Article
An Investigation into Mid-life as it is Perceived by Middle Aged Korean Men
| e-ISSN | 2982-6845 |
| p-ISSN | 1226-4474 |
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate mid-life as it is perceived by middle aged Korean men andto determine whether any differences in terms of the perception of mid-life exist according to age. Theparticipants were 852 men who were aged between 35-59 with jobs in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province. Thedata collected were analyzed by Means, Standard Deviations, Frequencies, ANOVA, and χ2 tests, usingSPSS 17.0. The results of this study were as follows: First, middle aged men believed that middle agebegins from one’s early 40s and ends in one’s mid 50s. 70% of the middle aged men surveyed sawthemselves as being middle aged. However, they saw themselves as being much younger than their actualchronological age. Most middle aged men saw mid-life in negative terms, rather than viewing it inpositive or neutral terms. Most middle aged men believed economic stability was the most importantdevelopmental task of mid-life. Economic burdens were ranked as the most pressing difficulty facing ofmiddle aged men, followed by emotional problems, followed finally by the issue of their children\'seducation. Second, there are slightly significant differences in the perception of mid-life by ages.Perceptions as to when middle age starts or end tended to increase with age. Most men in their 30sdidn\'t recognize themselves as being middle aged because they were still perceived themselves to be bothyoung and energetic. Compared with men in their 30s, and 40s, men in their 50s experienced difficultiesin coping with changes in family relationships.