Costa and McCrae Normative Aging Study

The Normative Aging Study (Costa and McCrae, 1980) conducted at the Boston VA Outpatient Clinic followed men from their early 20s throughout adulthood.  The only ones who had a midlife crisis (i.e., depression, despair, anger, blame, escapism, risky behavior) were ones who were also depressed and anxious in their late teens to early 20s. Once a crisis-prone individual, always a crisis-prone individual, according to this study.