I was fascinated by David Brooks' editorial (NYTimes 5/12, A23) on an article entitled "What Makes Us Happy?" by Joshua Wolf Shenk, to be published in this next issue of the Atlantic. In short, the article (now available on line) describes a longitudinal study done by one George Vaillant over a 42-year period on a group of 268 of the most promising young men of the Harvard class of 1942. Among them were John F. Kennedy and Ben Bradlee.
These young men were the creme de la creme: they were intelligent, sophisticated, advantaged in every way. They had been selected from the rest of the entering class because they were considered the most well adjusted. Since they were college sophomores, they have been visited by researchers regularly and studied in every aspect of their living. The results are known as the Grant Study, and they are summarized in Shenk's article, which I have not as yet had a chance to read--but eagerly await.
Judging from their privileged beginnings, one might expect that these men would grow into highly successful, happy individuals. The life stories, however, show quite a different outcome. Brooks points out that one third of the men ended up suffering at least one bout of mental illness. Many would be plagued with alcoholism. A few, understandably, could never admit that they were gay, until they were of an advanced age. Brooks is struck, he says, by "the baffling variety of their lives." What causes us to make certain decisions, to follow life-giving as opposed to destuctive paths? And a man who seems to do well in one phase of his life might just fall apart in the next phase. Why?
The study apparently produced some correlations. Correlations don't prove, but they do suggest. The men by and large did better as they aged. Those who suffered from depression were much more likely to be dead by their early 60's. But it's George Valliant's final conclusion that is the most profound and the most instructive to us all. In a video he says, "Happiness is love. Full Stop."
Ironically enough, love always seemed to elude Valliant himself, Brooks reports. When he was 10, his father, who seemed successful and content, shot himself beside the family pool. The mother removed the children from the house, and Valliant never saw the house again. There was no memorial service. Valliant married three times, returning then to his second wife. For long periods he was estranged from his children.
Brooks concludes, poignantly, "Even when we know something, it is hard to make it so."
Yes, this is true. But I have a response to this statement. Stay tuned for my next reflection.
Share this