Children's happiness is far more strongly influenced by family
conflict than by factors such as living in a single parent household,
according to the findings of a study published today.
Research by the Children's Society showed 7% of children aged
between 10 and 15 in England - around 300,000 - are "significantly"
unhappy, with family rows a major cause of dissatisfaction with life.
Children who report that their family "gets along well together" are
on average around 20% happier than those who do not, regardless of
whether they have a lone parent, or step-families, or live with both
birth parents, the study found.
The impact of family conflict on children's well-being far
outstripped family structure, with a child in a lone parent household
2% unhappier than one living with both birth parents, the report found.
The study of the views of nearly 7,000 children, carried out in
collaboration with the University of York, found the vast majority were
happy, placing themselves above the mid-point measure on a happiness
scale ranked from one to 10.
But the research showed that of the 6,744 children interviewed in
year six, the final year of primary school and years eight and 10 of
secondary school, an average of two in every class were unhappy.
The 7% of "significantly" unhappy children amounted to 140,000 out
of the 1.8 million children in the three year groups, or 300,000 if all
10 to 15 year olds were counted, the charity said.
The survey, carried out by Ipsos Mori between April and July 2008,
asked children to give a score out of 10 on a happiness scale to a
series of aspects of their lives.
The highest average marks - of nearly nine out of 10 - were given for happiness with home, friends and family.
The highest levels of unhappiness were recorded in areas of
appearance and confidence, with 17.5% saying they were unhappy with
their looks, and 16% unhappy with their confidence. Almost twice as
many girls were unhappy with their appearance as boys.
Nearly 14% were unhappy about the area they live in and just over
13% about the school they attend, with nearly 12% unhappy about their
school work.
Almost 11% said they were unhappy with the amount of choice they
have in life and 10.5% unhappy about the amount of freedom they have.
Just over 10% were unhappy about what may happen to them later in life.
The average "well-being" score was 7.7 out of 10, the study found.
But happiness levels fell as children got older, with average
happiness scores falling from around eight out of 10 in the last year
of primary school to around 7.4 for young people aged 14 to 15 years
old.
Between these age groups, happiness with many aspects of life such
as family relationships and school also fell but happiness with
friendships remained stable.
Boys tended to be happier than girls with the gap in well being increasing with age, the research found.
Among the 14 to 15 year old age group, girls' average well-being was 7.2 out of 10 compared with 7.6 for boys.
The findings have been released a year on from the publication of
the Good Childhood Inquiry, a landmark independent report into modern
childhood commissioned by the Children's Society.
The charity said the aim of the research project, believed to be the
biggest of its kind, was to create a "well-being index" to inform and
measure the impact of public policy and track changes in children's
happiness.
Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, said:
"This ground-breaking study is a major step forward in our efforts to
understand and enhance the well-being of young people.
"It shows the vast majority of our children are happy, but it is a
major concern that two children in every classroom are unhappy, and
that so many are insecure about their appearance and confidence.
"Family conflict emerges in this study as a major cause of childhood
unhappiness, and so it is vital that families can get the sort of
family mediation and counselling the Children's Society offers to help
them resolve and avoid conflicts.
"This report is a stark reminder that our actions as adults can have
a profound impact on our children's well-being and the importance of
listening to what children are telling us."
Survey co-author Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, of the University of
York, said: "This survey makes a major contribution to our
understanding of children's subjective well-being in England and the
factors that contribute to it.
"It also establishes a valuable benchmark that we can use to track changes in well-being over time."
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