Scientists found out who gets better with age

A large-scale study spanning a quarter of a century has yielded an encouraging conclusion: people with initially low levels of psychological well-being most often improve over time. The results have been published in the journal Nature Mental Health.

A team of researchers analyzed data from 2,420 participants in the long-term Americans' Changing Lives project, launched back in 1986. Psychological well-being was assessed across a broad spectrum of indicators: life satisfaction, emotional state, self-acceptance, sense of control over one's own life, and quality of interpersonal relationships.

In the course of their analysis, the researchers identified four characteristic trajectories. Approximately 60% of people maintained a virtually unchanged level of well-being throughout all the years. Around 30% gradually "rose" from a low starting point. Another 8% experienced a sharp decline from initially high well-being, while the remaining 2% demonstrated significant improvement in their condition but were unable to sustain it. This range of trajectories suggests that well-being is not a fixed personality trait but a dynamic variable capable of changing over time. Notably, among those who started with low well-being and pronounced symptoms of depression, improvement over time occurred in 57%.

The most powerful predictor of future changes turned out to be the baseline level itself: the lower the starting point, the higher the chances that things would get better. However, about a quarter of participants in the "stable" group remained at a consistently low level throughout all those years without noticeable shifts.

The authors of the study suggest that analyzing such trajectories could become a screening tool — helping to identify in a timely manner those who need support and selecting the most appropriate types of assistance for them. The study covered 25 years of continuous observation, which is a rarity for research in the field of psychological well-being. At the same time, these are patterns identified in large groups rather than predictions for any specific individual.