What the data says about happiness across the lifespan

In this video, I talk about the data on when you will peak in happiness, when you will be at your lowest point in happiness, and the various life crises.

References
The U-Bend of Life Article:
https://www.economist.com/christmas-s...

The World Happiness Report (refer to Figure 3.2A for visualisation of life satisfaction over time for those aged 15-24)
https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2024...

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Anxious-Gen...

ABS – overall life satisfaction:
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/mea...)

You are most likely to have a quarter life crisis at 26 years old:
Hasyim, F. F., Setyowibowo, H., & Purba, F. D. (2024). Factors Contributing to Quarter Life Crisis on Early Adulthood: A Systematic Literature Review. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 1-12.

Sex differences in quarter life crises:
Robinson OC, Wright GRT. The prevalence, types and perceived outcomes of crisis episodes in early adulthood and midlife: a structured retrospective-autobiographical study. Int J Behav Dev. 2013;37(5):407–416. doi:10.1177/0165025413492464
Midlife is ‘time since birth’ to ‘time left to live’:
Neugarten BL: The awareness of middle age; in Neugarten BL (ed): Middle Age and Aging: A Reader in Social Psychology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1968, pp 93– 98

Midlife crises – the beginning of the decline:
Freund, A. M., & Ritter, J. O. (2009). Midlife crisis: A debate. Gerontology, 55(5), 582-591.

Average age for successful tech founders is 45:
Azoulay, P., Jones, B. F., Kim, J. D., & Miranda, J. (2020). Age and high-growth entrepreneurship. American Economic Review: Insights, 2(1), 65-82.

Elderly perceptions of midlife:
Lachman, M. E., Lewkowicz, C., Marcus, A., & Peng, Y. (1994). Images of midlife development among young, middle-aged, and older adults. Journal of Adult Development, 1, 201-211.