Relationship between Midlife Crisis and Mental Health: Mediating Effects of Mindfulness and Stress Coping Strategies

Objectives This study aimed to test the mediating effect of mindfulness and stress coping strategies (problemsolving- centered, social support seeking, avoidance-centered) on the relationship between midlife crisis and mental health in middle-aged adults (45 to 64 years old). Methods For this, a survey was conducted on 444 adult men and women from July 1 to August 31, 2022, and 427 people who responded faithfully were analyzed. The measurement tools used were midlife crisis, mindfulness, stress coping strategies, and brief mental health. To analyze the results, the correlation between major variables was analyzed, and through confirmatory factor analysis, we checked whether the measurement variables appropriately explained the latent variables and verified the suitability of the research model through path analysis. The mediation effect was verified through AMOS. Results The results of the research show that midlife crisis has a negative impact on mental health. Mindfulness was found to mediate significantly between midlife crisis and mental health. As for stress coping strategies, only avoidance-centered coping was found to mediate between midlife crisis and mental health significantly. Conclusions The bigger the midlife crisis, the lower the level of mindfulness, which worsens mental health. The higher the level of midlife crisis, the higher the level of avoidance-centered stress coping, which leads to poor mental health. Therefore, through a mindfulness-based program that strengthens avoidance-centered coping strategies, it is possible to effectively help improve the mental health of middle-aged adults who are experiencing a sense of crisis.