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Chapter 8

opportunitytoexpandandexplorenew
avenuesandnewroles.Lesscommonly,the
middleyearscanleadtodisturbance,a
senseof emptinessandloss,depression,
andgeneraldisintegration(McGoldrick&
Carter,2003).Wewilldiscussthisfurtherin
thesectiononmidlifecrisis.

Marriage: Changes in the Middle Years

It is evident to most of us that a
marriage of 50 or 60 years does not
remain the same through the entire
length of the marriage. For that matter, a
marriage which lasts 8 to 10 years does
not remain the same. Change is part of
the reality of marriage. The ability to
adapt to life’s varying circumstances
largely determines the durability of any
relationship, especially marriage.
The Nichols (1993) identify four
stages in the marital life cycle:

Inhisdevelopmentaltheoryonthestages

oflife,Ericksonidentifiedpsychosocialcrises

astheelementsnecessarytohelpmove

peoplefromonestagetothenext.Inthe

Nichols’theory,thechangesnecessaryto

movefromstagetostagearecalledcore

tasks.Thesecoretaskstargetfiveareas:

commitment,caring,communication,

conflict/compromise,andcontract(Nichols

&Pace-Nichols,1993).UsingtheNichols’

stagesasaframework,wewillbriefly

summarizethefirsttwoearlystagesof

marriagebeforeanalyzingthemiddleyears

ofmarriageinmoredetail.Wewillthenlook

attheNichols’finalstageinthesectiontitled

“TheLaterYears.”

Stage 1: The Beginning—Mating and

Marriage.According to the Nichols,this

first stage involves separating from parents

and developing an identity as a couple.

The couple’s core tasks are initiating the

development of commitment between the

Changes in a marriage are common,such as the

change to empty nest as the last

child leaves for college.

©Fotosearch

Stage 1:The beginning—mating and

marriage

Stage 2:The early years—expanding

the base

Stage 3:The middle years—

affirmation and preparation

Stage 4:Later years—consolidation

and celebration