Happiness Gap between more and less educated Americans

[StephanieZ]

I thought this article provides some interesting insights into the oft-discussed pros/cons of higher education.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/06/not-only-are-americans-becoming-less-happy-were-experiencing-more-pain-too/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_wonk-happiness-9am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.6fe88310d97f

 

A pertinent chart:

 

 

 

 

[BarbecueMom]

There's a happiness spike for everyone around the time my mom graduated high school. She claims it's because everyone was stoned out of their gourd.

[OrganicJen]

There's a happiness spike for everyone around the time my mom graduated high school. She claims it's because everyone was stoned out of their gourd.

Lol...she may be right.

[Laura Corin]

I wonder whether the pain statistics might be related to BMI.  The US, Australia and the UK are not thin places, and I certainly ache when I carry more weight.

[KungFuPanda]

How do you control for ‘pain worth complaining about?’ That seems subjective. Is it possible that one culture would have sympathy for someone complaining of a headache while another culture would be conditioned to save their complaints for more more problematic types of pain? Are there cultures where complaining itself is more acceptable?

 

I was raised in a little cultural pocket where complaining about ANYTHING wasn’t encouraged unless you were bleeding to death, then I was in the Army where complaining is REALLY discouraged. It took me a while to adjust to what seemed like a world of whiners and realize I was the outlier.

 

We have the internet now and that seems to make everyone more vocal in their complaints because they know they can find a team to back them up. We didn’t have that 30-40 years ago.

[Crimson Wife]

It would be useful to control for income when comparing less-educated vs. more-educated. Because a college graduate who is struggling financially is likely to be more unhappy than a well-off H.S. graduate. The problem is a lack of financial resources, not a lack of formal education

 

 

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[creekland]

I suspect it's related to money more than education. The wealthy are getting more of the wealth pie.  The poor aren't.  Those who can afford the basics (including health care) are likely to have less stress and with that, more happiness.  Those who are working two jobs trying (unsuccessfully) to make ends meet aren't likely to rate their happiness scale at a three and are quite likely to be in more pain both from their jobs and inability to treat it.

 

It won't be a perfect correlation - nothing ever is - but overall, the line of fit would match what I see.

 

Lest anyone out there say no one is really working two jobs to unsuccessfully make ends meet... yes, there are folks like that.  I talked with the offspring of one of these ladies a couple of days ago.  When I asked him how his Thanksgiving went, he shrugged, so I moved on to asking what he was hoping for for Christmas.  The lad replied, "food."  Guidance is working on the situation trying to find a long term fix for them.  (I checked.)  Fixes are not always easy.

[OrganicJen]

I suspect it's related to money more than education. The wealthy are getting more of the wealth pie. The poor aren't. Those who can afford the basics (including health care) are likely to have less stress and with that, more happiness. Those who are working two jobs trying (unsuccessfully) to make ends meet aren't likely to rate their happiness scale at a three and are quite likely to be in more pain both from their jobs and inability to treat it.

 

It won't be a perfect correlation - nothing ever is - but overall, the line of fit would match what I see.

 

Lest anyone out there say no one is really working two jobs to unsuccessfully make ends meet... yes, there are folks like that. I talked with the offspring of one of these ladies a couple of days ago. When I asked him how his Thanksgiving went, he shrugged, so I moved on to asking what he was hoping for for Christmas. The lad replied, "food." Guidance is working on the situation trying to find a long term fix for them. (I checked.) Fixes are not always easy.

That's a good point, I have 2 doctoral degrees but I'm very unhappy about what will happen with our healthcare next year and it causes me a ton of stress.

[SKL]

Much of it may relate to the ageing baby boomer bubble.

 

As far as education - the ability to successfully complete a lot of school is related to skills and personality traits that also correlate with happiness.

[nixpix5]

I suspect it's related to money more than education. The wealthy are getting more of the wealth pie. The poor aren't. Those who can afford the basics (including health care) are likely to have less stress and with that, more happiness. Those who are working two jobs trying (unsuccessfully) to make ends meet aren't likely to rate their happiness scale at a three and are quite likely to be in more pain both from their jobs and inability to treat it.

 

It won't be a perfect correlation - nothing ever is - but overall, the line of fit would match what I see.

 

Lest anyone out there say no one is really working two jobs to unsuccessfully make ends meet... yes, there are folks like that. I talked with the offspring of one of these ladies a couple of days ago. When I asked him how his Thanksgiving went, he shrugged, so I moved on to asking what he was hoping for for Christmas. The lad replied, "food." Guidance is working on the situation trying to find a long term fix for them. (I checked.) Fixes are not always easy.

I suspect it is tied to income more as well. There are so many factors that the direct correlation falls apart when you start teasing them out. We cannot forget too the type of person that goes to college and makes it all the way through. Looking at a bell curve, those people are able to delay gratification, make more frugal choices if paying their way, do the hard work of long study hours and so forth...in general, people that tend to complain less and be more "glass half full" types in general. That is just one piece to consider out of many. Edited December 6, 2017 by nixpix5

[Elizabeth86]

How do you control for ‘pain worth complaining about?’ That seems subjective. Is it possible that one culture would have sympathy for someone complaining of a headache while another culture would be conditioned to save their complaints for more more problematic types of pain? Are there cultures where complaining itself is more acceptable?

 

I was raised in a little cultural pocket where complaining about ANYTHING wasn’t encouraged unless you were bleeding to death, then I was in the Army where complaining is REALLY discouraged. It took me a while to adjust to what seemed like a world of whiners and realize I was the outlier.

 

We have the internet now and that seems to make everyone more vocal in their complaints because they know they can find a team to back them up. We didn’t have that 30-40 years ago.

:lol: this is like my dh. His parents didn't allow them to complain or cry and then he became a Marine so he has no tolerance for complainers and I'm the worlds biggest belly-acher. I'm not sure how or why we found each other. :lol:

[Rosie_0801]

Bingo.

 

As a hyper educated poor person, what makes me happy isn't knowing a lot of stuff, it's having $ in my purse. 

 

(Actually, knowing stuff does make me happy, but my happiness is enhanced by $.)

 

Definitely $, lol. I can have enough money. The education habit creates discontent for me. There is always something I wish I knew but I don't yet and may or may not be able to learn.

[gardenmom5]

is the difference education - or income and worrying (or not) about basic expenses - like rent?

[Ausmumof3]

I don't know. I know someone who was volunteering teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills to people with mental illness (people that were affected to the point of being homeless etc.). She felt that they left happier. They were no longer ruminating on whatever their stuff was but were thinking about something else mentally challenging.

 

I think this is one of the points of classical education. Not just functional skills but stocking the mind with a good store of stuff the think about it. From that viewpoint I can see education working to increase happiness. You always have something interesting to think about.

 

Of course the respect thing could help too. I'm not sure about income because often trades and self employed have as good or better income than uni graduates where I live.