Despite the notion that the happiness we experience in our lives follows a U-shaped curve with a "mid-life crisis" lying directly in the middle, new research from the University of Alberta shows that this is not true. The study found that, based on two longitudinal studies, happiness occurs as a part of an upward trajectory that beings in our teens and early twenties and onward into the later stages of life. These findings conflict with previous cross-sectional studies that found declines in happiness from the middle of the early 20s to middle age.
"I'm not trashing cross-sectional research, but if you want to see how people change as they get older, you have to measure the same individuals over time," Harvey Krahn, co-author of the research, said in a press release.
The team followed two groups - one consisting of Canadian high school seniors between the ages of 18 to 43 and the other consisting of university seniors from the ages of 23 to 37. Both groups showed increased levels of happiness into their 30s, with a slight curb in the decrease observed in the high school samples. The researchers controlled for variations in the participants' lives including changes in marital status and employment and still found the same pattern of increasing levels of happiness.
"We want people to be happier so that they have an easier life trajectory," said Nancy Galambos, first author of the study. "And also they cost less to the health system, and society."
The findings were published in the Sept. 7 issue of Developmental Psychology.
