The Rapid Decline of Happiness: Exploring Life Satisfaction among Young People across the World

Abstract

AbstractAdolescence and early adulthood are periods of rapid physical and emotional development and coincide with important social and economic processes in the lifecycle. This group now represents a quarter of the world’s population, and the antecedents of many later-life health problems occur during this period of life. We report on the level and determinants of life satisfaction among individuals age 15–24 years across the main regions of the world and contrast these findings with those for adults age 25–59 years using Gallup World Poll data from 145 countries/territories in 2014 and 2015. We find that adolescence and youth is the age range during which life satisfaction declines most rapidly in all regions of the world, except South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Additionally, in the three regions where overall life satisfaction is lowest, MENA, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the life satisfaction gap among youth in the poorest and richest quintile is the largest, reflecting the reality that children in some of the world’s poorest countries already face adult realities and responsibilities by this age. Correlates for young people and adults are strikingly similar and include material conditions, such as financial life and food security, and noneconomic factors such as social support, health, and internet access. Differences across the life-course emerge in life satisfaction correlates of education and health, which are stronger for adults than young people.