Academic

The U-shaped Life Cycle of Happiness

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

As I was driving (safely) around the Wisconsin backroads this afternoon, I heard an interesting discussion on NPR's Talk of the Nation about the life-cycle of happiness. We have mentioned some possible implications of happiness research for law. The springboard for today's radio discussion was this paper by David G. Blanchflower and Andrew J. Oswald entitled "Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?" (forthcoming 2008 in the Social Science & Medicine). This is from the abstract:

First, using data on 500,000 randomly sampled Americans and West Europeans, the paper designs a test that can control for cohort effects. Holding other factors constant, we show that a typical individuals happiness reaches its minimum -- on both sides of the Atlantic and for both males and females -- in middle age. Second, evidence is provided for the existence of a similar U-shape through the life-course in East European, Latin American and Asian nations. Third, a U-shape in age is found in separate well-being regression equations in 72 developed and developing nations. Fourth, using measures that are closer to psychiatric scores, we document a comparable well-being curve across the life cycle in two other data sets: (i) in GHQ-N6 mental health levels among a sample of 16,000 Europeans, and (ii) in reported depression and anxiety levels among 1 million U.K. citizens. Fifth, we discuss some apparent exceptions, particularly in developing nations, to the U-shape. Sixth, we note that American male birth-cohorts seem to have become progressively less content with their lives. Our paper?s results are based on regression equations in which other influences, such as demographic variables and income, are held constant.

The figure below represents the mean incidence of depression and anxiety by age in the UK Labour Force Survey referenced in the abstract:

If you invert the curve, you get the U-shaped representation of happiness, which places me at the nadir of the happiness life-cycle. I suppose that could be depressing, but I am feeling pretty good about life, and it's all up from here!

Full post as published by Conglomerate on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).