University of Alberta study counters midlife crisis belief

It turns out that there may be no such thing as a midlife crisis.

A recent study from the University of Alberta refutes the claim that happiness slumps in midlife, in fact the study found that it only gets better as we age.

Performed by Nancy Galambos (Psychology), Harvey Krahn (Sociology), Matt Johnson (Human Ecology) and their team the Up, not down study examined the trajectories of happiness from early adulthood into midlife in two Canadian samples. One group was composed of high school seniors followed from ages 18 to 43, and the other group was comprised of university seniors who were followed from ages 23 to 37.

Once complete the conclusion was that happiness does not depreciate overtime, in fact, overall there is an upward trend in happiness as one ages.

The results of this study countered some previous cross-sectional research that found late teens was the peak of happiness, decreasing into midlife. The Up, not down study claims that cross-sectional studies are less accurate than longitudinal ones because the results come from different groups of people and not from the same individuals over time.