Mid-Life Crisis ”a myth” – study

40-somethings happier than teens, 20-somethings

from: Canadian Press

No need to buy that Porsche if you’re pushing 40.

New research from the University of Alberta suggests there’s no such thing as a mid-life crisis — it’s more like mid-life bliss.

The study called “Up, Not Down,” is published in the academic journal Developmental Psychology.

It debunks the long-held belief that happiness declines between a person’s teens and early 40s.

Lead researcher and psychology professor Nancy Galambos says she found the opposite — that people in her study were happier in their early 40s than when they were in their late teens and early 20s.

She says that’s because life is more difficult for younger people than for people in middle age.

She says some young adults are depressed, have trouble finding work and sorting out their lives.

By middle age, people have worked that out and are satisfied through the earliest child-bearing years.

The study tracked a group of Edmonton high schools students for 25 years and another group of graduating university students for 14.