Longitudinal Evidence for a Midlife Nadir in Human Well‐Being: Results from Four Data Sets

Terence Chai Cheng · Nattavudh Powdthavee · Andrew J. Oswald

190 citations0/0 files storedThe Economic Journal

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Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction Retirement, Disability, and Employment Aging and Gerontology Research

Abstract

There is a large amount of cross-sectional evidence for a midlife low in the life cycle of human happiness and well-being (a 'U shape'). Yet no genuinely longitudinal inquiry has uncovered evidence for a U-shaped pattern. Thus, some researchers believe the U is a statistical artefact. We re-examine this fundamental cross-disciplinary question. We suggest a new test. Drawing on four data sets, and only within-person changes in well-being, we document powerful support for a U shape in longitudinal data (without the need for formal regression equations). The article's methodological contribution is to use the first-derivative properties of a well-being equation.

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2002Happiness and Economics 2007Is Well-Being U-Shaped Over the Life Cycle?2003The Macroeconomics of Happiness 1998The effect of age on positive and negative affect: A developmental perspective on happiness.2010Emotional experience improves with age: Evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling.1996Is job satisfaction U‐shaped in age?2003Explaining happiness 2010A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States

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2023The development of subjective well-being across the life span: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies.2020The U Shape of Happiness Across the Life Course: Expanding the Discussion 2018Unraveling the Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between Well-Being and Depressive Symptoms Throughout the Lifespan 2015Is it Pleasure or Health from Leisure that We Benefit from Most? An Analysis of Well-Being Alternatives and Implications for Policy 2015Unmet aspirations as an explanation for the age U-shape in wellbeing

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