Young adulthood

Midlife transition

Young adulthood then draws to its close with 'the Midlife Transition, from roughly age 46 to 50'—producing 'a brand-new passage in the forties, when First Adulthood ends and Second Adulthood begins.' In the midlife transition, early adulthood often ends, and individuals make changes in their lives, such as in their career. The end of early adulthood can be defined as when a person stops seeking adult status or wanting to feel like an adult. When people reach the midlife transition, they shift from talking about how old they are to bolster their reputation and emphasize how young they are. In the midlife transition, individuals focus more on the present than the future and the past. In this transitional period from early to middle adulthood, individuals tend to focus less on themselves and more on their relationships. In addition, individuals experience physical changes which may then subsequently necessitate a change in regard to their perceived body image.