How Healthy Are We?: A National Study of Well-Being at Midlife

How physically and psychologically healthy are Americans at midlife? And why do some experience greater well-being than others? The MacArthur Foundation addressed these questions head-on by funding a landmark study known as “Midlife in the U.S.” (MIDUS). How Healthy Are We? presents the key findings from the survey in three sections: corporal health, quality of life and psychological well-being, and the contexts of midlife. This wide-ranging study measures not only health—the absence of illness—but also reports on the presence of wellness in middle-aged Americans. Researchers, policymakers, and others concerned with the quality of midlife will welcome its insights.

“A decade of innovative research by an all-star scientific team yields this insightful description of strategies we use to navigate challenges over the life course. How Healthy Are We? redefines ‘middle age’ for scientists and for the rest of our society by debunking the myth of the midlife crisis and revealing the reality of middle age in America today.”—Jack W. Rowe, Chairman and CEO, Aetna