A midlife crisis is inevitable, but by old age you will be optimistic again
After processing data on two million people from 72 countries, researchers from the University of Warwick County (UK) and Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire, USA) have identified a universal international model of changing periods of depression and happiness, according to which people feel the least happy in middle age.
As part of the work, scientists analyzed data on half a million randomly selected Americans and residents of Western Europe contained in the databases of General Social Surveys (USA) and Eurobarometer Surveys. They also examined data on the mental health of 16,000 Europeans, levels of depression and anxiety in a large sample of UK residents, and The World Values Survey database containing information on the population of 80 countries.
The authors found that the "level of happiness" changes with age according to the U-shaped dependence. At the same time, people feel the happiest at the beginning and at the end of life, and the most unhappy – in middle age. According to the results of many earlier studies, the psychological feeling of well-being remains more or less constant as a person ages.
Having studied the statistics on the mental state of a million people in the UK, scientists have concluded that for both men and women, the peak of depression is likely to occur at about 44 years. In the USA, these indicators are somewhat different: the peak of the tendency to depression in women is 40 years old, and in men – 50 years.
Researchers obtained similar U-shaped curves of the dependence of feelings of happiness and life satisfaction as a result of processing information about residents of 72 countries on all five continents, with a variety of cultural traditions, ethnic and racial composition, per capita income, etc. – from Australia, Azerbaijan and Albania to Japan.
The authors believe that this phenomenon is due to some internal characteristics of a person, because middle-aged depression is characteristic of all people and does not depend on having children, nor on a recent divorce, nor on a job change or income change, nor on any other factors.
The reasons for the similarity of the dynamics of mental state around the world are unclear, but the authors express a number of hypotheses. Perhaps, as people get older, they acquire the skills to make optimal use of their strengths and weaknesses, and after reaching middle age, they begin to suppress their unfulfilled aspirations. Another likely explanation is that cheerful people tend to live longer. And, finally, it is possible that in old age a kind of comparison process is launched, which consists in the fact that people watching the death of their peers begin to appreciate the years they have left more.
In the average person, the deterioration of the psychoemotional state occurs gradually and in most it stops only after 50 years. However, by the age of 70, if a person remains in good physical shape, his subjective feeling of happiness corresponds to the attitude of a 20-year-old. Perhaps understanding that such changes in mental balance are an integral part of life will help people endure a period of depression with less psychological losses.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily.
31.01.2008