Happy? Eh ... maybe later

Here's something to be hopeful about (if you're so inclined -- and, if you are, you might not be a baby boomer): Americans get happier as they age.

Do they also perhaps become more delusional? Perhaps. But that's not the take of a University of Chicago sociologist who recently reported the findings. Her view is that maturity eventually pays off, at least in terms of self-esteem and a sense of overall well-being. Times staff writer Shari Roan elaborated on some of the reasons for this in a story last year.

The new study, however, also found that the differences in happiness among genders and ethnicities tend to fade over time. At 18, white women were most content when compared with, in descending order of happiness, white men, black women and black men. To be honest, the white women weren't a perky lot. Only 33% of them were happy. But they might seem so compared with black men, of whom only 15% were happy.

But by their late 80s, black men and women faced a 50% likelihood of being very happy. White men and women showed similar results.

Here's the full article. And here's a shorter, more easily digestible version.

My favorite part: Baby boomers were less likely than similarly aged generations to report happiness. No one can be surprised by this. The researcher surmises their expectations were too high. But I don't know... I can think of other reasons -- how about you?

-- Tami Dennis

Photo: Jeanne Calment on her 117th birthday. She died at 122 in 1997. Photo by Jean Pierre Fizet / Sygma/Corbis

Comments

[Johnny Hughes]

JohnnyHughes wrote:
I am euphoric since I retired. This is the happiest time of my life, which surprises me. A huge part of it is the absence of stress from work. I seek joy. I look for those little things in life that I can take joy from. I've finally published my novel, Texas Poker Wisdom. My daily focus on reading, writing, television, the Internet, a few, very few friends, a healthy diet, and mild exercise makes each day a treasure.

My middle-aged, angst-ridden self is a laughable non-memory because I do not remember why I took the world of work so hard