Children living with a lone parent are as happy as those with 2

A previous study I read found that children who are very happy in childhood tend to be less happy than others in adulthood. I guess because they didn't learn to cope with challenges.

Of course, too much unhappiness is definitely harmful.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-04/bsa-clw042414.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Apr-2014

Contact: Tony Trueman
British Sociological Association

Children living with a lone parent are as happy as those with 2

Children living with a step-parent or a lone parent are as happy as those living with two biological parents, the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Leeds heard today [Thursday 24 April].

In a major UK study on wellbeing, researchers from NatCen Social Research analysed data from the Millennium Cohort Study on 12,877 children aged seven in 2008 and found no significant difference in happiness.

Whether the children lived with two biological parents, a step-parent and biological parent, or in a single parent family, made no difference to how they rated their happiness: 64% said they were happy 'sometimes or never', and 36% said they were 'happy all the time'.

Even when the researchers statistically removed the effects of other factors such as parental social class so that the effects of family type were isolated, the results showed no significant differences.

Jenny Chanfreau, Senior Researcher at NatCen, told the conference that, in contrast, relationships with parents and other children were strongly linked with how likely the seven-year-olds were to be happy. For instance, factors such as getting on well with siblings and not being bullied at school were associated with being happy all the time.

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Ms Chanfreau told the conference: "We found that the family type had no significant effect on the happiness of the seven-year-olds or the 11-15 year olds.

"It's the quality of the relationships in the home that matters – not the family composition. Getting on well with siblings, having fun with the family at weekends, and having a parent who reported rarely or never shouting when the child was naughty, were all linked with a higher likelihood of being happy all the time among seven-year olds.

"Pupil relations at school are also important – being bullied at school or being 'horrible' to others was strongly associated with lower happiness in the seven-year-olds, for instance."

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