What a Long Strange Trip it's Been
The double-edged sword of education
I can't resist asking Almeida: What is the most stressed out group in the United States?
Without hesitation, he tells me what I dread hearing (but sort of suspected): "Educated middle-class women entering midlife with young children are reporting the highest number of daily stressors."
How many millions of Boomer women does that encompass? My shoulders tense just thinking about it. In my mind, thoughts of work deadlines, dinner dishes, homework, and medical appointments for ill parents vie for attention. I fall smack into the "sandwich generation," the shorthand for midlife adults who are spread too thin between the needs of young and old family members.
But why should my Masters degrees make me more vulnerable to stress? As Almeida sees it, "Education qualifies people for increased workplace responsibilities, including managerial positions. And educated people are typically engaged in many different spheres and activities that will expose them to more stressors."
Yet, Almeida tells me, there's an up side to the education/stress equation. There's a difference between reporting stressors and reacting negatively to stress, he clarifies. "Educated people typically want challenges in their lives and that brings stress. But studies show us that they have more coping skills than those with less education."
The research findings cut across years of education, explains Almeida. College grads cope better than high school grads and high school grads cope better than drop-outs. Although people with less education "report fewer stressors in their lives," says Almeida, "when a stressor does happen, they're much more likely to report both psychological stress and physical symptoms resulting from the event."
Boomers—often described as the most educated generation in history—may be coping with stress better than their predecessors, but longevity and a prolonged post-working life comes with a price-tag, both for them and their children. With enormous numbers of Boomers hitting pension age in the coming years (the leading edge will start taking a bite out of Social Security in 2008) how will this shift impact on the nation's economy?
Boom or bust?
Melissa Hardy is the bearer of some tough news. Director of the Penn State Gerontology Center and distinguished professor of human development and family studies, sociology and demography, Hardy's interdisciplinary research on the social and economic aspects of aging is internationally recognized. When it comes to the Boomers, there is no single answer, she says firmly: Some Boomers will enjoy a great retirement, some will be okay, and the rest may be disappointed by broken promises.
Photo by James Collins
I ask her whether—as Boomers start hitting traditional retirement age—they'll get what is due them financially. "For some Boomers, getting what's due them is not even on the table," Hardy replies. Instead, "Finding a compromise and adjusting their expectations is what's ahead; whether these adjustments are required before or after they've already entered retirement is a big question."
Why the gloomy fiscal forecast? "At this point it looks like the Boomers have saved at least as much as their parents did," acknowledges Hardy. "But Boomers—more than any generation before or after—were counting on defined benefit pension plans throughout their careers...The leading edge of the Boomers will be retiring with those plans and expecting full payments to continue—and the question is 'Will they?'"
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