男人四十 幸福远去？

男人四十 幸福远去？
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.
有些人可能会说他们得为按时上班和中年发福而担心。

但近40岁和40岁出头的男人可能是我们当中最“惨”的。

据为英国政府开展的一项调查显示，无论他们是在感叹青春已逝还是正为工作和养育幼子而奔波忙碌，35岁至44岁之间的男人总是会遭遇中年危机，他们此时的幸福度比其它任何年龄段的都要低。

这使他们成为社会中最不幸福的人群，这一人群的幸福度得分远低于青少年、老年人和各个年龄段的女性群体。

研究人员发现，男人得到65岁才能开始重获十几岁和20岁出头时的快乐。

研究人员让1600多人对他们的幸福度进行评分，分值范围为1至10分。该调查是英国市场调查局有关英国人人生态度调查的一部分。

男性和女性的总体平均幸福度为7.3分。

大多数男性认为，16至24岁这几年无忧无虑的青少年时光是他们最快乐的时期之一，这一时期的幸福度平均分为7.55分。

但到了中年，他们的幸福度跌至6.8分，直到退休，才重新升至近7.8分。

调查报告显示，女性在青少年阶段不如男性快乐，女性这一阶段的幸福度平均分为7.3分。

女性认为，25岁至34岁这一阶段是她们最苦的几年。在这一阶段，大多数女性得照顾孩子。但她们的幸福感随着年龄的增长而稳步上升，并在65岁后达到顶峰，幸福度分值为7.65分。

调查发现，大多数人认为大学几年是他们一生中最美好的时光，其次是退休后。

男性和女性最大的差别是对于不工作的满意度，女性比男性更乐于呆在家里。

总体来看，74%的英国人对于自己的人生持积极态度。

但女性更容易操心，近一半的女性承认她们操心很多事，而男性的这一比例则不到三分之一。