The Harvard Study of Adult Development: Key Findings

The Harvard Study of Adult Development: The Key to a Happy and Healthy Life

• The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest study of adult life ever conducted, tracking the lives of 724 men for 75 years.
• The study includes two groups of men: Harvard College sophomores and boys from Boston's poorest neighborhoods.
• The study examines various aspects of the participants' lives, including work, home lives, and health.
• Over 60 of the original 724 men are still alive and participating in the study, most of them in their 90s.
• The study also includes the children of the original participants, with over 2,000 children being studied.
• The main finding of the study is that good relationships are the key to happiness and health.
• Social connections and being well connected to family, friends, and community are linked to greater happiness, better physical health, and longer lives.
• Loneliness is toxic and can lead to unhappiness, declining health, and shorter lives.
• The quality of close relationships is more important than the number of friends or being in a committed relationship.
• Living in the midst of conflict is detrimental to health, while living in good, warm relationships is protective.
• Satisfaction in relationships at age 50 is a predictor of health and happiness in old age.
• Good relationships also protect the brain, with securely attached relationships in old age being linked to sharper memory, while relationships lacking trust lead to earlier memory decline.