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The Older You Are, The Happier You Get
Researchers Say Aging and Increased
Happiness Go Hand in Hand
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News
So
much for the stereotype of the older adult as an
isolated, sad hermit. Age and happiness may increase
together, according to new research that suggests
many older adults are very happy as well as socially
active.
The
effects of older age on happiness are strong. Over a
person's life span an increase in happiness -- with
some ups and downs along the way -- is the rule,
according to Yang Yang, PhD. Yang is assistant
professor of sociology at the University of Chicago
and the author of the study evaluating happiness
among various age groups over a three-decade period.
Social connections are also common among older
adults, found Benjamin Cornwell, PhD, a postdoctoral
fellow at the Center on Demography and Economics of
Aging at the University of Chicago and a researcher
of a second study.
"Seniors are not isolated," he says. Rather, they
are plugged in and sociable; the 80-somethings in
his study were more "plugged in" socially than those
in their late 50s.
Both
studies are published in the April issue of the
American Sociological Review.
Age and Happiness Study
With
age comes happiness, found Yang as she evaluated
data from the General Social Survey of the National
Opinion Research Center, considered one of the best
sources of happiness data in the country.
From
1972 to 2004, those administering the survey asked a
cross section of more than 28,000 people the same
question: "Taken all together, how would you say
things are these days -- would you say that you are
very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?"
Among those 18 years old, 15% to 33% said they were
very happy, with white women most likely to be very
happy, followed by white men, African-American
women, and African-American men.
Among the 80-year-olds, about half were very happy.
Among all those surveyed, baby boomers, born from
1946 to 1964, were least happy, with just 32% saying
they were very happy.
Seniors and Social Connections
In
the second study, Cornwell found that older adults
remain socially active, and they sometimes beat out
younger folks when it comes to social interactions.
His team evaluated the results of in-home interviews
with 3,005 men and women, ages 57 to 85, none living
in institutions, between July 2005 and March 2006.
They were part of the National Social Life, Health,
and Aging Project, a project supported by the
National Institutes of Health.
The
survey respondents were asked to list how many
people they knew with whom they could discuss
important matters, and then to tell how often they
engaged in socializing with neighbors, attending
religious services, volunteering, or being involved
with organized groups.
The
average "network" size was 3.6 people; older people
are less likely to have larger networks because of
retirement or the death of friends and family
members.
But
the older adults stayed socially connected. About
three-fourths of the older adults participate in at
least one of those activities at least weekly,
Cornwell tells WebMD. "This is a pretty impressive
level of social connectedness, we thought," he says.
"The real surprise here is that it's the oldest
adults in this age group -- seniors in their 70s and
early 80s -- who were most engaged in their
community compared to those in their 50s and 60s."
The
older respondents, in fact, were twice as likely to
be engaged in the activities.
Why Seniors Stay Connected
One
of the reasons for increased social activities among
those in their 70s and 80s could be simply that
seniors are out of the work force and have more
leisure time, Cornwell says.
But
Cornwell thinks the better interpretation is their
adaptability. They may be showing their resistance
to the isolation brought on by loss of a spouse or
friends to death, he says. "It's an attempt to go
back out and recapture a sense of belonging and
connectedness to others."
People in their 70s and 80s, Cornwell says, "enjoy
being in the community, and I think that's an
important image. If people hold that in their mind,
I think it would change the way we view old age."
Second Opinions: Age and Happiness,
Social Connections
One
strength of the Yang study is that it used
sophisticated statistical methods to separate out
what scientists call the "cohort" effect -- how what
happened during the era in which you grew up affects
you and your happiness, says Tom W. Smith, PhD,
director of the General Social Survey at the
National Opinion Research Center at the University
of Chicago.
Smith was not involved in her study but is familiar
with the results. "If you think old people become
depressed and grumpy, the good news is: no they
don't," he says, adding, "We're talking about
averages, and there are always ups and downs."
The
study results on happiness make perfect sense, says
Barbara Becker Holstein, PhD, a psychologist in Long
Branch, N.J. With age, she notices, people's
expectations become much more realistic. "The
pressure from careers has dissipated. Older people
can be in the moment, be in real time and enjoy it."
Both
studies help dispel age stereotypes, says Adam
Davey, PhD, associate professor of psychology at
Temple University. "I think the stereotype is we get
older, sicker, lonelier, more depressed."
To
stay happy and socially engaged, Davey tells people
to retain novelty in their lives by pushing beyond
their comfort zone and trying new things. "I think
the novelty sustains adaptability and the more
adaptable, the better off we are long term.'' The
more people seek out new experiences, he says, the
more active and engaged they remain.
©
WebMD. All rights reserved.
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"The pressure from careers has dissipated. Older
people can be in the moment, be in real time and
enjoy it." |
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