The Origins of Happiness

Chapter 10

We have a chapter on each of these five types of expe-

rience. The question is how they affect the three main di-

mensions of child development: emotional, behavioral, and

intellectual. We measure these dimensions as shown on the

outcome- age- measure grid.

Outcome Age Measure

Emotional 16, 11

5

Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire,

average of replies by mother and child

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire,

mother- assessed

Behavioral 16, 11, 5 Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire,
mother- assessed

Intellectual 16

11

5

General Certificate of Secondary Education

(GCSE) points

National curriculum test score (often

referred to as SATs)

Local school entry assessment

In the next five chapters we always take the outcomes in

this order— beginning with what is intrinsically the most

important, which is the emotional well- being of the child.

And we look at how, other things equal, it is affected by the

specific experience that is the subject of the chapter. Need-

less to say, outcomes at 5 have to be explained by experi-

ences up to 5; outcomes at 11 by experiences up to 11; and

so on. This applies to every table.

Poverty and Child Development

So how are children affected if their parents are poor? We

measure income by the log of income per adult- equivalent