Abstract
Using seven recent data sets, covering 51 countries and 1.3 million randomly sampled people, the paper examines the pattern of psychological well-being from approximately age 20 to age 90. Two conceptual approaches to this issue are possible. Despite what has been argued in the literature, neither is the ‘correct’ one, because they measure different things. One studies raw numbers on well-being and age. This is the descriptive approach. The second studies the patterns in regression equations for well-being (that is, adjusting for other influences). This is the ceteris-paribus analytical approach. The paper applies each to large cross-sections and compares the patterns of life-satisfaction and happiness. Using the first method, there is evidence of a midlife low in five of the seven data sets. Using the second method, all seven data sets produce evidence consistent with a midlife low. The scientific explanation for the approximate U-shape currently remains unknown.
Life satisfaction is stable across… age groups.
Diener et al. (1999)
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Notes
- 1.
As a related example that is topical at the time of writing, the longitudinal British Election Study Wave 9 asked UK respondents after the EU referendum on Brexit how they voted. In the survey a small majority of the respondents reported that they voted to leave – by a margin of 49.5%–50.5% for remain. This contrasted with the actual outcome of 51.9% for Leave. The head of the BES Professor Ed Fieldhouse told us in private communication that “this is because a known bias in the sample which is that politically interested people are more likely to respond/remain in the study.”
- 2.
‘Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2016 registrations’, ONS, 2nd August 2017 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2016registrations
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Appendix
Appendix
Worthwhileness-of-Life Polynomial in Understanding-Society ONS Data (United Kingdom; 416,000 observations) Years 2011–2015. This figure is based on data using the question “Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?” scored from zero to 10
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Blanchflower, D.G., Oswald, A.J. (2019). Do Humans Suffer a Psychological Low in Midlife? Two Approaches (With and Without Controls) in Seven Data Sets. In: Rojas, M. (eds) The Economics of Happiness. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15835-4_19
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