J Happiness Stud (2008) 9:279302 DOI 10.

1007/s10902-007-9052-7 RESEARCH PAPER

The contribution of temperament, popularity, and physical appearance to childrens happiness

Mark D. Holder Ben Coleman

Published online: 7 April 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

Abstract The relation between the happiness of 912 year old children and their temperament, popularity, and physical appearance was examined. Participants included 432 children and their parents and teachers. Happiness in children was assessed using a selfrating scale, parents ratings, teachers ratings, and the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale of the Piers-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale 2 (Piers-Harris 2) [Piers, E. V., & Herzberg, D. S. (2002). Manual for the Piers-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale, 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services]. Estimates of childrens temperament, popularity, and physical appearance included parents ratings, individual items on the Piers-Harris 2, and three domain scales from the Piers-Harris 2: the Freedom From Anxiety Subscale, Popularity Subscale, and Physical Appearance and Attributes Subscale. Childrens happiness was correlated with and predicted by ratings of their temperament, popularity, and appearance. Demographic variables did not account for appreciable variance in childrens happiness. The results parallel the common nding that internal factors (e.g., personality), but not external factors (e.g., demographics), predict adults happiness. Keywords Happiness Children Temperament Popularity Attractiveness Appearance Anxiety Satisfaction

M. D. Holder (&) University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1V 1V7 e-mail: mark.holder@ubc.ca B. Coleman Okanagan College, Kalamalka Campus, 7000 College Way (C 311), Vernon, BC, Canada V1B 2N5 e-mail: bcoleman@okanagan.bc.ca

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1 Introduction Though a recent study reported that adults in all 48 countries tested desired high levels of happiness for their children (Diener and Lucas 2004), studies of factors that contribute to childrens happiness are not common (Mahon and Yarcheski 2002). The present study examined factors that may contribute to the happiness of children aged 912 years. The happiness of these children is particularly suitable to study because they are old enough to identify and use emotions in complex social environments (Schultz et al. 2004). Furthermore, they can comprehend that emotions, including happiness, can be experienced simultaneously and they can attribute causal relations to these emotions in a way similar to adults (Denham 1998; Whitesell and Harter 1989). Children in this age range typically possess the ability to consider multiple sources of information when understanding emotions and can comprehend a wide range of emotions (see Berk 1994, for a review). The factors associated with happiness in children may differ from those in adolescents and adults because children differ in their cognitive maturity (e.g., perspective-taking and empathic development) and lack experiences that may inuence happiness at older ages. For example, factors that are related to adults well-being, such as job satisfaction (Tait et al. 1989), marriage (Headey et al. 1991) and spousal happiness (Stull 1988) are not applicable to children. Research suggests that the predictors of life satisfaction and happiness do change with age. For example, adult men were found to dene happiness in terms of their family life when they have school-aged children, but look outside of the family for happiness before and after this phase of the family life cycle (Harry 1976). For children, academic test scores predict life satisfaction in Grade 2 but not in Grade 8 (Chang et al. 2003). By identifying the factors that contribute to happiness in children, we may better understand individual differences in childrens happiness and identify children who may benet from interventions. The literature on happiness indicates that demographic variables contribute relatively little to happiness (see Myers 2000). However, personality variables are consistently and strongly linked with happiness in adults (Furnham and Brewin 1990), and the roles of physical appearance (Diener et al. 1995b) and popularity (Ostberg 2003) in happiness have also been studied. The present paper examines the relations between happiness and variables related to personality, physical appearance, and popularity. Personality, physical appearance, and popularity, all affect our social relationships and one of the most robust predictors of happiness is the development of social relationships (Argyle 2001; Myers and Diener 1995).

2 Correlates and predictors of happiness 2.1 Personality Two personality variables consistently and strongly associated with happiness are extraversion (a trait characterized by being social, assertive, lively, and sensation seeking (Eysenck 1986)) and neuroticism (a trait characterized by anxiety, depression, emotionality and having low self-esteem (Eysenck 1986)) (e.g., Cheng and Furnham 2001, 2003; Francis et al. 1998; Furnham and Brewin 1990; Hayes and Joseph 2003; Hills and Argyle 2001a, b; Neto 2001; Pavot et al. 1990). For example, one study reported that extraversion and neuroticism accounted for 42% of the variance in the happiness of adults (Brebner

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et al. 1995) and extraversion and neuroticism predicted well-being over a decade later (Costa et al. 1980). Similarly, both extraversion and neuroticism correlated with adults happiness, and neuroticism predicted it (Argyle and Lu 1990). Assertiveness also predicted happiness and its mediating effects largely explained the contributions of extraversion and neuroticism (Argyle and Lu 1990). In addition to assertiveness, extraversion, and neuroticism, additional variables related to personality and associated with happiness in adults include attributional style (Cheng and Furnham 2001), emotional stability (Hills and Argyle 2001a), loneliness (Neto 2001) and self-esteem (Cheng and Furnham 2003; Furnham and Cheng 2000; Hills and Argyle 2001). Various dimensions of personality predict happiness in young adolescents as well. For example, self-esteem and optimism (Mahon and Yarcheski 2002), and neuroticism and introversion (Young and Bradley 1998), were found to predict happiness in adolescents. Though the sample size was small, one study found that life satisfaction in children was positively correlated with extraversion and negatively correlated with introversion (Huebner 1991).

2.2 Popularity Popularity and happiness may be associated in both children and adults. For example, a childs status relative to his or her peers is positively correlated with well-being (Ostberg 2003). However, university students who highly valued popularity and personal image, spent more time being unhappy, had lower levels of general happiness, and spent less time being happy (Kasser and Ahuvia 2002). Popularity and happiness correlate with similar variables. For example, increases in adolescents suicidal ideation were associated with decreases in happiness and popularity (Field et al. 2001). Children who were bullied tended to be less popular and less happy (Slee 1993). Adolescents personality traits, particularly neuroticism and introversion, were negatively correlated with both happiness and popularity (Young and Bradley 1998).

