ABSTRACT
Middle age is a particularly important developmental period currently in our society given that the baby-boomer cohorts (bl946–1964), the largest birth cohort in U.S. history, are now in midlife. The boomer cohorts represent approximately one third of the total U.S. population, approximately 76 million people (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2002). Baby-boomer families account for approximately 48% of U.S. families (MetLife Mature Market Institute, 2003). A portion of these cohorts will be in middle age through the first quarter of this century (2024). The leading edge baby-boomer cohorts (1946–1955) will enter old age in 2011.
