The development of subjective well-being across adulthood: A meta-analysis

Subjective well-being is often seen as one of the hallmarks of successful development and aging. Evidence from some psychological studies suggests that subjective well-being is characterized by stability or even enhancement across adulthood and into early old age, while some economists suggest that the development of subjective well-being across adulthood is best characterized as a U-shaped function. Various reasons may explain why the characterizations vary: Some researchers use cross-sectional designs that confound age and birth cohort. Moreover, studies differ in their operationalization of subjective well-being. Finally, some studies control for sociodemographic factors related to both subjective well-being and age (e.g., martial status, income, etc.), whereas others do not. All of these factors may contribute to the different findings regarding the relationship between age and subjective well-being across studies. As the literature on this topic has never undergone systematic review and quantitative integration, we aim to conduct a meta-analysis of the findings published over the past few decades in empirical papers on the development of subjective well-being across adulthood. In addition, we will write up our results for publication in a high-ranking, internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journal.