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A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States

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Author Info

  • Arthur A. Stone

    (Stony Brook University)

  • Joseph E. Schwartz

    (Stony Brook University and Columbia University Medical Center)

  • Joan E. Broderick

    (Stony Brook University)

  • Angus Deaton

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

Psychological well-being (WB) includes a person’s overall appraisal of his or her life (Global WB) and affective state (Hedonic WB), and it is considered a key aspect of the health of individuals and groups. Several cross-sectional studies have documented a relation between Global WB and age. Little is known, however, about the age distribution of Hedonic WB. It may yield a different view of aging because it is less influenced by the cognitive reconstruction inherent in Global WB measures and because it includes both positive and negative components of WB. In this study we report on both Global and Hedonic WB assessed in a 2008 telephone survey of 340,847 people in the United States. Consistent with prior studies, Global WB and positive Hedonic WB generally had U-shaped age profiles showing increasedWB after the age of 50 years. However, negative Hedonic WB variables showed distinctly different and stronger patterns: Stress and Anger steeply declined from the early 20s, Worry was elevated through middle age and then declined, and Sadness was essentially flat. Unlike a prior study, men and women had very similar age profiles of WB. Several measures that could plausibly covary with the age-WB association (e.g., having children at home) did not alter the age-WB patterns. Global and Hedonic WB measures appear to index different aspects of WB over the lifespan, and the postmidlife increase in WB, especially in Hedonic WB, deserves continued exploration.

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File URL: http://rpds.princeton.edu/rpds/papers/pdfs/Stone_Schwartz_Broderick_Deaton_Snapshot_of_the_age_distribution_of_psychological_wellbeing_PNAS_April2010.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing. in its series Working Papers with number 1230.

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Date of creation: Jun 2010
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Handle: RePEc:pri:cheawb:1230

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Related research

Keywords: Psychological well-being; Hedonic well-being; Global well-being;

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Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Does life “begin” at 46 because memory decline since 45?
    by Paco Jariego in Mind the Post on 2012-02-22 06:43:16
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Cited by:
  1. Weiss, Alexander & King, James E. & Inoue-Murayama, Miho & Matsuzawa, Tetsuro & Oswald, Andrew J., 2012. "Evidence for a ‘Midlife Crisis’ in Great Apes Consistent with the U-Shape in Human Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 7009, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. Van Landeghem, Bert, 2012. "A test for the convexity of human well-being over the life cycle: Longitudinal evidence from a 20-year panel," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 571-582.

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