Khaberni - Searching for the secrets of a happy life may take a lifetime, and here is the longest study in the world on happiness, which started 88 years ago, still going strong.
In 1938, scientists at Harvard University launched a study to compare the lives of two groups of young people: the first, outstanding students at Harvard, including future president John F. Kennedy, and the second, a deprived group of teenagers from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Boston during the Great Depression.
Over the decades, the study expanded to include women and children, becoming the longest and most comprehensive study ever on adult life, with an unprecedented low dropout rate, and multiple generations of scientists who have maintained the continuity of the research.
After eight decades, with hundreds of research papers, surveys, medical exams, and personal interviews, researchers have revealed the most important factors that predict health and well-being in later life.
The big surprise: It wasn’t wealth, fame, hard work, intelligence, or good genes that dictate a happy life, but close relationships.
About 30 years ago, the team began to notice that those who were most satisfied with their family and social relationships in midlife were healthier when they reached their eighties, less prone to illness, and more capable of recovery.
Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, the current director of the study, said in a TED Talks series in 2023: "We couldn't believe the data at first. How could relationships penetrate our bodies and affect our health?"
The studies also showed that social isolation and feelings of loneliness increase the risk of premature death by more than 25%, and may affect brain functions and structure. But the quality is more important than the quantity: deep and satisfying relationships have a greater impact than simply surrounding oneself with a large number of people.
In a peer-reviewed study in 2010, it was found that older individuals who were satisfied with their marriages were more able to withstand the stresses associated with poor health, while unsatisfactory relationships were a factor that increased unhappiness.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development remains a unique source of scientific wisdom on happiness, affirming that strong social relationships are one of the key elements of a long, healthy, and meaningful life.
The study, now entering its ninth decade, plans to continue its journey and add new data to enable people to live healthier and more purposeful lives, remaining a true source of inspiration and hope for everyone.
