Are women getting unhappier?

ChoiceMaureen Dowd, a New York Times columnist, has written an interesting piece this week on the state of women’s happiness. While prosperity may have made men happier, and this happiness seems to increase over their lifespan, the opposite seems to take place for women. Their level of happiness peaks earlier, and gets lower as the years roll on. Could it be that our society, that places so much emphasis on appearance is the cause? Is the staggering range of choice in this heterogeneous world responsible for decision anxiety which leads to stress and unhappiness?