Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Happiness

Lopez-Perez, B. and Sanchez, J and Gummerum, M (2015) Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17 (6). pp. 2431-2455. ISSN 1389-4978

Text Lopez-Perez, Sanchez, & Gummerum 2015.pdf - Accepted Version Download (612kB)

Abstract

Previous research on children's and adolescents' happiness has mainly focused on the different variables that may contribute to it. However, very few studies have investigated the beliefs that children and adolescents hold about happiness. It is important to study developmental differences in the conceptions of happiness as beliefs affect people's emotions and behaviors, and they may help explain how children and adolescents strive for their own (and potentially others') happiness. To that aim, we asked 162 children and adolescents to define - in their own words - what happiness meant for them. Their responses were coded according to two different systems derived from previous finding with adults and children. Overall, results showed that hedonic conceptualization of happiness were mainly present in late childhood; whereas eudaimonic conceptualizations were mainly present in adolescence.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	The final publication is available at Springer via https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-015-9701-1
Keywords:	happiness; children; adolescents; lay-theories.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Belen Lopez-Perez
Date Deposited:	06 Jun 2017 15:14
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2017 15:17
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2011

Actions (login required)

View Item