2.3 Physical appearance A meta-analysis of the literature concluded that physically attractive people are viewed by others as being more sociable, sexually warm, mentally healthy, intelligent, and socially skilled than unattractive people (Feingold 1992). The bias in perceiving attractive people more favorably extends to children as well. For example, teachers rated attractive children as more popular and intelligent even in a controlled experiment where the teachers perception of the childrens performance was held constant (Clifford and Walster 1973). Physical appearance is an important resource and contributes to variables related to ones happiness and well-being. Therefore, research has investigated the relation between appearance and happiness. For example, young adults self-ratings of attractiveness were strongly correlated with happiness (Neto 2001). Similarly, body image, including sexual attractiveness, weight concern, and physical condition, of adult women over a wide age span was correlated with happiness (Stokes and Frederick-Recascino 2003). However, the relation between appearance and happiness and well-being may not be strong. For example, though Umberson and Hughes (1987) reported positive correlations between several measures of well-being (including happiness) and attractiveness, the

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quality of their measures of attractiveness was questioned in a more rigorous study that showed attractiveness and subjective well-being were only weakly correlated (Diener et al. 1995).

2.4 Present study Research has investigated the relations between happiness and personality, physical appearance, and popularity, but the majority of studies examined adults. Although happiness and life satisfaction remain relatively constant throughout life (Inglehart 1990; Latten 1989; Stock et al. 1983), the predictors of happiness vary with age (Herzog et al. 1982). Therefore, though personality, popularity, and physical appearance are associated with happiness in adults, they may or may not be associated with happiness in children. Given the consistency and strength of the relationship between personality and happiness in adults and adolescents, the present study investigated whether a similar relationship occurred in children. While personality may not be fully developed in children (Costa and McCrae 1994), temperament may reect the beginnings of personality. If these beginnings are related to happiness as the analogous personality constructs are linked in adults, then we should expect two ndings. First, more outgoing, less shy children (akin to extraversion) should be viewed as happier. Second, less anxious children (akin to being less neurotic) should be reported as happier. By determining the relation between temperament and happiness in children, we may better understand how temperament can help explain individual differences in childrens happiness and predict which children are more likely to experience lower levels of happiness. Given that happiness is associated with popularity and physical appearance in adults, the present study examined the relation between happiness and perceived popularity and physical appearance in children.

3 Method 3.1 Participants Students in Grades 46 in the public school system (N = 817) were given information letters, letters of informed consent, and questionnaires to bring home to their parents/ guardians/caregivers (99.5% of these adults were the parents and, therefore, are referred to collectively as parents throughout this paper). Five hundred and twenty-six (64.4%) responses were received. Four hundred and thirty-two parents consented (86.1% women, 13.2 % men). Female parents ranged in age from 24 to 71 years (M = 40.6, SD = 5.1) and the males ranged in age from 25 to 74 years (M = 43.9, SD = 8.7). The children (55.3% girls, 44.4% boys) were from six schools and 30 classrooms. To help ensure a broader sample, both rural and urban areas, and large and small schools, were included. Furthermore, a wide range of socioeconomic levels was included (see Table 3). One parent did not report the sex of his or her child. The children ranged in age from 9 to 12 years (M = 10.25, SD = 0.9). Children who had a prior history of depression (e.g., were currently receiving treatment for depression) were excluded from the study. Seventy-six percent of the parents were married, 8% were single, 6% were living common law, 6% were divorced, and 1% were widowed or single-divorced. Three percent did not report their marital status.

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3.2 Materials 3.2.1 Questionnaires Children completed three questionnaires: the Piers-Harris 2 Childrens Self-Concept Scale 2 (Piers and Herzberg 2002), the Faces Scale, and the Childrens Questionnaire. When an item required a range of possible responses, Likert-type scales were used instead of visual analogue scales because children aged 514 often do not understand these scales even with help designed to increase their understanding (Shields et al. 2003). Furthermore, because children prefer lling in circles and having more response options (Rebok et al. 2001), the Likert-type scales used circles and multiple response options. Parents completed the Parents Questionnaire, which also included Likert-type scales to maintain the similarity between the formats used by adults and children. 3.2.2 Piers-Harris Childrens Self-Concept Scale 2 (Piers-Harris 2) The Piers-Harris 2 is a standardized self-report questionnaire that assesses overall self-concept (Piers and Herzberg 2002). The Piers-Harris 2 is a modication of the original 1984 PiersHarris Childrens Concept Scale which provides a multidimensional assessment that is widely adopted, has high test-retest reliability and internal consistency, is the most frequently used and strongly recommended instrument for children in our age group, and can be administered to an entire class at once (Marsh and Holmes 1990; Piers and Harris 1984; Piers and Herzberg 2002). The Piers-Harris 2 has sixty True-False items that express how children may feel about themselves (e.g., my classmates make fun of me). These items are combined to form six subscales that assess specic components of self-concept: Behavioral Adjustment, Intellectual and School Status, Physical Appearance and Attributes, Freedom From Anxiety, Popularity, and Happiness and Satisfaction. The Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale (HapPH2) was used as one estimate of childrens happiness. The item I am unhappy is most highly correlated with it. The Freedom From Anxiety Subscale assesses anxiety and dysphoric mood. The items I worry a lot and I feel left out of things are most highly correlated with this scale. The Popularity Subscale assesses a childs evaluation of their social functioning. The item I have many friends is most highly correlated with this subscale. The Physical Appearance and Attributes Subscale reects a childs evaluation of their physical appearance as well as their leadership and ability to express ideas. The item I am good-looking is most highly correlated with this subscale. 3.2.3 Faces Scale The Faces Scale is similar to that reported by Andrews and Withey (1976) and was used to assess childrens happiness (see Table 1 for an example of the Faces Scale). Children rated their overall happiness by rating how happy they were most of the time. Parents rated their childs happiness using the scale (i.e., How would you rate your childs overall happiness?). Ratings of others personalities by knowledgeable people are one of the most valid measures of personality (Funder 1991). Therefore, because many researchers perceive personality variables as stable traits rather than as states (see Hartmann et al. 1979 for a review) and happiness is also considered a stable trait (e.g., Stones and Kozma 1986), parents ratings of their childrens happiness may be a valid measure. Teachers rated each childs happiness in the class using two Faces Scales. One scale asked the teacher to rate

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284 Table 1 Percentage of respondents within each category of the Faces Scale

M. D. Holder, B. Coleman

ChildOwnFace ParentChildFace TeacherChildFace

1 0 0

0 0 0

1 1 1

8 3 9

11 21 27

43 58 47

36 17 16

Note. Percentage of childrens self-ratings (ChildOwnFace), parents ratings of their children (ParentChildFace), and teachers ratings of the children (TeacherChildFace), in each of the seven response options on the Faces Scale

the childrens happiness When in class doing fun activities. The second scale was used to rate the childrens happiness When in class doing work. 3.2.4 Childrens Questionnaire The Childrens Questionnaire contained nine items which, based on the adult literature (Diener et al., 1999) were related to happiness (e.g., How many hours of TV do you watch per day?; How many times a week do you visit with your friends outside of school?; In terms of money, how rich do you feel your family is?). Using a Likert-type scale, children lled in a circle representing one of ve or seven response options for each item. 3.2.5 Parents Questionnaire The Parents Questionnaire assessed factors related to the children and associated with happiness. Many of the items on this questionnaire were similar to those on the Childrens Questionnaire and provided demographic information (e.g., family income, marital status, age, and sex).

