Getting older, feeling less? A cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation of developmental patterns in experiential well-being.

ABSTRACT: A large body of previous research suggests that people's global evaluations of their well-being tend to increase as a function of age. Fewer studies, however, have examined the extent to which people's in vivo experiences of well-being (e.g., felt emotions) vary as a function of age-and the existing findings are mixed. The present study used an approximately nationally representative sample of more than 2,500 Germans to evaluate developmental patterns in both experiential and global well-being using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The cross-sectional and longitudinal findings converged on the idea that affect-whether positive or negative, global or experiential-decreases as a function of age and time. In contrast, life satisfaction appears to remain consistent, or perhaps declin

SUBMITTER: Hudson NW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5369238 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature