Overview
- The peer‑reviewed study, published Thursday in the journal Emotion, found older adults reported fewer and less intense recent regrets than younger adults.
- Across ages, people listed a similar number of long‑term regrets, yet older adults felt less anger and frustration when thinking about those past mistakes.
- Regret type shifted with age, as younger adults more often regretted actions they took and older adults more often regretted missed chances.
- Younger adults described plans to fix or change decisions linked to regret, while older adults leaned more on acceptance and meaning‑making.
- The findings come from a survey of 90 U.S. adults ages 21 to 89 who rated emotions, perceived control, and coping, and the authors cautioned that the small, less diverse sample and possible generational effects require larger follow‑up studies.