The Origins of Happiness

9 Happiness at Older Ages

Andrew Steptoe and Camille Lassale

Old age hath yet his honour and his toil.

— Alfred Tennyson, Ulysses

As people move from middle into older ages, their cir-

cumstances and experiences change in many ways.^1 Most

people retire; their children leave home and establish in-

dependent lives; physical and cognitive capacities decline;

and the experience of the death and loss of loved ones be-

comes more common. These changes influence financial

resources, social relationships, independence, and auton-

omy. At the same time, people who no longer feel bound

by the constraints of middle age may find fresh opportuni-

ties as they age, together with relief from many important

sources of stress. All these processes mean that the determi-

nants of satisfaction with life may change with ageing, or at

least that the relative importance of the various sources of

life- satisfaction may shift as we grow older.

Life- Satisfaction at Older Ages

One might think that life- satisfaction would decline pro-

gressively as people move from middle to older ages, but this

is not the case. Several studies from different countries show

that life- satisfaction increases from the early 50s onward,

reaching a peak when people are in their early 70s.2, 3 Figure