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Downturn down under : Mapping the decline of happiness among emerging adults in Australia
McMillan, Nathan Smith, Jonathan
McMillan, Nathan
Smith, Jonathan
Author
Abstract
Using data from the ‘Social Futures and Life Pathways of Young People in Queensland’ project, we analysed happiness among a group of young Australians from the ages of 14–26. Over this time, our findings suggest a linear decrease in happiness. Potential correlating factors were then explored at the following three pivotal points: mid-high school (aged 14–15), during the transition to tertiary education and early workforce entry (aged 19–20) and at the onset of formative career development and greater financial independence (25–26 years). Results show that educational attainment, relationship formation, earning capacity and confidence in the future are central to happiness throughout this period. Our findings imply that milestones traditionally associated with adulthood continue to play a significant role in the happiness of young Australians. Our findings underscore the importance of providing better support for the overall well-being of emerging adults as they navigate this complex life stage.
Keywords
happiness, adolescence, youth, young adulthood, emerging adulthood, transition, well-being, aspirations
Date
2025
Type
Journal article
Journal
Young
Book
Volume
Issue
Page Range
1-20
Article Number
ACU Department
Non-faculty
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© 2025 The Author(s).
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).