Source: ABC News Online

Researchers at Victoria's Deakin University say people who care for disabled relatives are the most unhappy demographic surveyed in an ongoing project about Australia's wellbeing.

Psychology Professor Bob Cummins has been measuring the happiness of the Australian population for more than six years.

He says carers have the lowest wellbeing rating because they have to curtail all their prospects and social interactions.

"All of their normal life has to revolve around the care of somebody else and this is just extremely draining," he said.

Professor Cummins says young carers are the most unhappy because they are seriously deprived of opportunities, but they get more content as they age.

"You can't as easily engage in social contacts, you can't overnight somewhere else and so on, and it may well also compromise you in your employment," he said.

Professor Cummins says most carers are clinically depressed, meaning they use lot of community resources and are not very productive, so he says the government should help them financially and invest more in respite services.

But Professor Cummins says by the time people reach their 50s and 60s they are more content.

"They engage in thought processes that are more tied to their reality than people are at the age of 20, when they're still imagining a life that's full of all sorts of wonderful things," he said.