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Happiness and longevity in the United States

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  • Lawrence, Elizabeth M.
  • Rogers, Richard G.
  • Wadsworth, Tim

Abstract

This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the relationship between happiness and longevity among a nationally representative sample of adults. We use the recently-released General Social Survey-National Death Index dataset and Cox proportional hazards models to reveal that overall happiness is related to longer lives among U.S. adults. Indeed, compared to very happy people, the risk of death over the follow-up period is 6% (95% CI 1.01–1.11) higher among individuals who are pretty happy and 14% (95% CI 1.06–1.22) higher among those who are not happy, net of marital status, socioeconomic status, census division, and religious attendance. This study provides support for happiness as a stand-alone indicator of well-being that should be used more widely in social science and health research.

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  • Lawrence, Elizabeth M. & Rogers, Richard G. & Wadsworth, Tim, 2015. "Happiness and longevity in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 115-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:145:y:2015:i:c:p:115-119
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.020
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    2. Dustin C. Brown & Joseph T. Lariscy & Lucie Kalousová, 2019. "Comparability of Mortality Estimates from Social Surveys and Vital Statistics Data in the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(3), pages 371-401, June.
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    4. Eva Anna Christina Hart & Jeroen Lakerveld & Martin McKee & Jean-Michel Oppert & Harry Rutter & Hélène Charreire & Ruut Veenhoven & Helga Bárdos & Sofie Compernolle & Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij & Johannes , 2018. "Contextual correlates of happiness in European adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, January.
    5. Anna Maccagnan & Sam Wren-Lewis & Helen Brown & Tim Taylor, 2019. "Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 217-243, January.
    6. Brown, Dustin C, 2019. "Comparability of Mortality Estimates from Social Surveys and Vital Statistics Data in the United States," SocArXiv x9f5y, Center for Open Science.
    7. Sha Fan & Renuka Mahadevan, 2023. "Optimistic income expectations and meeting those expectations: What matters for well‐being in a developing country?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 70(2), pages 115-132, May.
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    10. Javier Álvarez-Gálvez & María Luisa Rodero-Cosano & José A. Salinas-Pérez & Diego Gómez-Baya, 2019. "Exploring the Complex Associations Among Social Determinants of Health in Andalusia After the 2008 Financial Crisis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 873-893, January.
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    12. Yingying Jiang & Chan Lu & Jing Chen & Yufeng Miao & Yuguo Li & Qihong Deng, 2022. "Happiness in University Students: Personal, Familial, and Social Factors: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-12, April.
    13. Miething, Alexander & Mewes, Jan & Giordano, Giuseppe N., 2020. "Trust, happiness and mortality: Findings from a prospective US population-based survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
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    15. Yongfeng Ma & Shuyan Chen & Aemal J. Khattak & Zheng Cao & Muhammad Zubair & Xue Han & Xiaojian Hu, 2022. "What Affects Emotional Well-Being during Travel? Identifying the Factors by Maximal Information Coefficient," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-10, April.

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