New research published in Evolutionary Human Sciences examines how reproduction-related variables are related to psychological well-being among women. The findings indicate that strategies that can improve women’s reproductive success do not necessarily lead to heightened happiness or satisfaction with life.
“Currently, it has become increasingly clear how the behaviors selected in our ancestral environment helped us to become what we are today and also the reasons why we still have some characteristics that will, by chance, disappear within a few (thousands) of years,” said study author Anthonieta Looman Mafra, a professor at Ibirapuera University.
“We were able to perceive with greater clarity that behavior does not come only from maternal and paternal genetic inheritance, but is modulated by the interaction of the individuals with their environment (social, cultural, environmental, historical). Well-being is essential for the good development and maintenance of the organism, but which evolutionary aspects are related to well-being?”
“A survey of evolutionary-oriented life goals indicated that people place an emphasis on long-term relationships,” Looman Mafra explained. “But most studies relating reproductive aspects and well-being were carried out in Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. So, we would like to know how Brazilian women, who are among the most anxious and depressive in the world, relate such aspects and well-being.”
In the study, 1,173 predominantly heterosexual women completed a sociodemographic questionnaire along with assessments of depression, happiness, life satisfaction, self-perceived mate value, intrasexual competition, and sociosexuality. The researchers found that women who viewed themselves as a more desirable partner but had a lower tendency towards engaging in intrasexual competition tended to have better psychological well-being.
“Women who rated themselves highly as romantic partners also rated their well-being highly,” Looman Mafra told PsyPost. “In contrast, women who compete a lot with other women had lower levels of well-being. I think it is important to emphasize this so that women try to focus on ways to feel good about themselves (for example, investing more in something that she believes to add value to her as a person, such as studying something, taking care of her body, taking care of other people) instead of stimulating competition against their peers.”
The researchers also found that older women tended to report lower levels of depression. “Depression decreased from 18 years of age until approximately age 25. Then it remained stable until around 50 years, when it fell again,” they explained. Looman Mafra and her colleagues also found that greater age was associated with greater life satisfaction and happiness.
“Although the existing social pressure focuses a lot on female beauty and most women end up being afraid of getting old, it has been seen that the level of depression tends to decrease after the age of 50,” Looman Mafra said. “Maybe age changes women’s perspective on what is important to their lives, but we would only know that through new research.”
Women also tended to have better psychological well-being when they had a relatively lower desire to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships. But “this data needs to be investigated carefully in more detail so that we can understand what exactly is behind this result,” Looman Mafra cautioned. “These women may have psychological mechanisms in which, although they wish to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships, they are not happy when their partner demonstrates an unwillingness to invest in them.”
The finding could also be the result of social norms “that encourage men to have multiple partners while discouraging women from having multiple partners. Or even something else could be behind it. We still need to address this question,” Looman Mafra said. “This result should not serve as a basis to interpret that women who have greater sociosexual desire have a lower quality of life because they should be focused on more stable long-term relationships.”
The study, “Mate value, intrasexual competition and sociosexual desire drive Brazilian women’s well-being“, was authored by Anthonieta Looman Mafra, Renata Pereira Defelipe, Marco Antonio Correa Varella, John M. Townsend, and Jaroslava Varella Valentova.