IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v115y2020ics0190740920303212.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does your child think you’re happy? Exploring the associations between children’s happiness and parenting styles

Author

Listed:
  • Maftei, Alexandra
  • Holman, Andrei-Corneliu
  • Cârlig, Elena-Roxana

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore children’s perception of their happiness, as well as their parents’, and to investigate their potential associations with parenting styles. The sample included 73 children (age range 5 to 8 years old, M = 6.57, SD = 1.06) and one of their parents (age range 29–47 years old, M = 36.45, SD = 4.08, 85% mothers). Parents filled in a parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire. We used The Faces Scale to assess children’s attributions of happiness, while a focused interview obtained spontaneous verbal descriptions of what made both children and their parents happy. We used both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore our data. Most children considered their compliance with family rules as parents’ main source of happiness. Family relationships and friendship were found to be the primary sources for children’s happiness. Correlation analyses suggested significant associations between children’s self-reported happiness, parents’ perceived happiness, and some of the permissive (lack of follow-through) and authoritarian (directiveness) parenting styles’ dimensions. These findings may be useful for both the development and implementation of positive socio-emotional programs during childhood, as well as for the general parent-child internal dynamic.

Suggested Citation

  • Maftei, Alexandra & Holman, Andrei-Corneliu & Cârlig, Elena-Roxana, 2020. "Does your child think you’re happy? Exploring the associations between children’s happiness and parenting styles," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:115:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920303212
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105074
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740920303212
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105074?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman, 2008. "The contribution of temperament, popularity, and physical appearance to children’s happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 279-302, June.
    2. Eirini Flouri, 2004. "Subjective Well-Being in Midlife: The Role of Involvement of and Closeness to Parents in Childhood," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 335-358, December.
    3. Theo Theobald & Cary Cooper, 2012. "Doing the Right Thing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-35901-7.
    4. Belén López-Pérez & Janice Sánchez & Michaela Gummerum, 2016. "Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2431-2455, December.
    5. Melıkşah Demır & Lesley Weitekamp, 2007. "I am so Happy ’Cause Today I Found My Friend: Friendship and Personality as Predictors of Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 181-211, June.
    6. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman & Judi Wallace, 2010. "Spirituality, Religiousness, and Happiness in Children Aged 8–12 Years," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 131-150, April.
    7. Lan Chaplin, 2009. "Please May I Have a Bike? Better Yet, May I Have a Hug? An Examination of Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(5), pages 541-562, October.
    8. Chu Kim-Prieto & Ed Diener & Maya Tamir & Christie Scollon & Marissa Diener, 2005. "Integrating The Diverse Definitions of Happiness: A Time-Sequential Framework of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 261-300, September.
    9. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman, 2009. "The Contribution of Social Relationships to Children’s Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 329-349, June.
    10. Theo Theobald & Cary Cooper, 2012. "The relationship between happiness and wellbeing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Doing the Right Thing, chapter 0, pages 13-18, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Helen Cheng & Adrian Furnham, 2004. "Perceived Parental Rearing Style, Self-Esteem and Self-Criticism as Predictors of Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, March.
    12. Mark Holder & Ben Coleman & Kamlesh Singh, 2012. "Temperament and Happiness in Children in India," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 261-274, April.
    13. Melikşah Demir & Lesley Weitekamp, 2007. "I am so Happy `cause Today I found my Friend: Friendship and Personality as Predictors of Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 213-213, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hsing-Chieh Huang & Peng-Yeh Lee & Yu-Chih Lo & I-Shen Chen & Chin-Hsien Hsu, 2021. "A Study on the Perceived Positive Coaching Leadership, Sports Enthusiasm, and Happiness of Boxing Athletes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roberto Baiocco & Valeria Verrastro & Lilybeth Fontanesi & Matteo Pio Ferrara & Jessica Pistella, 2019. "The Contributions of Self-Esteem, Loneliness, and Friendship to Children’s Happiness: The Roles of Gender and Age," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(4), pages 1413-1433, August.
    2. Wei Cui & Zhihui Yang, 2022. "Association Between Connection to Nature and Children’s Happiness in China: Children’s Negative Affectivity and Gender as Moderators," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 47-63, January.
    3. Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, 2012. "Global and School-Related Happiness in Finnish Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 601-619, August.
    4. Lan Chaplin, 2009. "Please May I Have a Bike? Better Yet, May I Have a Hug? An Examination of Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(5), pages 541-562, October.
    5. Leena Haanpää & Mirka Kuula & Mia Hakovirta, 2019. "Social Relationships, Child Poverty, and Children’s Life Satisfaction," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13, January.
    6. Melikşah Demir & Ingrid Davidson, 2013. "Toward a Better Understanding of the Relationship Between Friendship and Happiness: Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts, Feelings of Mattering, and Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 525-550, April.
    7. Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara & Juhani Lehto, 2013. "Social Factors Explaining Children’s Subjective Happiness and Depressive Symptoms," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 603-615, April.
    8. Haridhan Goswami, 2012. "Social Relationships and Children’s Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 575-588, July.
    9. Simone P. Nguyen & Cameron L. Gordon, 2020. "The Relationship Between Gratitude and Happiness in Young Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 2773-2787, December.
    10. Stewart McCann, 2011. "Emotional Health and the Big Five Personality Factors at the American State Level," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 547-560, August.
    11. Jihye Choi & Youjeong Park & Hye-Eun Kim & Jihyeok Song & Daeun Lee & Eunhye Lee & Hyeonjin Kang & Jeeho Lee & Jihyeon Park & Ji-Woo Lee & Seongeun Ye & Seul Lee & Sohee Ryu & Yeojeong Kim & Ye-Ri Kim, 2021. "Daily Life Changes and Life Satisfaction among Korean School-Aged Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Sabatini, Fabio, 2014. "The relationship between happiness and health: Evidence from Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 178-187.
    13. Karen Siedlecki & Timothy Salthouse & Shigehiro Oishi & Sheena Jeswani, 2014. "The Relationship Between Social Support and Subjective Well-Being Across Age," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 561-576, June.
    14. Ashley B. Love & Mark D. Holder, 2016. "Can Romantic Relationship Quality Mediate the Relation Between Psychopathy and Subjective Well-Being?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2407-2429, December.
    15. Pınar Uyan-Semerci & Emre Erdoğan, 2017. "Child Well-Being Indicators Through the Eyes of Children in Turkey: A Happy Child Would be One Who…," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(1), pages 267-295, March.
    16. Pankhuri Aggarwal & Vaishali V. Raval & Anuradha Sathiyaseelan & Mackenzie Trevethan & Aaron M. Luebbe, 2022. "Scripts About Happiness Among Urban Families in South India," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 2059-2082, June.
    17. Mark Holder & Andrea Klassen, 2010. "Temperament and Happiness in Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 419-439, August.
    18. Irina V. Leto & Evgeniya N. Petrenko & Helena R. Slobodskaya, 2019. "Life Satisfaction in Russian Primary Schoolchildren: Links with Personality and Family Environment," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 1893-1912, August.
    19. Xuechen Leng & Jinfeng Han & Yingcan Zheng & Xiaoyong Hu & Hong Chen, 2021. "The Role of a “Happy Personality” in the Relationship of Subjective Social Status and Domain-Specific Satisfaction in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1733-1751, August.
    20. Anne M. Gadermann & Martin Guhn & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl & Shelley Hymel & Kimberly Thomson & Clyde Hertzman, 2016. "A Population-Based Study of Children’s Well-Being and Health: The Relative Importance of Social Relationships, Health-Related Activities, and Income," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1847-1872, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:115:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920303212. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.