Post on 28-Jan-2023
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY? Determinants of adjustment and well-being for pre-adolescent Chinese children
XUAN LI
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
IACCP 2014 ·REIMS, FRANCE
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Background
Child adjustment as centre of developmental psychology research: from pathology to well-being
Subjective well-being; life satisfaction; happiness
“Deficiency” assumption for research on child development in the majority world
Focus on aged population and adolescents; limited research on younger children
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Aim
Overall adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent children in China
Correlates of self-reported psychopathology, life satisfaction and happiness
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Sample
Nanjing, southeast China
N=1341, 50.63 % boys
School recruitment
Child age M = 11.53 yrs, SD = .85 yrs
Mother age M = 36.79 yrs, SD = 3.42 yrs
edu: 42.1% >=senior high school
Father age = 39.24 yrs, SD = 3.82 yrs
edu: 55.3% >= senior high school
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Measures
Demographics:
parent age, education, income
Parenting:
Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire: Child version (father & mother)(Rohner & Khaleque, 2004)
(Subscales: Warmth/Affection; Hostility/Aggression; Indifference/Neglect; Undifferentiated rejection)
(cross-culturally validated)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Measures
Child outcome:
Personality Assessment Questionnaire(Rohner & Khaleque, 2004)
(Subscales: Hostility/Aggression; Dependence; Negative self-esteem; Negative self-efficacy; Emotional unresponsiveness; Emotional instability; Negative world view)
Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Children (Huebner, 1994)
(Subscales: Family/Friends/School/Environment/Self) (cross-culturally validated)
Child Happiness Scale (Ofstede, 2012)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Overall adjustment, life satisfaction and happiness
Psychopathology
PAQ: M=86.97, SD=15.90
(< U.S. peers; M=94, SD=15; Rohner & Khaleque, 2005)
Life satisfaction
MLSSC: M=133.74, SD=15.03
(> HK peers; M=122.12, SD=15.31; Chang et al., 2003)
Happiness:
M=3.11, SD=.23 (Range: 1.68-4.25; midpoint = 2.88; Ofstede, 2012)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Boys versus Girls
Psychopathology: Boys > Girls (t(1131)= -2.933, p<.01)
Life satisfaction: Boys < Girls (t(1046)= 2.446, p<.01)
Happiness: Boys = Girls (p>.05)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Boys versus Girls
Psychopathology: Boys > Girls (t(1131)= -2.933, p<.01)
Hostility/Aggression: Boys > Girls (t(1290)= -3.521, p<.01)
Emotional unresponsiveness: Boys > Girls (t(1268)= -3.070, p<.01)
Emotional instability: Boys > Girls (t(1285)= -2.021, p<.01)
Life satisfaction: Boys < Girls (t(1046)=2.446, p<.01)
Happiness: Boys = Girls (p>.05)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Boys versus Girls
Psychopathology: Boys > Girls (t(1131)= -2.933, p<.01)
Life satisfaction: Boys < Girls (t(1046)= 2.446, p<.01)
Friends: Boys < Girls (t(1214)= 2.161, p<.05)
School: Boys < Girls (t(1252)= 3.750, p<.01)
Environment: Boys < Girls (t(1215)= 4.175, p<.01)
Happiness: Boys = Girls (p>.05)
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Intercorrelation among constructs
Psychopathology - Happiness; Life Satisfaction + Happiness
Psychopathology vs Happiness
Boys Girls
Hostility/Aggression -.342** -.467**
Dependence -.034** -.052**
Negative Self-esteem -.470** -.524**
Negative Self-Adequacy -.395** -.362**
Emotional Unrespons. -.428** -.491**
Emotional Unstability -.490** -.490**
Negative world View -.536** -.606**
Life Satisfaction vs Happiness
Boys Girls
Family .369** .436**
Friends .435** .459**
School .389** .451**
Living Environment .392** .436**
Self .360** .389**
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Results: Parental influences
For both boys and girls…
1. Parental income, education and child age have no significant or very weak correlation to child outcome.
2. Parenting styles have medium/strong related to child outcome (r=.39-.58).
3. Parenting styles explains large proportions of variances in child psychopathology, life satisfaction and child happiness.
4. Parenting styles influence children’s adjustment, life satisfaction and happiness through their contribution to children’s self-concept.
5. Mother’s parenting style have larger contribution to child outcomes than father’s parenting style, apart from boys’ adjustment and happiness and girls’ satisfaction of selves.
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Discussion
Chinese children: mentally healthy and happy
Children’s life enriched by extrafamilial activities
Parents’ contribution to children’s adjustment and well-being: father’s and mother’s roles
Higher correlation between psychopathology/life satisfaction with happiness among girls
Children’s everyday experiences: boys’ lower satisfaction but equal happiness
WHAT MAKES CHILDREN HAPPY?Adjustment and well-being of pre-adolescent Chinese children
Limitations
Validity of measures (lack of standardization; different factor structures)
Cross-sectional design
Need for inclusion of extra-familial factors
Future directions
Boys’ and girls’ subjective experiences (e.g. what makes boy happy?!)
Father’s role in boys’ and girls’ development
Advanced analyses: relationship with self-concept and social anxiety