Development and validation of the concise midlife crisis measure

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new, reliable tool to measure midlife crisis, showing it works well across different populations.

Contribution

The study develops and validates the first concise, culturally sensitive midlife crisis measure.

Findings

The CMCM showed excellent reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.954.

Approximately 32.6% of participants exhibited high midlife crisis symptoms.

Midlife crisis symptoms were inversely correlated with age and education.

Abstract

Midlife crisis, characterized by emotional turbulence, identity reevaluation, and existential distress, is a psychological phenomenon often misrepresented or under-measured in both popular discourse and scientific literature. Existing global prevalence estimates are largely derived from general well-being surveys rather than standardized psychological instruments. Furthermore, there was a notable absence of concise, culturally sensitive, and psychometrically validated tools to assess midlife crisis in diverse populations. The current study aimed to develop and validate the Concise Midlife Crisis Measure (CMCM)—a brief, reliable, and conceptually grounded scale for assessing midlife crisis. The current research was conducted in two phases involving 470 participants (Mean Age = 49 years, SD = 5.29; women = 40%). The validation of the CMCM involved exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses along with convergent and divergent validity. The unidimensional CMCM, comprising 11 items (English) demonstrated excellent reliability (α = 0.954; ICC = 0.974). The model fit indices, such as CFI (0.962), TLI (0.952), RMSEA (0.089), and SRMR (0.032), showed strong validity. Convergent and divergent validity was demonstrated by the scale’s correlation (p < 0.001) with the Gerascophobia or Excessive Fear of Aging Scale (r = 0.325) and the Psychosocial Life Satisfaction Scale (r = -0.201), respectively. Significant inverse correlations were found between midlife crisis, age, and education. Tertile analysis revealed that approximately 32.6% of participants exhibited high levels of midlife crisis symptoms. The CMCM is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing midlife crisis in research and clinical settings.