Study: Men At Midlife Are Happier Than Women

Women start out as happy young adults but by midlife wind up the sadder sex, says a new study on satisfaction related to financial circumstances and family life, which past research has shown play a significant role in well-being and happiness.
The age-old debate is put to the test.

Researchers analyzed decades of national data on 47,000 men and women to create a statistical model that shows women's happiness decreases, while men's increases, exceeding women's by age 48.

"Our approach looks at the aspirations people have and how well they fulfill them," says economist Anke Plagnol, at the University of Cambridge in England, the study's lead author.

"Satisfaction depends on how far people fulfill their aspirations," she says.

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Comments

[Kahill]

Not surprised at all. Men fight at first, but eventually get resigned their fate and go on. Women never stop finding something to harp about, no matter what the situation is!

[Theda]

I don't believe this article. Most middle-aged men I know are bitter and pissed off because they didn't achieve all their goals and ambitions. They're also jealous and resentful of the younger guys who are eager and enthusiastic about life.
So middle-aged men often blame everyone else for their failures and become set in their grouchy ways. But many middle-aged women come into "their own" after reaching age 50. They start new careers, they have new friends, lovers and interests. They know how to "start over" and reinvent themselves.
Men...especially middle-aged men....get stuck in a certain mind-set and won't escape from it.

[WoodyCPM]

Who writes these crappy studies anyway? What errant nonsense. How to explain that the suicide rate for men over 50 is higher than for any other sex or age group?

[PatA]

If your idea is true, why did my husband take up with his young nurses and I was content to continue my career in photography?
By the way, he was very jealous when I became an "overnight" sensation. It only took me 20 years to hit that mark.

[dadw5boys]

Men by that age have suffered enough and are ready die.

After realizing that life is all gravey when you have nothing to live for!

[gevan]

Forty-eight is about the age of mental pause, isn't it?