Researchers at Seoul University have explored whether older adults are happier than younger ones. The findings show that happiness in old age is not universal. Instead, the pattern appears strongest among people who display certain personality traits, particularly adaptability and low levels of neuroticism, which is associated with emotional instability and anxiety. The study was reported in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being.
Traditional thinking often suggests that happiness declines as people move into middle age, with an upside in later years. Recent scientific work challenges this view by presenting a more nuanced picture. In the new study, researchers collected and analyzed responses from more than 10,000 individuals ranging from ages 14 to 75 to measure happiness and its components.
The researchers assessed happiness using three dimensions: life satisfaction, positive experiences such as joy and relaxation, and negative experiences including boredom, anxiety, and depression. Participants also completed evaluations of their personality traits to examine how these traits relate to happiness across ages.
The results showed that both younger and older participants reported higher life satisfaction than those in middle age. Yet among any age group, individuals who scored low on neuroticism and who displayed gentleness or meekness tended to report greater happiness in youth and in older age compared with peers who did not share these traits.
It is important to note that the study sample was largely comprised of female respondents. The researchers indicate that findings for male participants could differ and call for further research to understand potential gender differences more clearly.