Cordelia Sutton

What counts as happiness for young people

Talk abstract:

Research on happiness is growing. However, there remains a lack of conceptual clarity in research on happiness, life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Research on children’s and young people’s happiness has been dominated by adult-led, quantitative measurements that emphasise measuring well-being for social comparison and as indicators of progress. These do not allow for young people’s own views and perspectives of happiness. In this presentation, I will discuss my qualitative PhD study, which investigated the meanings of happiness for 42 young people aged 13-16 using writings on happiness, together with a new method of happiness maps, discussion groups and interviews. The study used a broad constructivist grounded theory approach. Young people’s happiness is revealed as complex. Three main themes were identified: happiness is wide-ranging and individually variable; it is qualified and contingent; young people’s discussions of happiness also include language and discussions of unhappiness. The implications of these findings for future research on children’s and young people’s happiness will be explored.