Why aren't women happier these days?

    That's the question raised by a thought-provoking study, 'The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,' released last month. The research showed that over the past 35 years women's happiness has declined, both compared to the past and relative to men even though, by most objective measures, the lives of women in the U.S. have improved in recent decades.

    The research, by University of Pennsylvania economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, and released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found the decline in happiness to be pervasive among women across a variety of demographic groups. The researchers, for instance, measured similar declines in happiness among women who were single parents and married parents, 'casting doubt on the hypothesis that trends in marriage and divorce, single parenthood or work/family balance are at the root of the happiness declines among women,' they wrote.

    One theory for the decline in happiness is that expectations for workplace and general advancement were raised too high by the women's movement and women might 'feel inadequate for not 'having it all,'' as a Los Angeles Times columnist recently put it.

    The researchers acknowledge that's a possibility:

    'If the women's movement raised women's expectations faster than society was able to meet them,' the paper says, 'they would be more likely to be disappointed by their actual experienced lives.' But they add, things could change for the better: 'As women's expectations move into alignment with their experiences, this decline in happiness may reverse.'

    Readers, why do you think women are unhappier than in the past? Do you think that if expectations for 'having it all' were lowered to 'move into alignment with experiences,' women might be happier?

    现在女性的幸福感为什么下降了？

    五月公布的一项发人深思的调查《女性幸福感下降之诡辩》（The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness）提出了上述问题。这项研究显示，在过去的35年中，无论是纵向与过去相比，还是横向与男性相比，女性的幸福感都下降了──尽管按照大多数客观标准看，过去几十年来美国女性的生活改善了。

    这项研究由宾夕法尼亚大学经济学家史蒂文森（Betsey Stevenson）和沃尔弗斯（Justin Wolfers）进行，由美国国家经济研究局（National Bureau of Economic Research）公布。研究发现，在各类女性群体中，幸福感都普遍下降。举例来讲，研究人员发现，单身母亲和已婚母亲中幸福感的下降幅度类似；他们写道，这对一种假说提出了质疑，这种假说认为，婚姻、离婚、单身母亲或工作/家庭平衡等问题中的发展趋势是导致女性幸福感下降的根源。

    正如《洛杉矶时报》（Los Angeles Times）一位专栏作家最近所写的，关于幸福感下降的一个理论是，对工作和总体发展的期望值被妇女运动推得过高，如果没有拥有一切，女性可能就觉得有所欠缺。

    研究人员承认这是一种可能。

    研究报告说，如果妇女运动提高女性期望值的速度高于社会满足她们期望值的速度，那么她们将更有可能对实际经历的生活感到失望。不过研究人员说，形势也可能峰回路转。他们写道，随着女性期望值与自身的经历更加贴近，幸福感的下降可能会逆转。

    读者朋友们，你认为女性为什么没有过去幸福了？你认为，如果对"拥有一切"的期望值被降低到与经历相符的程度，女性是否可能更幸福？