The midlife crisis is real (but things will get better ) | Society | ...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/21/midlife-crisis-is...

The midlife crisis is real (but things

will get better )
Research finds that happiness is U-shaped and the early 40s are your worst
years
Jamie Doward
Saturday 21 November 2015 13.35GMT

New research suggests that human wellbeing hits a low point in our
early 40s and then starts to pick up again.
A paper to be published in the forthcoming issue of the Economic
Journal nds that life satisfaction gradually declines from early
adulthood to its lowest point between the ages of 40 to 42, before
rising again until the age of 70.
The paper, based on research tracking 50,000 adults in Australia,
Britain and Germany throughout their lives, is the rst to monitor
human happiness and wellbeing across the life cycle. It appears to bear
out the theory that a persons happiness thoughout the course of their
life is U-shaped.
This has been observed in previous studies of happiness conducted in
several countries, but by compiling data tracking the lives of tens of
thousands of people over decades, and across dierent locations, the
researchers have found that the U-shape phenomenon is not conned
to specic countries but is universal.
Individuals were asked to ll in conventional life-satisfaction
questionnaires in which they were asked to rate how happy they were
with their lives on a scale, with 0 for very dissatised and 10 for very
satised. Economists Terence Cheng, Nick Powdthavee and Andrew
Oswald, professor of economics at the University of Warwick and one
of the foremost experts on wellbeing, then measured the changes in
1 of 3

21/11/2015, 20:59

The midlife crisis is real (but things will get better ) | Society | ...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/21/midlife-crisis-is...

happiness of a number of the people selected at random throughout

their lives. Comparing the datasets from the three countries allowed
the economists to draw their conclusion.
They write: Following the same men and women through the years of
their evolving lives, we show that there is multi-country evidence for a
U-shape in the level of human wellbeing.
The research contradicts an inuential study carried out in the US,
which argued that, when it comes to happiness, people experience a
reverse U-shape in which their wellbeing is greatest in midlife. With
longevity rising in many nations, there is increasing interest in the
measurement of wellbeing in modern society, with many politicians
calling for such metrics to play a greater role in policymaking.
The economists did not attempt to explain why happiness across a
persons lifecycle is U-shaped, but they were emphatic about one
thing: The existence of this midlife nadir is not because of the
presence of young children in the household. Adjusting for the
number, and the ages, of any dependent ospring leaves the pattern
unchanged.
Phillip Hodson, a psychotherapist and patron of the West London
Centre for Counselling, said the ndings bore out the observation that
midlife could be stressful.
Childhood and old age are protected times of life to a degree, he said.
In old age you are funded or you have funded it. Its the same for a
child. You are looked after at both ends of life and your responsibilities
are fewer.
The burdens of life fall on the middle-aged. You are looking after your
children, your parents, yourselves. You are working as you will
probably never work again in older age and probably harder than you
did when you were younger. You are also having to be on call a lot,
time wise, so your days are long and your purse is stretched. This is
almost universally the case, regardless of whether you live in
Venezuela or England.
More news

2 of 3

21/11/2015, 20:59

The midlife crisis is real (but things will get better ) | Society | ...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/21/midlife-crisis-is...

Topics
Middle age
Health & wellbeing
Happiness indices

Save for later Article saved

Reuse this content

3 of 3

21/11/2015, 20:59