ASU research seeks solutions to challenges faced by middle-aged adults
Middle-aged adults, who make up a large percentage of the U.S. population and a majority of the workforce, experience worse mental and physical health than older generations of Americans and same-aged peers in other countries. Arizona State University research has identified the challenges middle-aged adults face and is developing solutions to make midlife better. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio/Pixels
Adults in midlife comprise a large percentage of the country’s population — 24 percent of Arizonans are between 45 and 65 years old — and they also make up the majority of the American workforce.
Yet, this group experiences worse mental and physical health than older generations of Americans and same-aged peers in European and Asian countries. Middle-aged Americans report dealing with more daily stress than middle-aged adults did in the 1990s. As if this were not enough, the overall mortality rates are rising for work-age Americans.
About this story
This ASU research was possible only because of the longstanding agreement between the U.S. government and America’s research universities.
That agreement provides that universities would not only undertake the research but would also build the necessary infrastructure in exchange for grants that fund both the research and construction cost recovery.
That agreement and all the economic and societal benefits that come from such research have recently been put at risk.
Despite making up a large segment of the population and the profound challenges they face, middle-aged adults are just beginning to be widely studied by psychologists. Arizona State University scientists are leading the way by identifying the challenges middle-aged adults face and developing solutions to make midlife better.
Midlife is a very challenging balancing act
People in midlife can be parents, and sometimes grandparents, caregivers for their own aging parents and breadwinners — all at the same time.
“We are working to rebrand midlife to be defined by the many roles people play, the life transitions they are going through and the opportunities and challenges they face,” says Frank Infurna, professor of psychology at ASU.
At a time when people in midlife juggle the roles of parent, grandparent, caregiver and breadwinner, they can also begin to experience chronic disease or cognitive decline as they age. Because of the convergence of these responsibilities with aging processes, there is an urgent need for interventions that promote social engagement and reduce caregiving stress.
For middle-aged Americans, loneliness is not an epidemic — it is endemic
Americans of all ages are experiencing loneliness at high rates, and this phenomenon has been frequently covered as an epidemic in the news over the past few years. Contrary to these claims, middle-aged Americans in particular might not be experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. ASU research shows that for them, loneliness is instead endemic, or constantly present.
“Middle-aged Americans are experiencing very high levels of loneliness, especially baby boomers,” Infurna says. An increasing trend is also happening among Generation X.
Loneliness is not just an emotion. It can seriously impair mental and physical health, and its negative effects have been likened to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Not only are middle-aged Americans lonelier than their same-age peers in Europe and Israel, levels of loneliness are also increasing across generations in both the U.S. and Europe.
ASU research examined long-term datasets made up of nationally representative samples of adults ages 45–65 living in 14 countries. Across all the countries, baby boomers reported the highest overall levels of loneliness, with American baby boomers far outpacing their peers.
Solutions to combat loneliness
Infurna’s research finds that middle-aged adults who regularly interact with others are protected from the detrimental effects loneliness can have on mental and physical health.
“We saw that people who were steadily volunteering, but also who started volunteering, were less likely to report or to exhibit cognitive impairments long term with this socialization and engagement,” he says.
Volunteering is not the only way to battle loneliness. Infurna explains that connections can happen based on individual interests, such as commiserating with other parents at the park while watching your kids play, and they can even be virtual, such as deciding to start writing for an online publication published by the company that makes the indoor stationary bike you like to ride.
Combating loneliness might even be as simple as having a chat while sitting on a bench.
The ASU Friendship Bench program started in the fall 2024 semester with about a dozen residents of Mirabella, who attended training before deploying to spots on campus. The program is led by Aaron Guest, a gerontologist and an inaugural assistant professor of aging at the Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
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