3.3 Procedure Informed consent was obtained from teachers and then parents. If their teachers and parents consented, assent was then obtained from the children. Children were assessed approximately 10 days after the consent letters and Parents Questionnaires were distributed to the parents. Only children whose parents completed the Parents Questionnaire were asked to participate. Children were surveyed in classrooms and participation took an average of 30 min. Children were given the three questionnaires. Standardized instructions for each questionnaire were provided and the researcher used a chalkboard to demonstrate how to respond to the items. For the Childrens Questionnaire, children were instructed to read the questions carefully, think about their answers, examine the response options, and then choose the option that was most appropriate for them. The researcher explained that for Question 1, How many hours of TV do you watch per day? the children needed to think about how many hours they watch per day for the whole week and then take the average. For all the questions, the researcher explained that the answers were arranged from least to most (e.g., for the question, How many hours of TV do you watch per day? the responses were arranged from 0, the least, to 5+, the most) and children had to choose the answer that best represented them.

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For the Faces Scale, a researcher drew the Faces Scale on a chalkboard and explained that children should put an X through the face that best represented their own feelings. All surveys were coded with participant numbers to help ensure condentiality. To answer childrens questions and distribute material, the researcher and at least one assistant were present in each classroom. Teachers did not assist children with the questionnaires.

3.4 Data analysis Four measures of happiness were used as the criterion measures in the regression analyses. One measure was the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale of the Piers-Harris 2 scale (HapPH2), which provided a standardized score for each child. Three measures used the Faces Scale: the childrens ratings of their own overall happiness (ChildOwnFace), the parents ratings of their childs happiness (ParentChildFace), and the teachers ratings of their childrens happiness (TeacherChildFace). The teachers rated each childs happiness in two different settings (when in class doing fun activities, and when in class doing work). A preliminary analysis showed that these two measures were correlated (r = .57, p < .01) and shared similar predictors. Therefore, the two ratings were averaged together to form a single teachers rating of each childs happiness. The happiness rating distributions based on the Faces Scale violated the normality assumption. Improved distributions were found by reecting the scores and computing natural logarithms. Although 432 parents consented, six cases were excluded from the following analyses because participants did not complete all happiness measures. An additional nine cases were removed from the demographic analysis (N = 417), and another two from the personality analysis (N = 415) because their responses to several questions were very improbable. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, we used multivariate regression with the appropriate predictors (i.e., Demographic, Temperament, Popularity, & Physical Appearance) to predict variance on the four measures of happiness. Individual items were selected from the Piers-Harris 2 (Piers and Herzberg 2002) that reected the categories of interest (e.g., Temperament, Physical Attraction, and Popularity). These items were used in the analyses to determine the relationship between these categories and happiness. The signicant multivariate predictors were then used in the multiple regression analyses (stepwise) for each of the four measures of happiness. Where appropriate, Bonferroni adjustments were used on the univariate tests. Finally, to avoid articially high correlations with the HapPH2, none of the predictors from the Piers Harris 2 questionnaire were items that comprised the Happiness and Satisfaction subscale.

4 Results 4.1 Measures of happiness In general, using the Faces Scales, children were rated as happy by themselves (i.e., ChildOwnFace), their parents (i.e., ParentChildFace), and their teachers (i.e., TeacherChildFace). For all three groups, at least 90% of the responses were within the three

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Table 2 Pearson productmoment correlations between the four measures of happiness HapPH2 COF PCF TCF *p < .05 (two-tailed) HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings .37* .17* .27* COF .34* .17* PCF .15*

happiest categories (see Table 1). Childrens responses to each item of the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale (HapPH2) were within 10% of the reported standardized norms for the Piers-Harris 2 (Piers and Herzberg 2002). Each of the four measures of happiness (i.e., HapPH2, ChildOwnFace, ParentChildFace, & TeacherChildFace) was signicantly correlated with the other three ratings of happiness (see Table 2). Although these measures were correlated, the results did not indicate singularity (e.g., r > .90; Tabachnick and Fidell 2001). Furthermore, though similar variables accounted for variance in all four measures of happiness (see below), the variables were not identical. Therefore, to compare ratings from the Faces Scales to HapPH2, a multiple regression analysis was conducted. This analysis showed that ratings from the Faces Scales were signicantly related to items comprising the HapPH2. I am lucky and I am cheerful were the only items from the HapPH2 that predicted variance on the Faces Scales, Fs(3,384) > 3.28, ps < .05. On ChildOwnFace, I am cheerful (r2 = .108, b = .29, p < .001), and I am lucky (r2 = .031, b = 18, p < .001), accounted for a total of 14% of the variance, F(2,413) = 33.55, p < .001. However, I am cheerful (rs2  .04, bs = .20, ps < .001), was the only signicant predictor, Fs(1,409) = 17.26, ps < .001, of variance on ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace. The remaining eight items that comprised HapPH2 (I am a happy person, my looks bother me, I like being the way I am, I wish I were different, I am unhappy, I have a pleasant face, I am easy to get along with, and I am a good person), were not signicant predictors of the three Faces Scales (ps > .05). These results suggest that HapPH2 and the Faces Scales are related, but mostly assess different aspects of childrens happiness.

4.2 Demographic variables and happiness In general, the demographic items were not highly correlated with childrens happiness. Table 3 shows the twelve items selected to help assess the role of demographic variables in childrens happiness. Pearson productmoment correlations and descriptive statistics were used to describe the relationship between the happiness measures and items taken from the Childrens and the Parents Questionnaires (see Table 4). The most consistent nding was that the two measures of family income (Family Wealth and Gross Income) were each signicantly and positively correlated with three of the four measures of happiness. Childrens estimates of Family Wealth correlated with parents estimates of Gross Income (r = .32, p < .05) suggesting that children have an understanding of their familys afuence.

