Physical Health, Attitudes Toward Menopause and Aging, Meaning in Life, and Their Relationship to Psychological Distress in Midlife Women

Alicia Marie Abell, School of Psychology

Research has demonstrated that poor physical health is associated with psychological distress (Meeks, Murrell, & Mehl, 2000) and that problems with physical health and psychological distress increase with age (Chachamovich, Fleck, Laidlaw, & Power, 2008; Centers for Disease Control, 2010). Yet despite considerable research on risk factors for psychological distress in midlife women, little is known about protective factors against distress in this population. This study explored factors related to psychological distress in midlife women by examining the relationships between physical health and psychological distress, between attitudes toward menopause and aging and psychological distress, and between meaning in life and psychological distress. It also explored whether either attitudes or meaning moderated the relationship between physical health and psychological distress and whether attitudes and meaning interacted to affect levels of distress. The 11,058 participants in this study were females between the ages of 40 and 55 who completed the first stage of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a cross-sectional telephone or in-home survey done between November 1995 and October 1997. Results demonstrated a significant negative relationship between physical health and psychological distress as well as a significant negative relationship between attitudes toward menopause and aging and psychological distress. Meaning in life did not have a significant relationship with psychological distress, nor were there any interactional effects between the independent variables. This study contributes to the literature by confirming the relationship between physical health and psychological distress and by highlighting positive attitudes toward menopause and aging as protective factor against distress in midlife women.