Abstract Do close family relations lead to a happy life? Is early and later conflict between and with parents linked to experiencing lower life satisfaction in adulthood? Following a life course approach, this study explores the relevance of past and present child–parent relations for lifelong happiness. The data are drawn from SwissGen, a representative study of adults living in Switzerland and their relationships with their living or deceased parents. The influences of intra- and intergenerational relationships in childhood and adulthood on life satisfaction in later life were estimated by means of ordinary least square regressions. The analyses show that children who experience conflicts between and with their parents from childhood onward also experience lower life satisfaction, whereas having affectionate and close relations with their mothers and fathers is linked to their greater happiness in adulthood. Although finances, partnership and health can reduce the effects of family relations, consistently close or burdensome child–parent relationships still play a prominent role in lifelong happiness.

Abstract While research on non-standard scheduling has grown in recent decades, less attention has been paid to its broader category—precarious hourly employment. Utilizing longitudinal U.S. Current Population Survey data (2017–2024), this study investigates racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to low-waged hourly work, the mechanisms behind these disparities, and their financial impacts. We find that workers of color, except Asians, are at heightened risk of low-waged hourly employment. A large proportion of this disparity remains unexplained by our models, suggesting underlying discrimination or structural inequalities, with some variation by race and gender. Among the mediated/indirect effects, underrepresentation in college degree holders and managerial/professional roles explain most of the disparity. Our counterfactual causal estimation also demonstrates that precarious hourly employment significantly reduces compensable work hours and earnings per hour, thus potentially affecting nonwhite workers disproportionately and exacerbating racial inequalities in the workplace.

Abstract In times of polycrisis, such as COVID-19, the Russian war against Ukraine, and inflation, fear and uncertainties challenge many people. While the impact of the pandemic on subjective well-being was thoroughly studied, the medium-term effects and impacts of more recent crises are still to be observed. Based on the first five waves of the bi-annual (and once tri-annual) large-scale panel FReDA, we show the trend of life satisfaction over 16 time points between April 2021 and January 2023. In addition, we conduct fixed effects and random effects for five subwaves. Results reveal a mostly increasing level of life satisfaction, with setbacks during times of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war. These setbacks also result from restrictions during the pandemic and a higher consumer price index. In a comparison between groups that differentiate between household incomes, the lowest income tercile is particularly affected by crises. Risk factors are unemployment or a bad financial situation. Having children and being in a committed relationship exhibited protective factors. We further observed that the rise in inflation widens the happiness gap so that single parents are disadvantaged. Our research design proved the high potential of combining a higher-frequency panel with monthly information within a wave. As the first study applying this with FReDA data, it paves the way for future analyses of short-term fluctuation with panel data. Our findings on the discontinuity of life satisfaction in times of polycrisis point out that a monitoring of future trends, vulnerable groups, and policy support is indispensable.

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between divorce and mental health, with a focus on how this association is stratified by sex, age, and individual income. In particular, we test the hypothesis that divorce at advanced ages (50–59) is particularly harmful for women with insufficient personal earnings. Data is drawn from German register data, which includes marital histories of divorcees and diagnosed health outcomes. The analytical sample includes persons aged 30–59 in 2015 (n = 23,426,639). The outcome is the annual incidence of mental disease diagnosis which is examined from an intersectional approach by drawing on MAIHDA (Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy). Our findings indicate that women are at a higher risk of receiving a mental health diagnosis than men. Divorce significantly amplifies this risk. Additionally, low income poses a heightened risk for both women and men, particularly when divorce occurs at advanced ages.

Abstract This study examines how major life events influence subjective well-being, focusing on differences between life satisfaction and momentary affect. Using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data from a nationally representative panel of adults aged 50 and older, we analyze responses to significant life events, including health issues, financial shocks, and bereavements. Participants reported their wellbeing during baseline “random bursts” and subsequent “triggered bursts” following life events. Results reveal that while life satisfaction exhibits significant changes in response to these events, momentary affect remains largely unaffected, with smaller or statistically insignificant effects. Notably, the impacts of participant age and the day of the week on momentary affect exceeded those of life events. These findings support the “focusing hypothesis,” suggesting that while life satisfaction may adapt to significant circumstances, day-to-day emotional experiences are more resilient.

Abstract Unemployment in early career stages has been found to have lasting negative effects on future careers. The culture of worklessness theory attributes these after-effects to a decreasing intrinsic work motivation during unemployment. However, empirical evidence regarding the impact of prolonged unemployment on the intrinsic work motivation of young people is scarce. Drawing on a sample of young adults who were interviewed twice—once at the beginning of an unemployment spell and again one year later—we examine how intrinsic work motivation changed during this period. We use change score models to estimate the effects of unemployment duration, re-employment status, and—for those re-employed—the quality of the new job. In contrast to the culture of worklessness theory, but in line with Jahoda’s theory of latent deprivation, we find that longer unemployment durations induce an overall increase in intrinsic work motivation—especially for those who were no longer unemployed at the time of the second interview and whose new jobs were of higher intrinsic quality than the previous ones. Our findings challenge the idea that prolonged unemployment feeds a self-reinforcing circle of demotivation, highlighting instead the need for intrinsically motivating jobs for young people.