US Edition'Unhappiness Hump' in Aging May Have Disappeared Worldwide
Researchers find that mental ill-being is now highest among young people and declines with age, marking a significant shift from previous midlife unhappiness peaks worldwide.
- On August 27, 2025, David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College reported in PLOS One that the midlife 'unhappiness hump' has disappeared in the United States and United Kingdom, with mental ill-being now highest among the young and declining with age.
- Amid rising distress among younger people, researchers attribute the hump's disappearance to worsening mental health, citing the Covid pandemic, social media, underfunded mental-health services and recession impacts.
- Across more than 10 million U.S. responses and Global Minds records on nearly 2 million people across 44 countries, the researchers combined CDC and Global Minds data to analyze trends from 1993 to 2024.
- Researchers warned the findings reveal a serious mental-health crisis among young people and urged more research and policy attention; earlier this month, David Sacks highlighted the U.S. crisis.
- Across countries, the pattern varies, with the shift strongest in high-income English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom and United States and weakest in regions of Africa with poor internet access; in Tanzania, only 32% of young internet users reported significant happiness compared with offline peers.
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The IndependentReposted by 
The Independent (US)
The Independent (US)The ‘unhappiness hump’ may have just disappeared
The trend has been observed since 2008
·London, United Kingdom
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'Unhappiness hump' in aging may have disappeared worldwide
A new survey-based study suggests that the "unhappiness hump"—a widely documented rise in worry, stress, and depression with age that peaks in midlife and then declines—may have disappeared, perhaps due to declining mental health among younger people. David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One.
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 33%
C 67%
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