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Table 3 Averages and standard deviations (SD) of demographic items Questionnaire Item name Child Child TV Family Wealth Parent Gross Income Mothers Age Fathers Age Childs Age Parent child TV Child Sex Parent Sex Caregiver Sex Child Live Parent Marital Status
a b

Question/statement How many hours of TV do you watch per day? In terms of money, how rich do you think your family is? What is the gross household income of your childs primary residence? How old is your childs mother? How old is your childs father? How old is your child? On average, how many hours of TV does your child watch per day? Childs gender Your gender: person completing the form What is the gender of the childs primary caregiver? Who does your child mostly live with? What is the marital status of your childs primary caregiver?

Scale 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5+ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Average SD 2.1a 3b 1.2 0.6 1.6 4.6 5.5 0.9 0.9

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3b 7 40.6a 43.0a 10.2a 1.7a

1, 2 1, 2 1, 2 1, 2, 3, 4

1b 1b 1b 3b

0.5 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.7

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3b 7, 8

Mean Mode Family wealth: 1 = Very poor; 2 = Poor; 3 = Average; 4 = Rich; 5 = Very Rich Child, Parent, Caregiver Sex: 1 = Female; 2 = Male Child Live: 1 = Mom; 2 = Dad; 3 = Both; 4 = Neither Gross Income: 1 = $0$20,000; 2 = $21,000$40,000; 3 = $41,000$60,000; 4 = $61,000$80,000; 5 = $81,000$100,000; 6 = $101,000$150,000; 7 = $ > $150,000 Parent Marital Status: 1 = Single; 2 = Common Law; 3 = Married; 4 = Divorced; 5 = Widowed; 6 = Single & Divorced; 7 = Common Law with someone else & divorced; 8 = Divorced & married to someone else

The amount of time that children watched television, whether estimated by the children or the parents, was negatively correlated with happiness, and was similar to the results reported in the adult literature (e.g., Lu and Argyle 1993). However, these correlations were only signicant between the parents estimates and ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace, and between the childrens estimates and HapPH2 and TeacherChildFace (see Table 4). The correlation between parents and childrens estimates of the amount of TV watched by the children was signicant (r = .50, p < 0.05), suggesting that these measures were valid. Table 4 also shows that the age of the mother was correlated with ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace. The age of the child was correlated with TeacherChildFace, and the sex of the child was correlated with ChildOwnFace and TeacherChildFace. Who the child mostly lived with was correlated with HapPH2 and TeacherChildFace and the marital status of the parents was correlated with TeacherChildFace ratings. No other correlations between the measures of happiness and the demographic items were signicantly correlated.

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Table 4 Pearson productmoment correlations between happiness measures and demographics Questionnaire Child Parent Items Child TV (hr) Family Wealth Gross Income Mothers Age (years) Fathers Age (years) Parentchild TV (hr) Child Age (years) Child Sex Parent Sex Caregiver Sex Child Live Parent Marital Status *ps < .05 (two-tailed) HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings HapPH2 .12* .19* .16* .02 .00 .01 .04 .05 .02 .08 .13* .05 COF .09 .14* .05 .09 .06 .06 .01 .15* .04 .06 .02 .04 PCF .04 .11* .13* .10* .02 .11* .03 .05 .05 .05 .02 .00 TCF .14* .07 .18* .16* .09 .11* .11* .17* .02 .05 .11* .16*

4.2.1 Regression analyses of the demographic items The multivariate regression analysis using WilksLambda with the four measures of happiness showed two signicant demographic predictors: Family Wealth, F(4,317) = 5.09, p < .01, and Child Sex, F(4,317) = 5.26, p < .001. Therefore, these were the only two predictors entered into the multiple regression analysis. This analysis showed that Family Wealth accounted for 4% (b = .19) of the variance on HapPH2, F(1,402) = 15.17, p < .001, and 2% (b = .15) of the variance on ChildOwnFace, F(2,401) = 9.90, p < .001. Family wealth did not account for any signicant variance on ParentChildFace or TeacherChildFace, Fs(2,401) < 1. Child Sex accounted for 3% (b = .17) of the variance on TeacherChildFace, and 2% (b = .15) of the variance on ChildOwnFace, Fs(2,402) > 9.5, ps > .01. Child Sex did not account for any signicant variance on ParentChildFace or HapPH2, Fs(2,401) < 1. The present results parallel the adult literature (e.g., Cheng and Furnham 2001; Csikszenmihalyi and Hunter 2003; Diener and Fujita 1995; Huebner and Dew 1996; Lu and Lin 1998; Myers 2000; Pinquart and Sorensen 2001) and the adolescent literature (e.g., Gilman et al. 2000; Grob et al. 1999) that reports that age, gender, and socioeconomic factors account for little of the variation in self-reported happiness. Because Gross Income (reported by parents), Family Wealth (estimated by children), and Child Sex were the demographic variables most closely related to the childrens happiness, and previous studies report that a modest amount of variance in well-being and happiness is accounted for by income (see Diener et al. 1999; Myers 2000), where appropriate, Gross Income, Family Wealth, and Child Sex were controlled in the following analyses.

4.3 Temperament, Popularity, and Physical Appearance as predictors of happiness Standardized scores were calculated for Piers-Harris 2 for three subscales (i.e., Freedom from Anxiety, Popularity, and Physical Appearance and Attributes) according to

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Table 5 Regression analysis on the relation between the Piers-Harris Subscales and the four measures of happiness using semipartials (sr2), R, R2, and standardized regression coefcients (b) Piers-Harris 2 Subscales MVR HapPH2 sr2 Freedom from anxiety Physical appearance Popularity p < .001 p < .001 p < .001 .35* .09* ns b .42 .35 ns COF sr2 .02* ns .16* b .18 ns .28 PCF sr2 .08* ns .02* b .19 ns .16 TCF sr2 ns ns .07* b ns ns .27

R = .66* R2 = .44* MVR = multivariate regression *Multiple regression result signicant at p < .05

R = .42* R2 = .18*

R = .32* R2 = .10*

R = .27* R2 = .07*

ns = Multiple regression result not signicant; HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings

the tests manual (Piers and Herzberg 2002). These subscales were related to the four measures of happiness (see Table 5) suggesting that estimates related to temperament, popularity, and physical appearance, are related to childrens happiness. Regression analyses were used to investigate the relations between these four measures and the individual items from these subscales. The multivariate regression analyses reported below indicated that the four measures of happiness were differentially related with the three subscales of the Pier Harris 2. The multiple regression analysis further showed that Freedom From Anxiety predicted variance on HapPH2, ChildOwnFace, and ParentChildFace. Popularity predicted variance on ChildOwnFace, ParentChildFace, and TeacherChildFace. Physical Appearance predicted variance only on HapPH2.

