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Flexibleformsofemployment...
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inmidlifecopemuchbetterwithwhatenvironment,commonlycalledfate,
bringstothem.
Adoptingoppositesexroles.Inthelateadulthoodtherolesofwomenand
mencross.Menbegintomanifestfemalecharacteristicswhilewomen
adoptcertainmen’sfeatures.Womenbecomemoreassertive,go-ahead
andactive,whereasmenpassive,compassionateandmoresensitive.The
phenomenoninwhichbothwomenandmenbegintoexpressunrevealed
higherleveloftheirpersonalitiesisvariouslyexplained;oneofthereason
isthatchildrenleavefamilyhomeandtheotheristhepressureoftradi-
tionalsocialroles(Gutmann,1987).
Tosumup,variousopinionsdonotgiveacompletepictureofthe
middle-aged,becausedissimilaritiesinexperiencingthisperiodoflifelie
inindividualdifferences:lifeexperiences,developmentpatterns,back-
groundofeachpersonortheirpersonalities,andthecrisesandstresswith
whichtheyhadtocope.Although50–60-year-oldsbecomelessemotional,
lessgoal-orientedandmoreintroverted,theyadjusttoenvironmentand
expressthemselvesmoreeasily.
Commoncrisesaffectingpsycheofthemiddle-agedaredivorceand
unemployment.Inthefollowingchapterthecharacteristicsofunemploy-
mentwillbediscussed,whereasherearepresentedthemostimportant
aspectsofdivorceintheperiodin-question.
Thepsychologicalmeaningofdivorceisoftenintensifiedbyahuge
economiceffect,especiallyforwomen.Althoughthemajorityofdivorces
happentocouplesintherstsevenyearsoftheirmarriageandonlyone
infourfallsinmidlife,theconsequencesofdivorcearemoredisparateand
appeartobeworseinthemiddle-aged(Cherlin,1992).Anunexpectedloss
ofworkhasasimilareffecttodivorce.Thedismissedtendtohaveanin-
creasedleveloffearanddepressionandaheightenedriskofmorbidity
inthemonthsfollowingtheloss(Cherlin,1992).
Unemployment.Connectionsbetweenlosingjobandpsychophysicaldiso-
rdersareofdirectandindirectnature.Animportantdestabilisingelement
isthelossofnancialmeans,whichcontributestotheincreaseinlevels
offearanddepression.Thesituationiseasiertowithstandifaspouseor
aclosepersonhasenoughmoneytocovernecessaryexpenses.Anindirect
influencecanbewellseeninthechangeoffamilyrelationsandlowerself-
esteem.Maritalrelationsdeteriorateimmediatelyafteroneofthespouse’s
jobloss.Thereappearsmuchaggressivebehaviour,whilegoodmood
disappears.Asaconsequence,therearemanyseparationsanddivorces
(McLoydetal.,1994).Ironicallyenough,inthemomentwhensocialsup-
portismostimportant,thelossofemploymentweakensmaritalrelation,
whichisabasicsourceofsupport.
Agedifferencesinexperiencingunemploymentareparticularlyvisible.The
consequencesofunemploymentcanbeseenintheyoungerandintheold-