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One of the few surveys that found no age-related difference in well-being, released last year, looked at 226 young and older adults living in the Bronx. In this most underserved borough of New York City, seniors often live with their children and grandchildren, helping with meals, picking at school, childcare, in effect acting as co -parents. There is no “age bump” in emotional well-being for them, the researchers found, in part, they concluded, because “the sample was a little more stressed than the average levels at. nationwide. ”
Even with this crucial distinction, these studies support a theory of emotional development and aging formulated by Dr. Carstensen that psychologists have debated for years. According to this view, when people are young, their goals and motivations are focused on acquiring skills and taking risks, to prepare for the opportunities that the future may offer them. You can’t tell if you’ll be able to run a business or on stage unless you give it a real chance. Do a big job for little money; tolerate awful bosses, bad landlords, friends in need: the mental obstacle course of young adults is no less taxing for being so predictable.
After middle age, people become more aware of a narrowing time horizon and, consciously or not, begin to turn to daily activities that are more pleasurable in themselves than improving themselves.
They are more likely to skip the block meeting for a block walk to the local bar or favorite bench with a friend. They admitted that the business plan hadn’t worked, that their paintings were more suited to the den than a gallery. They have come to accept themselves for who they are, rather than who they are meant to become. Even those who lost their jobs during this tragic year and are facing the prospect of re-entering the workforce – at least they know their capabilities and what work is possible.
These differences will be important to keep in mind for the near future, if only to alleviate a growing generational gap, experts say. A pandemic that began by disproportionately killing the elderly has also savagely assaulted young people, robbing them of normal school days, degrees, sports, first jobs or any real social life – and shaming them, often publicly, if they were trying to get one. . Now, in a shrinking economy, they are at the back of the vaccination line.
“I think the older generation now, as much as they have been threatened by Covid, they are starting to say, ‘My life is not as disrupted as that of my children or grandchildren,” said Dr Charles , “And this is where we now need to focus on mental wellness. “
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