4.4 Temperament predictors of happiness The Freedom from Anxiety Subscale of the Piers-Harris 2 reects measures of anxiety and dysphoric mood. Children with domain scores above 55 are considered relatively free from dysphoric moods, children with scores between 40 and 55 have some acknowledged mood difculties, and children with scores less than 40 have dysphoric moods (Piers and Herzberg 2002). Using this criterion, children with domain scores above 55 were categorized as free from dysphoria (Free), between 40 and 55 as rational about their dysphoria (Rational), and less than 40 as anxious about their dysphoria (Anxious). These three categories formed a variable, we labeled as Neurotic, which was composed of 191 children categorized as Free, 194 as Rational, and 32 as Anxious. The neurotic variable was included as a temperament predictor of happiness in children and was signicantly correlated with all four measures of happiness (see Table 7). Furthermore, fourteen items related to temperament contributed to the Piers-Harris 2 Freedom from Anxiety Subscale. However, four of these items were omitted because they also contributed to the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale. Table 6 shows the means and standard deviations of the items used to assess the role of temperament in childrens happiness and Table 7 shows the correlations between these items and the four measures of happiness.

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290 Table 6 Means and standard deviations (SD) of temperament items Questionnaire Piers-Harris 2 Item name Sad Shy Nervous teacher Worried tests Give up Nervous self Worry lots Left out Often afraid Cry easily Neurotic Question/statement I am often sad I am shy I get nervous when the teacher calls on me I get worried when we have tests in school I give up easily I am nervous I worry a lot I feel left out of things I am often afraid I cry easily 1 = Free (039), 2 = Rational (4055) 3 = Neurotic (5665) Parent Describe child I would describe my child as Scale

M. D. Holder, B. Coleman

Mean .92 .68 .75 .59 .94 .80 .77 .78 .87 .83 (54)

SD .27 .47 .43 .49 .24 .40 .42 .41 .34 .37 (8.33)

0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 1, 2, 3 (T-score) 1, 2, 3, 4

Neurotic: Individual temperament t-scores were calculated and participants classied according to the PiersHarris 2 manual (Piers and Herzberg 2002) Describe Child: 1 = Very shy, 2 = A little shy, 3 = A little outgoing, 4 = Very outgoing Table 7 Pearsonproduct moment correlations between happiness and temperament items Questionnaire Piers-Harris 2 Items Sad Shy Nervous teacher Worried tests Give up Nervous self Worry lots Left out Often afraid Cry easily Neurotic Parent * p < .05 (two-tailed) HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings Describe child HapPH2 .44* .09 .14* .13* .21* .21* .31* .49* .26* .26* .54* .09 COF .31* .15* .11* .09 .14* .19* .24* .29* .21* .23* .33* .16* PCF .16* .16* .11* .12* .05 .13* .21* .23* .15* .17* .24* .29* TCF .09 .10* .07 .10* .05 .10* .13* .15* .14* .11* .20* .19*

In addition to the items from the Piers-Harris 2, an item was selected as a temperament predictor from the Parents Questionnaire: I would describe my child as ... (very shy, a little shy, a little outgoing, very outgoing). On this item, labeled Describe Child, 3%, 23%, 41%, and 32% of the parents rated their child as very shy, a little shy, a little outgoing, and very outgoing, respectively (1% of the parents did not respond). With only

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3% describing their child as very shy, we combined these responses with the a little shy group. Describe Child was signicantly correlated with ChildOwnFace, ParentChildFace, and TeacherChildFace (see Table 7). All the individual items from the Piers-Harris 2 were positively correlated with the four measures of happiness and most of these correlations were signicant (see Table 7). 4.4.1 Regression analyses of temperament items Wilks lambdas for the multivariate regression with all four measures of happiness indicated several signicant temperament predictors of happiness: Sad, Worried Tests, Afraid, Describe Child, and Neurotic. These signicant multivariate predictors were then used in the multiple regression analyses for each measure of happiness. Research has consistently shown that extraversion is strongly related to adult and adolescent happiness and well-being (e.g., Argyle and Lu 1990; Brebner et al. 1995; Costa et al. 1980). Our ndings parallel these results. ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace ratings of happiness increased for children rated by their parents as more outgoing and less shy (akin to extraversion). An ANOVA revealed that children who were reported as very outgoing by their parents were also rated by their parents as happier (M = 6.14, SE = .07) than children viewed by their parents as a little outgoing (M = 5.80, SE = .06). Furthermore, children who were a little outgoing were also rated as happier by their parents than children reported as shy (M = 5.55, SE = .08), F(2,399) = 16.08, p < .001. Similarly, on the TeacherChildFace scale, children who were reported by their parents as very outgoing were rated by their teachers as happier (M = 6.08, SE = .07) than children reported by their parents as being shy (M = 5.66, SE = .08). However, teachers happiness ratings of very outgoing children were not signicantly different from teachers ratings of a little outgoing children (M = 5.88, SE = .06), F(3,395) = 7.54, p < .01. Researchers also report that neuroticism is consistently and negatively related to happiness and well-being in adults and adolescents (e.g., Brebner et al. 1995; Costa et al. 1980; Argyle and Lu 1990). Similarly, our variable Neurotic was negatively correlated to all four measures of happiness; higher happiness scores were associated with lower estimates of neuroticism (see Tables 7 and 8). Wilks lambdas for the multivariate regression analysis indicated that the remaining temperament predictors; Shy, Nervous Teacher, Give Up, Nervous Self, Worry Lots, and Cry Easily, were not signicantly related to any of the measures of happiness, Fs(4,320) = 1.60, p > .05. Furthermore, of the demographic variables, Gross Income and Child Sex were signicant predictors of variance on the different measures of happiness, Fs(4,320) > 3.04, ps < .05, but Family Wealth was not, F(4,320) = 1.35, p > .05. 4.5 Popularity predictors of happiness All 12 items that contribute to the Popularity Subscale of the Piers-Harris 2 questionnaire (Piers and Herzberg 2002) were selected to assess the role of popularity in childrens happiness. In general, as ratings on these items indicated greater popularity, ratings of happiness increased. The means and standard deviations for these items are presented in Table 9. All of the popularity items correlated signicantly with all four measures of happiness, except Shy with HapPH2, Observer with ParentChildFace, Pick on Me with TeacherChildFace, and Different from Others with ChildOwnFace, ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace (see Table 10).

