Study links worsening U.S. midlife health to stress and weaker supports
Middle-aged Americans report more loneliness, depression and memory trouble than earlier generations, a 17-country study found.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Middle-aged Americans are reporting worse mental, social and physical well-being than earlier generations, according to a new international study. The findings suggest the United States is diverging from several other wealthy countries, where midlife health has improved or held up better over time.
The study, published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, examined survey data from 17 countries, according to Arizona State University. Psychologist Frank J. Infurna of ASU and colleagues found that Americans born in the 1960s and early 1970s reported more loneliness and depression, poorer memory and lower physical strength than older cohorts did at similar ages.
Infurna said the findings point to everyday pressures rather than the popular image of a midlife crisis. “The real midlife crisis in America isn't about lifestyle choices or sports cars. It's about juggling work, finances, family, and health amid weakening social supports,” he said, according to ASU.
U.S. trend differs from peer countries
The researchers said the U.S. pattern was not matched across many comparable wealthy nations. In several Nordic European countries, midlife well-being and health measures improved across generations, according to the study.
The authors linked part of the gap to family policy. Since the early 2000s, European countries have increased spending on family benefits, while U.S. spending has changed little, according to ASU’s summary of the research.
The study said the United States offers fewer supports such as cash benefits for families with children, paid parental leave income support and subsidized child care than many European countries. Those policies can affect adults in midlife, who may be raising children, working and helping older relatives at the same time, the researchers said.
Adults in countries with stronger family support systems reported less loneliness and smaller increases in loneliness over time, according to the study. In the United States, loneliness rose across generations, the researchers found.
Costs, inequality and stress
Health care costs also figured into the researchers’ explanation. Although the United States spends more on health care than other wealthy countries, Americans face more problems with access and affordability, according to the study authors.
Higher out-of-pocket medical expenses can strain household budgets, discourage preventive care and add stress, anxiety and medical debt, the researchers said. The study also pointed to income inequality, which has risen in the United States since the early 2000s while staying stable or falling in much of Europe.
Infurna’s earlier work found that greater inequality was tied to worse health and more loneliness among middle-aged adults, according to ASU. The authors said other research has connected inequality with higher poverty, fewer chances for upward socioeconomic mobility and reduced access to education, jobs and social services.
The researchers also cited cultural and economic factors. Americans are more likely to move often and live farther from relatives, which can weaken long-term relationships and caregiving networks, according to the study.
More recent cohorts of middle-aged Americans have built less wealth and face more financial insecurity than earlier generations, the researchers said. They cited wage stagnation and the Great Recession as factors contributing to that pressure.
Memory decline despite more schooling
The study found that middle-aged Americans showed declines in episodic memory even though they had more education than previous generations, according to ASU. The researchers said that pattern did not appear in most peer countries.
“Education is becoming less protective against loneliness, memory decline, and depressive symptoms,” Infurna said, according to ASU. The authors suggested that chronic stress, financial insecurity and higher cardiovascular risk factors may be weakening some of the health and cognitive benefits usually associated with education.
The researchers said the trend is not fixed. They pointed to social support, community involvement, a sense of control and positive views of aging as individual resources, while also arguing that paid leave, child care support and accessible health care are linked with better midlife outcomes across countries.
This story draws on original reporting from ScienceDaily.