Basically "midlife crisis" is a way for people who are married with families to put down anyone having more fun or experiencing more freedom than them.
Absolutely no wonder that in "poor" countries they are happier. Living in constant stress about the job, with huge financial obligation, not even seeing your kids and spouse except for weekends and a week vacation a year -- compare this to my parents generation in communistic (then) Poland -- no debt, guaranteed jobs, free housing. Economically speaking yes this doesn't make sense. Psychologically - why they are looking (in the article above) in all the wrong places for explanations when it is so obvious.
what?
Do your parents tell you how much they miss that? My parents aren't from Soviet-era Poland, but I've never heard a citizen of the Soviet Bloc wax nostalgic about their time there.
I've heard of (but not heard myself) lots of people in post-Soviet Russia doing so, and its been frequently cited as the basis for support for many of the most powerful politicians in Russia since shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The worst part is that some people don't see that there's any other way.