男人四十 幸福遠去？

男人四十 幸福遠去？
Why the late-30s are a man's misery years

Men in their late-30s and early 40s are the least content all of us

Some might say that all they have to worry about is getting to work on time and the onset of a little middle-aged spread.

But men in their late-30s and early-40s are the least content of all of us, it seems.

Whether they are mourning the passing of their prime or struggling to cope with the demands of a job and their kids, those aged 35-44 invariably hit a mid-life crisis when their happiness level plunges lower than at any other age, according to a study for the Government.

It makes them the least satisfied members of society, scoring well below teenagers, the elderly - and women of all ages.

Researchers found that it takes men until they reach the age of 65 to start enjoying life as much as they did in their late-teens and early-20s.

More than 1,600 people were asked to score their wellbeing on a scale of one to ten in the study, part of the British Market Research Bureau survey of Britons' attitudes towards themselves.

The overall average satisfaction level for both sexes was 7.3.

Most men rated their carefree teenage years between the age of 16-24 as one of their happiest periods, with an average score of 7.55 out of ten.

But halfway through their careers, satisfaction levels dipped to a low of 6.8, only rising again to nearly 7.8 once they had crested retirement age.

The report found that women are less buoyant in their teens than men, rating their wellbeing at 7.3 out of ten.

Women said their worst years were between the age of 25 and 34, when most are coping with young children, but their wellbeing rose steadily as they got older, reaching a peak satisfaction level of 7.65 when over the age of 65.

Researchers found that most people rated their time at university as the best years of their life, closely followed by their retirement years.

The biggest difference between the sexes was in the contentment of those not working, with women far happier than men to stay at home.

Overall, 74 per cent of the UK population reported that they feel positive about themselves.

But women are more likely to fret, with almost half admitting that they worry a lot, compared to less than a third of men.
有些人可能會說他們得爲按時上班和中年發福而擔心。

但近40歲和40歲出頭的男人可能是我們當中最“慘”的。

據爲英國政府開展的一項調查顯示，無論他們是在感嘆青春已逝還是正爲工作和養育幼子而奔波忙碌，35歲至44歲之間的男人總是會遭遇中年危機，他們此時的幸福度比其它任何年齡段的都要低。

這使他們成爲社會中最不幸福的人羣，這一人羣的幸福度得分遠低於青少年、老年人和各個年齡段的女性羣體。

研究人員發現，男人得到65歲才能開始重獲十幾歲和20歲出頭時的快樂。

研究人員讓1600多人對他們的幸福度進行評分，分值範圍爲1至10分。該調查是英國市場調查局有關英國人人生態度調查的一部分。

男性和女性的總體平均幸福度爲7.3分。

大多數男性認爲，16至24歲這幾年無憂無慮的青少年時光是他們最快樂的時期之一，這一時期的幸福度平均分爲7.55分。

但到了中年，他們的幸福度跌至6.8分，直到退休，才重新升至近7.8分。

調查報告顯示，女性在青少年階段不如男性快樂，女性這一階段的幸福度平均分爲7.3分。

女性認爲，25歲至34歲這一階段是她們最苦的幾年。在這一階段，大多數女性得照顧孩子。但她們的幸福感隨着年齡的增長而穩步上升，並在65歲後達到頂峯，幸福度分值爲7.65分。

調查發現，大多數人認爲大學幾年是他們一生中最美好的時光，其次是退休後。

男性和女性最大的差別是對於不工作的滿意度，女性比男性更樂於呆在家裏。

總體來看，74%的英國人對於自己的人生持積極態度。

但女性更容易操心，近一半的女性承認她們操心很多事，而男性的這一比例則不到三分之一。