The focus of this research is on midlife women. Middle age is a pivotal period in one’s life course in terms of finding a new or renewed purpose in life, addressing the excesses of youth, reducing work and life stress, and where establishing favorable conditions in early midlife are associated with good health and well-being later in life. Defined as the period between the ages of 45 and 65, midlife is characterised as a time of significant transition and represents 24.6% of the Australian population. Increasing life expectancy has demanded shifting roles and responsibilities for midlife adults especially so for women who tend to have longer life spans and face greater exposure to risk factors such as adverse life events. As midlife women navigate multiple roles and transition though cycles of physical and emotional stress, they have less time for themself, procrastinate through delaying or putting off health related behaviours and experience higher rates of burnout. Understanding how these factors impact on overall psychological wellbeing becomes ever more critical.

• Foula Kopanidis(RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia)
• Mike Reid(RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia)