Abstract

The current study examines the correlation between Midlife Crisis, Marital Adjustment, Perceived Stress and Social Support in adults in their midlife. A purposive sample of 116 midlife adults (40 – 55) from Pune city was used for study. Participants completed the Developmental Crisis Questionnaire (DCQ-12), Marital Adjustment Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rho (⍴) correlations were used. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between Midlife Crisis and Perceived Stress, supporting the hypothesis that midlife crises are associated with higher stress levels. However, contrary to expectations, Midlife Crisis showed a significant positive correlation with Social Support, indicating that individuals in crisis may actively seek or receive more support from their networks. Marital Adjustment was negatively and significantly correlated with Perceived Stress and Social Support, suggesting that individuals with better marital adjustment experience lower stress and perceive more social support. However, the hypothesized positive correlation between Marital Adjustment and Social Support was not supported, as higher support was associated with lower marital distress (i.e. better adjustment due to the reverse scoring). Additionally, no significant relationship was found between Midlife Crisis and Marital Adjustment. Lastly, Perceived Stress and Social Support showed a significant positive correlation, indicating that stressed individuals may be more likely to seek or perceive social support.