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Table 8 Regression analysis on the relation between the temperament items and the four measures of happiness using semipartials (sr2), R, R2, and standardized regression coefcients (b) Questionnaire Items MVR HapPH2 sr2 Piers Harris 2 Sad Shy Nervous teacher Worried tests Give up Nervous self Worry lots Left out Often afraid Cry easily Neurotic Parent Describe child p < .001 p = .18 p = .19 p < .01 p = .29 p = .32 p = .62 p = .14 p < .05 p = .41 p < .001 p < .001 .05* ns ns .28* ns b .25 ns ns .42 ns COF sr2 .02* ns ns .11* ns b .16 ns ns .25 ns PCF sr2 ns ns ns .03* .08* b ns ns ns .17 .24 TCF sr2 ns ns ns .02* .03* b ns ns ns .15 .15

R = .57* R2 = .33* MVR = multivariate regression *Multiple regression result signicant at p < .05

R = .36* R2 = .13*

R = .33* R2 = .11*

R = .22* R2 = .05*

ns = Multiple regression result not signicant; HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings

4.5.1 Regression analyses The multivariate results are summarized in Table 11. In these analyses, the demographic variable Child Sex was signicant, F(4,321) = 3.24, p < .05, but Gross Income and Family Wealth were not, Fs(4,321) < 2.18, ps > .05. The Wilks lambdas for the multivariate regression with the four measures of happiness revealed ve signicant predictors of happiness related to popularity: Make Friends, Left Out, Last Chosen, Good Ideas, and Pick on Me, Fs(4,321) > 3.0, ps > .05. The remaining multivariate predictors did not show multivariate signicance on any of the four measures, Fs(4,321) < 2.15, ps > .05. The signicant multivariate predictors were used in the multiple regression analyses, which indicated that HapPH2 ratings were higher for children who indicated that they had good ideas, were not chosen last for games or sports, were not picked on by others, and did not feel left out of things. Likewise, ChildOwnFace ratings were higher for children who indicated that they were not chosen last for sports and games, and not left out of things. ParentChildFace ratings were higher for children who reported that they were not left out of things, and were not picked on by others. Finally, TeacherChildFace ratings were lower for children who agreed with the statements It is hard for me to make friends and I am among the last chosen for games and sports. Together, these results suggest that children with greater popularity are viewed by adults (i.e., parents and teachers) and themselves as happier.

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Childrens happiness Table 9 Means and standard deviations (SD) of popularity items Questionnaire Item name Piers-Harris 2 Fun of me Make friends Shy Unpopular Left out Last chosen Good ideas Many friends Pick on me Observer Popular with girls Different from others Question/statement My classmates make fun of me It is hard for me to make friends I am shy I am unpopular I feel left out of things I am among the last to be chosen for games and sports My classmates in school think I have good ideas I have many friends People pick on me In games and sports, I watch instead of play I am popular with girls I am different from other people Scale 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 0 = Yes; 1 = No

293

Mean SD .90 .88 .68 .67 .78 .81 .72 .85 .88 .86 .57 .32 .30 .32 .47 .47 .41 .39 .45 .36 .33 .35 .49 .47

Table 10 Pearsonproduct moment correlations between happiness and popularity items Questionnaire Piers-Harris 2 Items Fun of me Make friends Shy Unpopular Left out Last chosen Good ideas Many friends Pick on me Observer Popular with girls Different from others *p < .05 (two-tailed) HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings HapPH2 .27* .27* .09 .36* .43* .44* .48* .38* .37* .20* .25* .17* COF .14* .17* .15* .25* .29* .34* .27* .16* .27* .11* .23* .05 PCF .13* .12* .16* .19* .23* .15* .14* .12* .21* .08 .11* .04 TCF .11* .26* .10* .19* .15* .21* .15* .10* .06 .21* .18* .01

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Table 11 Regression analysis on the relation between the popularity items and the four measures of happiness using semipartials (sr2), R, R2, and standardized regression coefcients (b) Questionnaire Items MVR HapPH2 sr2 Piers Harris 2 Fun of me Make friends Shy Unpopular Left out Last chosen Good ideas Many friends Pick on me Observer Popular with girls Different from others p = .66 p < .01 p = .20 p = .29 p < .01 p < .05 p < .01 p = .13 p < .01 p = .07 p = .81 p = .24 ns .02* .10* .23* .04* b ns .17 .21 .32 .18 COF sr2 ns .02* .09* ns ns b ns .17 .22 ns ns PCF sr2 ns .05* ns ns .02* b ns .18 ns ns .14 TCF sr2 .07* ns .02* ns ns b .22 ns .15 ns ns

R = .62* R2 = .39* MVR = multivariate regression *Multiple regression result signicant at p < .05

R = .33* R2 = .11*

R = .27* R2 = .07*

R = .30* R2 = .09*

ns = Multiple regression result not signicant; HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings

4.6 Physical appearance predictors of happiness Nine items that contribute to the Physical Appearance and Attributes Subscale of the Piers-Harris 2 questionnaire (Piers and Herzberg 2002) were selected to assess the role of physical appearance in childrens happiness. Though eleven items contribute to this subscale, two items were omitted because they also contribute to the Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale. The means and standard deviations for the included items are presented in Table 12. In general, ratings of childrens happiness were higher if the children agreed that they possessed positive attributes. All of the items were positively and signicantly correlated with all four measures of happiness, except Popular with Boys with ChildOwnFace, Smart, Strong, Nice Hair, Good Looking, and Popular with Boys with ParentChildFace, and Leader and Popular with Boys with TeacherChildFace (see Table 13). 4.6.1 Regression analyses The multivariate results are summarized in Table 14. In the multivariate regression analysis, the Wilks lambdas indicated that the demographic variable Child Sex contributed to the variance, F(4,321) = 2.65, p < .05, but Gross Income and Family Wealth did not, Fs(4,321) < 2.19, ps > .05. The multiple regression analyses showed that Child Sex did not contribute any signicant variance on HapPH2 or ParentChildFace ratings. Child Sex did account for 2% and 3% of the variance on ChildOwnFace and TeacherOwnFace ratings, respectively, Fs(3,404) < 3.30, ps < .05.

