Subjective well-being—as measured by survey questions on life satisfaction, positive affect, or happiness—is a major topic of research within psychology, economics, and epidemiology. Twin studies have found that subjective well-being is genetically correlated with depression (characterized by negative affect, anxiety, low energy, bodily aches and pains, pessimism, and other symptoms) and neuroticism (a personality trait characterized by easily experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety and fear)1–3. Depression and neuroticism have received much more attention than subjective well-being in genetic-association studies, but the discovery of associated genetic variants with either of them has proven elusive4,5.
