mit-licenseReyes-García, Victoria2025-04-292024-09-232024-09-23https://datakatalogi.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/6582Subjective well-being (SWB) is often described as being U-shaped over adulthood, declining to a midlife slump then improving thereafter. Improved SWB in later adulthood has been considered a paradox given age-related declines in health and social losses. While SWB has mostly been studied in high-income countries, it remains largely unexplored in rural subsistence populations lacking formal institutions that reliably promote social welfare. Here, we evaluate the age profile of SWB among: three small-scale subsistence societies (n=468; Study 1), forest-users from 23 low-income countries (n=6,987; Study 2), and Tsimane' horticulturalists (n=1,872; Study 3). Across multiple specifications, we find variability in SWB age profiles. In some cases we find no age-related differences in SWB, or even inverted-U shapes. Adjusting for confounders reduces observed age effects. Our findings highlight variability in average well-being trajectories over the life course. Ensuring successful aging will require greater focus on cultural and socioecological determinants of individual trajectories.life satisfactionSubjective Well-beingU-shapeHappinesssoftware