A new wave of reporting highlights a long-running research finding.
Researchers report that people grow more emotionally mature as they age.
The finding matters for family life.
Thailand has a fast-aging population and shifting family roles.
Emotional maturity matters for health.
Longitudinal research ties everyday positive emotion to longer survival.
The Vogue article framed the public debate.
It explained emotional maturity in simple terms and cited experts (Vogue).
Researchers measured emotions over decades.
They sampled feelings five times a day across ten years in one landmark study.
The research used experience sampling to record real-time emotion.
This method reduces memory bias and gives precise daily data (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
The core result is clear.
Positive emotion became more frequent with age through most of adulthood.
The study found a peak in positive experience in the mid-60s.
The pattern then leveled or slightly declined in very old age (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
Older adults also showed more emotional stability.
Their feelings changed less from moment to moment.
The study found more mixed emotions in older adults.
People felt positive and negative states together more often as they aged.
Researchers call that mixed state “poignancy.”
They link poignancy to steadier emotional life.
The long-term data showed a survival link.
People with more frequent positive emotion tended to live longer.
The survival analysis showed a substantial effect.
Participants with higher positive emotion had a lower hazard of death over 13 years (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
That link persisted after controlling for age, sex, and ethnicity.
Physical health explained some, but not all, of the relationship.
The Vogue piece translated research for a broad audience.
It defined emotional maturity using a common three-part definition (Vogue).
The three traits are clear and practical.
They are responsibility for feelings, empathy for self and others, and truthful communication.
Vogue also offered pop culture examples.
The article named TV characters who show emotional growth or stasis (Vogue).
The reporting included a clinician’s warning on dating.
A clinical psychologist said mismatched maturity can strain relationships (Vogue).
The clinician noted common signs to watch for.
He flagged avoidance of vulnerability and the need to always win arguments.
The Vogue piece suggested that maturity can grow.
It encouraged mindfulness, journaling, and boundary work as tools (Vogue).
The long-term study supports gradual growth.
Emotional experience improved from early adulthood into late life (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
Researchers proposed a motivation-based explanation.
They argued time perspective shifts push people toward emotional goals.
That theory is socioemotional selectivity theory.
It says people value meaningful relationships more as time feels limited.
Older adults therefore invest in emotion regulation and close ties.
This shift can raise everyday positivity and reduce reactivity.
Other mechanisms may also contribute.
Changes in life roles and habituation can stabilize daily experience.
Biological factors might also play a role.
Neural or hormonal shifts can alter emotional responses with age.
The study used robust methods.
It sampled adults aged 18 to 94 over three waves across a decade (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
The sample included demographic controls.
Researchers adjusted for personality, health, and verbal fluency.
The longitudinal design addressed cohort effects.
It tracked the same people over time to measure within-person change.
The survival link raises public health questions.
If emotion affects longevity, policy can address emotion regulation.
Thailand faces demographic urgency.
The share of older adults is growing rapidly (Statista on Thailand aging).
Recent figures show about one in five Thais is over 60.
That share rose sharply in the last decade (Statista on Thailand aging).
An aging society faces new care burdens.
Emotional health affects family caregiving needs and service demand.
Emotional maturity influences intergenerational ties.
Stable emotion can ease family conflict and caregiving stress.
Buddhist values and family norms shape Thai responses.
Thai culture emphasizes filial duty and respect for elders.
Those values can help spread emotional skills.
Families already use elder advice and informal mentorship.
Thai communities also host traditional mindfulness practices.
Monastic and lay meditation traditions can support emotion regulation.
Public health can integrate traditional practices.
Health programs can pair meditation with social support and training.
Schools can play a preventive role.
Social-emotional learning can teach emotion skills early.
Early training can shape lifelong patterns.
The study shows emotional trajectories begin improving in early adulthood (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
Workplaces can adopt simple steps.
Employers can offer short mindfulness breaks and communication training.
Clinics can screen for emotional distress.
Brief happiness surveys can identify at-risk people.
The study noted that a four-item happiness measure predicted survival.
That short instrument correlated with long-term daily positive emotion (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
This suggests low-cost screening can help.
Health workers can use short tools to triage mental well-being.
Mental health services must scale up.
Thailand needs more community counseling and accessible therapy.
Training for primary care staff can help.
Doctors can learn brief behavioral interventions for emotion regulation.
Community centres can host group programs.
Peer groups can teach journaling, boundaries, and empathy.
The research offers guidance for families.
Parents can model responsibility for feelings and honest talk.
Adults can practice concrete habits at home.
Mindful breathing and brief daily journaling can help.
Couples can use simple rules.
They can set times to discuss feelings without blaming.
Schools can teach emotional vocabulary.
Children who name feelings can regulate them earlier.
Religious institutions can support programming.
Temples can host secular workshops on stress skills.
Employers can incentivize participation.
Small rewards encourage attendance in short courses.
Public media can spread simple tips.
TV and radio segments can show basic exercises.
Policymakers can fund pilot programs.
Small trials can test community emotion training in Thai provinces.
Researchers can monitor outcomes.
They can measure daily emotion using low-burden sampling.
The Carstensen team used experience sampling.
That method offers precise daily snapshots of feeling (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
Thai researchers can adapt those methods.
Mobile phones can deliver short surveys to volunteers.
Ethics and privacy must guide data use.
Researchers must protect participant data and consent.
Policy should focus on equity.
Rural and low-income Thais need equal access to programs.
Language matters in outreach.
Programs must use simple Thai and local dialects.
Cultural tailoring will improve uptake.
Local leaders can adapt content to community norms.
The research also matters for dating and social life.
Mismatches in maturity can worsen relationship stability.
Counselors can teach couple skills.
They can address avoidance and the need to be right.
Schools can include relationship literacy.
Teens can learn about boundaries and vulnerability.
Employers can offer family support.
Parental leave and flexible time can reduce relationship strain.
The study also raises research questions for Thailand.
We need local longitudinal data on emotion and health.
We need to test whether the survival link holds locally.
Thailand has different health burdens and social systems.
We need research on interventions that change daily emotion.
Randomised trials can assess whether training raises everyday positivity.
We need to measure cost-effectiveness.
Policymakers need evidence that programs yield health savings.
We need culturally adapted measures.
Happiness and poignancy items require Thai validation.
We need to include younger cohorts.
Early adulthood may be a key window for change.
We must avoid simple ageism.
Youth can have strong emotional skills and wisdom.
The research shows development, not destiny.
People can grow in maturity through practice and experience.
For Thai families the message is practical.
Invest in emotional learning at home and in community settings.
For health services the message is preventive.
Support emotional well-being to possibly reduce long-term costs.
For schools the message is curricular.
Teach social-emotional skills alongside literacy and numeracy.
For workplaces the message is humane.
Support employees with small programs that build emotional stability.
For policymakers the message is strategic.
Fund pilots and scale programs that show benefit.
For individuals the message is hopeful.
Small daily practices can improve mood and relationships.
The Vogue article helped spark public interest.
It translated research and offered actionable starting points (Vogue).
The landmark longitudinal study gives scientific grounding.
It links everyday emotion, aging, and survival (Emotional Experience Improves With Age (PMC)).
Thailand stands at a pivot point.
A rising share of older adults makes emotional health a public priority (Statista on Thailand aging).
The path is practical and affordable.
Short surveys, school lessons, workplace breaks, and community mindfulness can begin change.
The stakes include better family life and possibly longer life.
Policymakers, health leaders, and families can act now.