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Childrens happiness Table 12 Means and standard deviations (SD) of physical attraction items Questionnaire Item name Question/statement I am smart I am strong My friends like my ideas I have nice hair Scale 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No 1 = Yes; 0 = No

295

Mean SD .92 .40 .80 .88 .83 .72 .70 .50 .57 .27 .49 .40 .33 .38 .45 .46 .50 .50

Piers-Harris 2 Smart Leader Strong Friend like ideas Nice hair

I am a leader in games and sports 1 = Yes; 0 = No

Classmates like ideas My classmates in school think I have good ideas Good looking Popular with boys Popular with girls I am good looking I am popular with boys I am popular with girls

Table 13 Pearsonproduct moment correlations between happiness and physical attraction items Questionnaire Piers-Harris 2 Items Smart Leader Strong Friend like ideas Nice hair Classmates like ideas Good looking Popular with boys Popular with girls *p < .05 (two-tailed) HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings HapPH2 .20* .13* .19* .36* .28* .48* .41* .17* .25* COF .12* .16* .21* .21* .11* .27* .25* .08 .23* PCF .03 .15* .08 .15* .03 .14* .09 .09 .11* TCF .22* .09 .12* .12* .14* .15* .19* .07 .18*

The multivariate regression with the four measures of happiness also revealed three signicant predictors of happiness related to physical appearance and attributes: Smart, Classmates Like Ideas, and Good Looking, (Wilkslambdas: Fs(4,321) > 3.70, ps < .01). The signicant multivariate predictors used in the multiple regression analyses indicated that on the HapPH2 and ChildOwnFace scales, the best predictors were Classmates Like Ideas and Good Looking. Classmates Like Ideas was the only signicant predictor of ParentChildFace ratings. Smart and Good Looking were the only signicant predictors of TeacherChildFace. For all these predictors, happiness ratings were higher for children who indicated that these items applied to them. The remaining multivariate predictors were not signicant on any of the four measures, (Wilkslambdas: Fs(4,321) < 1.76, ps > .05). Together, these results suggest that children who ascribe positive attributes to themselves, including being good looking, were viewed by adults (i.e., parents and teachers) and themselves as being happier.

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Table 14 Regression analysis on the relation between the Physical Attraction items and the four measures of happiness using semipartials (sr2), R, R2, and standardized regression coefcients (b) Questionnaire Items MVR HapPH2 sr2 Piers Harris 2 Smart Leader Strong Friend like ideas Nice hair Classmates like ideas Good looking Popular with boys Popular with girls p < .01 p = .33 p = .23 p = .16 p = .14 p < .01 p < .01 p = .48 p = .41 ns .23** .08* b ns .40 .30 COF sr2 ns .05* .02* b ns .19 .14 PCF sr2 ns .02* ns b ns .14 ns TCF sr2 .05* ns .02* b .21 ns .15

R = .56* R2 = .31* MVR = multivariate regression *Multiple regression result signicant at p < .05

R = .26* R2 = .07*

R = .14* R2 = .02*

R = .26* R2 = .07*

ns = Multiple regression result not signicant; HapPH2 = Happiness/satisfaction ratings on Piers-Harris 2 sub-scale; COF = ChildOwnFace ratings; PCF = ParentChildFace ratings; TCF = TeacherChildFace ratings

5 Discussion The present study assessed happiness in children using four different measures. The relationship between these measures and temperament, popularity, physical appearance, and demographic variables, were then examined. In general, variables related to temperament, popularity, and physical appearance were related to childrens happiness but demographic variables did not account for any appreciable variation in childrens happiness.

5.1 Temperament Both theoretical (Averill and More 1993; see Diener et al. 1999) and empirical (Argyle and Lu 1990; Furnham and Brewer 1990) work has suggested that personality characteristics are associated with happiness. Research has found that extraversion and neuroticism account for signicant variance in the happiness of adults and adolescents (Brebner et al. 1995; Francis et al. 1998; Furnham and Brewin 1990; Hayes and Joseph 2003). Our results suggest a parallel relation in children. For all four measures of childrens happiness, the variable Neurotic (derived from the Freedom From Anxiety Subscale of the Pier Harris 2) accounted for a signicant proportion of the variance. For two measures of childrens happiness (i.e., ParentChildFace and TeacherChildFace), parents ratings of their childrens temperament on a scale from very outgoing to very shy were also signicant predictors of childrens happiness. Though personality may continue to develop until past the mid-twenties (Costa and McCrae 1994), our results suggest that the early underpinnings of factors that may be related to aspects of neuroticism and extraversion are associated with happiness. Future research should assess several dimensions of childrens temperament, including factors

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related to neuroticism and extraversion, and determine their relations to happiness. It is possible that the relation between happiness and extraversion may be stronger in younger people (Hills and Argyle 2001a, b). Though previous work (Mahon and Yarcheski 2002) suggested that enabling variables (e.g., vigor, social support, and openness to change) were better predictors of young adolescents happiness than personality characteristics, neuroticism and extraversion were not assessed. In another study (Cheng and Furnham 2001), though personality factors were found to predict happiness, attributional style, which was correlated with extraversion and neuroticism, was important in explaining happiness. Future research might assess the role of attributional style in conjunction with personality-related variables, in childrens happiness.

5.2 Popularity Extensive research suggests that the acceptance or rejection by peers is a critical factor in whether or not children exhibit conduct problems and go on to develop lasting antisocial problems as adults (Coie and Lenox 1994; Moftt 1993). We found that popularity was related to happiness in children. An association between happiness and popularity was previously demonstrated using emotional expressions (Hubbard 2001). Childrens expressions of happiness varied with how much they were liked by their peers. The relation between happiness and popularity in children may be explained by a theory that claims that children who are rejected by others (i.e., not popular) place a stronger emphasis on achieving instrumental goals than social goals (Renshaw and Asher 1983). Achieving strong social relationships is one of the strongest predictors of happiness (Argyle 2001; Myers and Diener 1995).

