they’ve always wanted to do such as a new hobby, change jobs, move, etc.) Have you experienced a desire for, or have you had a midlife change? What prompted this and was it, or is it, a positive or negative experience for you?
- Discuss whether you believe that having a social network (friends, family, peers, organizations that you belong to) are important to your overall well-being as you age.
- What are your goals for the future? *This is open ended. If they aren’t sure, please engage in a conversation to help find out at least one goal.
- What are your fears regarding aging? Please try to be specific and think of all possibilities. For example, dementia. This involves a range of losses and includes a range of fears including ending up in a nursing home, the cost involved, loss of time with family, loss of self, etc.
- What are you excited about as you age?
- What advice would you give to someone who is facing entering middle adulthood?
Thank you for your participation in this interview. I hope that it has been a positive experience for you. Your name will only be used if you give permission.
Written Summary (Required)
Review the answers that your interviewee gave. Summarize them and connect them to concepts, models, and theories that you have learned from the chapter. You must do this. This is the crux of this assignment. You will need to discuss physical development, emotional development, social development, and cognitive development. If you use outside sources as references you must cite them and include a reference page. Your summary should be longer than half a page so make sure you are getting good quality answers from your interviewee.
Failure to include the written summary and connect your interviewee’s responses back to course concepts will result in an evaluation of no higher than Adequate with some revisions (75%).
Middle Adulthood Interview Assignment