Happiness can be inherited, research finds
You can't buy happiness but it looks
like you can at least inherit it, British and Australian researchers said on
Thursday.
A study of nearly 1,000 pairs of
identical and non-identical twins found genes control half the personality
traits that make people happy while factors such as relationships, health and
careers are responsible for the rest of our well-being.
"We found that around half the
differences in happiness were genetic," said Tim Bates, a researcher at
the
The researchers asked the volunteers --
ranging in age from 25 to 75 -- a series of questions about their personality,
how much they worried and how satisfied they were with their lives.
Because identical twins share the same
genes and fraternal twins do not, the researchers could identify common genes
that result in certain personality traits and predispose people to happiness.
People who are sociable, active,
stable, hardworking and conscientious tend to be happier, the researchers
reported in the journal Psychological Science.
"What this study showed was that
the identical twins in a family were very similar in personality and in
well-being, and by contrast, the fraternal twins were only around half as
similar," Bates said. "That strongly implicates genes."
The findings are an important piece of
the puzzle for researchers trying to better understand depression and what
makes different people happy or unhappy, Bates said.
People with positive inherited
personality traits may, in effect, also have a reserve of happiness to draw on
in stressful times, he said.
"An important implication is that
personality traits of being outgoing, calm and reliable provide a resource, we
called it 'affective reserve,' that drives future happiness" Bates said.
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