Are smarter people happier?

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Studies on the well-being of gifted adults are rare, and the available studies are often limited by methodological shortcomings. In a longitudinal project 101 intellectually gifted adults (mean IQ = 136) were compared to 91 adults of average intelligence (mean IQ = 103). Subjective well-being was operationalized by positive and negative affectivity, general life satisfaction and satisfaction with life in specific domains (work, spouse/partner, self and friends, health, and leisure). Gifted and nongifted respondents did not differ statistically significantly in any of the components of subjective well-being. However, gifted adults reported somewhat lower satisfaction with the domain of leisure (d = −.28). In the gifted group satisfaction with the domain of work accounted for a statistically significant amount of the variance in the criterion of general life satisfaction; in the nongifted group both work and self and friends were relevant.

Source: “Giftedness and subjective well-being: A study with adults” from Learning and Individual Differences, Volume 21, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 182-186