Research on unhappiness across the world and different ages has commonly seen a U-shape, with wellness declining from youth, hitting a low in midlife, and then rising again. Similarly, ill-being, which reflects worry, stress and depression, has typically followed a hump-shaped pattern by age.
However, new research (authored by Alex Bryson, David Blanchflower, and Xiaowei Xu) based on data from 44 countries, including the US and UK, shows a shift. Today, peak unhappiness is most prevalent among the young and declines with age. This does not mean older people are becoming happier. Instead, it points to a worsening of mental health among the youth.
US data from 1993 to 2024 shows this clearly. Despair, defined by those who said they did not feel mentally good every day in the 30 days before the survey, was highest among older adults aged 45 to 70, followed by middle-aged adults aged 25 to 44, and lowest among young adults aged 18 to 24.
However, it was noted that despair increased fastest among the young: it more than doubled for men from 2.5% to 6.6% and nearly tripled for women from 3.2% to 9.3%. While middle-aged adults saw an increase, it was only a slight variation for older adults.
This pattern reversed for women by 2023–24; young women now have the highest despair and older women the lowest. For men, young and middle-aged levels are similar, with older men lowest.
Between 2009 and 2018, despair followed a hump-shaped pattern by age, peaking in midlife. But since 2019, the sharp rise in despair among people under 45, especially under 25, has changed that pattern. Similar results were found in Britain, and global data from 42 countries (2020–2025) also show that despair tends to decline with age.
Reason for change
Research into the change in the established pattern is underway, with COVID being a factor contributing to the decline of young people’s mental health. There’s a growing body of evidence linking the use of the internet and smartphones to young people’s mental health. However, this may not be the only reason. Other possible causes could be unemployment or not being able to work.
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