A Case Study of Pre-Midlife Crisis: An Extraordinary Transformational Episode in an Ordinary Life

Abstract

The current study is a case-study of crisis in pre-midlife adulthood. Previous research by the authors had shown a common process to cases of early adult crisis (Robinson and Smith, in press). This case study was intended to add idiographic depth to our ongoing investigation into the nature of developmental crisis. Data collection for the case study involved two semi-structured interviews followed by an email discussion. Analysis proceeded using a composite methodology that employed elements of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Miles and Huberman‘s Interactive Model. Findings showed four key developmental themes: Unpeeling the Persona, Unlocking the Capacity for Self-Reflection, Reaching beyond Materialist Values and The Emerging Feminine. These themes relate to an underlying shift over the course of the crisis towards a less conventional, more intrinsically motivated and more individuated mode of being