5.3 Physical appearance Physical attractiveness and subjective well-being were found to be positively correlated in adults, though only weakly (Diener et al. 1995b). Similarly, physical appearance accounted for a modest amount of the variance in childrens happiness in the present study. For example, children who agreed with the statement I am good-looking, were rated by themselves, their teachers, and the Piers-Harris 2 (but not by their parents) as happier. A meta-analysis concluded that physically attractive people are perceived as having more desirable traits (Feingold 1992) and this perceptual bias extends to children (Clifford and Walster 1973). Physically attractive people, including children, may be happier because of this bias. However, based on our results we cannot conclude that childrens physical attractiveness is associated with childrens happiness. First, physical attractiveness was not assessed independently in our sample; ratings of physical attractiveness were based on the childrens self-ratings. It would be more accurate to conclude that self-perceived attractiveness is associated with happiness in children. This is similar to the nding that young adults happiness is related to their self-ratings of attractiveness (Neto 2001). Furthermore, the Piers-Harris 2 Physical Appearance and Attributes Subscale not only assesses a childs appraisal of their physical appearance but it also assesses additional attributes such as leadership and the ability to express ideas (Piers and Herzberg 2002). The Physical Appearance and Attributes Scale includes the item My classmates in school think I have good ideas. Children who agreed with this statement tended to be happier, and responses to this item accounted for more variance in childrens happiness than items seemingly

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more directly related to appearance (e.g., I am good-looking and My looks bother me). It is possible that physical appearance may contribute little to happiness in children. Instead, aspects of self-esteem may be more important to childrens happiness and items from the Piers-Harris 2s Physical Appearance and Attributes Scale assess this. Research with adults has shown that self-esteem is related to subjective well-being (Lucas et al. 1996) and self-concept predicts life satisfaction in children and young adults (Chang et al. 2003).

5.4 Demographic variables Research has consistently shown that demographic variables representing a wide range of dimensions (e.g., income, sex, and age) do not account for an impressive proportion of the variance in the happiness and well-being of adults and adolescents (e.g., Andrews and Withey 1976; Cheng and Furnham 2001; Csikszentmhihalyi and Hunter 2003; Diener and Fujita 1995; Gilman et al. 2000; Grob et al. 1999; Huebner and Dew 1996; Lu and Lin renson 2001). For example, a meta-analysis of 300 studies found that 1998; Pinquart and So gender accounts for less than 1% of the variance in the well-being of adults (Pinquart and renson 2001). Similarly, in the present study, for two measures of happiness (HapPH2 & So ParentChildFace) gender did not account for a signicant amount of the variance in childrens happiness, and for the other two measures (ChildOwnFace and Teacher Child Face) it accounted for less than 3%. Research on demographic variables and adult happiness has inuenced theories to suggest that happiness may be more associated with internal factors (e.g., personality) than external factors (e.g., experience and demographics) (Diener 1984; Diener et al. 1999). Our research suggests that a similar theoretical approach may be fruitful in understanding happiness in children. A wide range of demographic variables failed to explain more than a small amount of childrens happiness, whereas variables related to temperament, popularity, and physical appearance accounted for much more.

5.5 Limitations The present study begins to address the scarcity of research on happiness in children, but it has several limitations. These limitations include that our sample only represented a single culture. Happiness levels and the predictors of happiness vary across cultures (Diener et al. 1995a; Inglehart 1990). Additionally, we deliberately studied 912 year old children, and our results may not generalize to children of other ages. For example, the predictors of life satisfaction for 2nd and 8th grade children differed (Chang et al. 2003). Though having multiple measures of happiness and not relying solely on self-reports is an advantage (see below), the process of obtaining these measures creates a limitation. In order to obtain our ratings, one must rst secure informed consent from school boards, school principals, teachers, and parents, prior to obtaining assent from the children. With each additional level of consent required, one potentially reduces the percentage of people who agree to participate. Furthermore, relying on children to deliver the Parents Questionnaire and information to their parents and then return the completed forms further reduces our response rate. We have no guarantee that all parents received their packets and that all completed forms were returned. Given these constraints we consider our response rate of over 50% to be positive.

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An additional limitation is that there may have been a bias in the parents who agreed to respond. For example, perhaps happier parents were more likely to respond. Given that genes may account for 40% of the variance in positive emotionality (Tellegen et al. 1988) if more parents who were happy responded, our sample may include more children who are happy. The effect of any sample bias in the present study is difcult to assess. One possible outcome is it may have truncated the range of childrens happiness in our sample and reduced the strength of our effects. Our study may have also been limited by our measures of happiness. The present research employed estimates of happiness by parents and teachers. Correlations between parent and teacher ratings of children are typically not perfect (Achenbach et al. 1987; Gagnon et al. 1992). For example, the correlation between parents and teachers ratings was +0.14 for cheerfulness/optimism and was also +0.14 for humor (Martin et al. 2002). These values are similar to the correlations of parents and teachers ratings of childrens happiness (+0.15) in the present study. In the present study, four measures of childrens happiness were correlated and shared some common predictors. For example, for all four measures the variable labeled Neurotic accounted for a signicant proportion of the variance. However, the correlations were low and the predictors were not identical for all measures. This indicated that the measures of happiness were assessing, at least in part, different components and/or sensitivity to different additional variables. Without an ideal single measure of childrens happiness, we suggest that multiple measures continue to be used. This suggestion parallels the conclusion based on the adult literature that multiple measures, not only self-reports, should be employed (see Diener et al. 1999). When ndings are consistent across multiple measures that differ in their underlying assumptions, the ndings are less likely attributable to the assumptions of any individual measure, and one can be more condent in their validity. In the present study, results based on multiple measures of happiness suggested that temperament, popularity, and physical appearance all contribute to childrens happiness, whereas demographic variables account for relatively little of the variance in childrens happiness. Identifying variables that are correlated with happiness in children is helpful in determining the variables that should be included in a longitudinal study of childrens happiness.
Acknowledgements Preparation of this article was supported, in part, by a grant from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research awarded to Mark Holder. We are grateful for Andrea Welder and Andrea Klassen for reading and commenting on an earlier version of this article.

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