The U-shape without controls: A response to Glenn

Citation

Blanchflower D & Oswald AJ (2009) The U-shape without controls: A response to Glenn. Commentary on: Glenn, N. (2009). Is the apparent U-shape of well-being over the life course a results of inappropriate use of control variables? A commentary on Blanchflower and Oswald (66:8, 2008, 1733–1749). Social Science & Medicine, 69(4), 481–485.. Social Science and Medicine, 69 (4), pp. 486-488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.05.022

Abstract
This paper is a continuation of results reported in our article "Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?" (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2008). It provides new evidence that well-being follows a curve through life. We use data on half a million randomly sampled individuals across eight major European nations. Importantly, we show that in this set of countries there is a U-shape even in unadjusted data, that is, without the inclusion of control variables. But we also advise against a focus on elementary bivariate associations.

Keywords
Happiness; Aging; Well-being; Mental-health; Depression; Life-course

Journal
Social Science and Medicine: Volume 69, Issue 4