Overview
- Frank Infurna outlined a multi-level model in 2026 to explain why midlife well-being is slipping in the United States.
- Long-running surveys show today’s 40–65-year-olds report more loneliness, more depressive symptoms, and more memory complaints than cohorts from 30 years ago.
- Comparable declines did not appear in Europe, China, South Korea, or Mexico, underscoring a pattern concentrated in the United States.
- The model links national conditions like income inequality and weak family supports to workplace and neighborhood stress, which then strain relationships, health habits, and finances.
- Cross-national evidence ties paid leave and subsidized childcare to lower loneliness, giving lawmakers concrete levers to test.