Friends matter more to children than the money their parents earn

Children’s happiness not linked to family income according to a new study of life satisfaction among 10-15 year olds and children living in Wales among the happiest in the UK.

The first ever UK study of children’s life satisfaction levels found no difference in the average life satisfaction score of children in families with lower incomes compared with those living in families with higher incomes.

The research from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, has found that children’s happiness and wellbeing is not linked to family income. A stable home life, a network of friends, a healthy lifestyle, a sense of community and good behaviour from their classmates matter more to children’s sense of well-being than their parents’ earnings.

The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, is highly relevant as the Government looks at ways of increasing the nation’s well-being and life satisfaction. The research highlights how children view their lives differently to adults and how different standards of measurement might need to be applied when looking at how to measure children’s life satisfaction.

The so-called ‘happiness index’ announced by David Cameron shortly after the general election, is a £2million a year study examining the well-being views of those over the age of 16 – so excludes children’s opinions.

Using data from Understanding Society, the UK’s biggest survey of household attitudes and lifestyles, ‘Life Satisfaction and Material Well-being of Children in the UK’ is the first body of research to examine the difference between levels of income and indicators of material wealth against questions on a whole range of influences on children’s lives today including family structures, friendships, schooling, diet and exercise.

Focussing on almost 5,000 children aged 10-15, Dr Gundi Knies found that older children, particularly girls, were among those with the lowest levels of happiness with their lives – regardless of the financial status of their parents.

However, younger girls – aged 10-12 – reported the greatest levels of happiness of all groups within the sample. The study found almost a third of children were denied an annual holiday away from home and these young people reported lower levels of life satisfaction. Unhappy children were also more likely to go to schools where they felt other children were misbehaving. Unhappy children reported they ate less than five fruit and vegetables every day but ate fast food most days. Unhappier children also spent more than an hour a day of social networking sites.

Children with strong friendships, who play sport regularly, and have daily access to the internet, had higher levels of happiness than those who did not. Happy children also tended to have their own bedroom, a bike or other leisure equipment. Children who have friends over for tea once a fortnight and those who go swimming once a month were also happier with their lives than those who did not. A sense of belonging was clearly an important influence on levels of life satisfaction. The children with lots of friends reported higher levels of happiness than those without and children with a religion were also more likely to be happier with their lives.

Children in Wales were happier than children in England. Children who lived with both their parents were happier than those living in single families and step family relationships. However, the number of siblings in a family had no direct impact on the child’s happiness levels.

Dr Knies said:

“The research suggests that a focus on just improving income and material deprivation does not necessarily represent real improvements in quality of life as it is perceived by children themselves.
A greater influence on their happiness is living with both their biological parents, having friends and leading an active healthy life.
Policies to alleviate child poverty currently focus on increasing income into a household, but for children this may not necessarily improve their life satisfaction. “

Notes to Editors:

1. Life Satisfaction and Material Well-being of Children in the UK by Dr Gundi Knies, is published as a Working Paper by the Institute for Social and Economic Research and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The research analysed responses from 4,899 youth respondents in the Wave 1 data from Understanding Society, the UK’s biggest household survey.

2. The so-called ‘happiness index’ announced by David Cameron shortly after the general election, is a £2million a year study examining the well-being views of those over the age of 16 – so excludes children’s opinions.
The Office of National Statistics has published information on measuring well-being.

Photo credit: slobikelane

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