The midlife crisis is a thing of the past! ‘Unhappiness hump’ at age 47 has disappeared, scientists say

From ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ to ‘American Beauty’, the midlife crisis has been the focus of many blockbuster movies through the years. 

But according to scientists, this dreaded turning point is a thing of the past. 

Previous studies have pointed to an ‘unhappiness hump’ – a rise in worry, stress, and depression – that peaks at the age of aroud 47 before declining again. 

However, in a new study, researchers from Dartmouth College say the hump may have disappeared. 

According to the experts, this is likely due to the declining mental health of younger people.  

‘Ours is the first paper to show that the decline in young people’s mental health in recent years means that today, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, mental ill–being is highest among the young and declines with age,’ the researchers explained. 

‘This is a huge change from the past when mental ill–being peaked in middle–age. 

‘The reasons for the change are disputed but our concern is that today there is a serious mental health crisis among the young that needs addressing.’

Previous studies have pointed to an ‘unhappiness hump’ – a rise in worry, stress, and depression – that peaks at the age of aroud 47 before declining again. However, in a new study, researchers from Dartmouth College say the hump may have disappeared

According to scientists, the dreaded midlife crisis is a thing of the past (stock image) 

Since 2008, studies around the world have shown that there is a ‘U–shaped’ trend in wellbeing with age. 

Generally, our wellbeing tends to be high in childhood, before declining until around age 50. 

The unhappiness hump peaks at this point, before wellbeing rebounds again in old age. 

In their new study, the researchers set out to understand if this U–shaped trend still persists in the UK and the US. 

The team carried out surveys on more than 10 million adults in the US, and 40,000 households in the UK. 

To their surprise, the results confirmed that the midlife unhappiness hump has disappeared – while there has been a noteable decline in mental health among younger people.

While the reason for its disappearance remains unclear, the researchers suggest several bleak possibilities. 

It may be linked to the long–term impacts of the Great Recession on job prospects for younger people, they say. 

From ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ to ‘American Beauty’, the midlife crisis has been the focus of many blockbuster movies through the years

Writing in their study, published in PLOS One, they said: ‘Because the labor market did not recover quickly after the Great Recession – as indicated by real wage stagnation – successive cohorts of new entrants may have been impacted in the years following the Great Recession shock.’

Alternatively, there could be a correlation with mental health challenges posed by the Covid–19 pandemic. 

‘Much of the recent literature on the deterioration of mental health among the young has focused on the COVID pandemic,’ the researchers explained. 

‘Although it cannot account for the decline in mental health among the young going back to the period shortly after the Great Recession, it may have contributed to an increasing rate of deterioration in young people’s mental health.’

Finally, the researchers suggest the decline in wellbeing among youngsters may relate to the proliferation of smartphones.

‘The third hypothesis relates to the advent of smart phone technologies and the way they have impacted young people’s perceptions of themseves and their lives relative to their peers’ portrayal of their lives via social media,’ the team explained. 

‘This new information about their lives may result in greater dissatisfaction with one’s own life, in much the same way that new information about the “pay gap” between one’s own pay and that of colleagues’ generates increased pay dissatisfaction.’ 

The researchers hope their findings will spark further reseach on happiness throughout our lifetimes. 

‘There is no longer a hump–shape in ill–being by age,’ they concluded. 

‘The question this begs is what to do about this phenomenon of a global decline in youth well–being that shows no sign of abating?’