The Origins of Happiness

Chapter 1

measured by parents’ involvement with the child, and fam-

ily stability by whether the parents were still together when

the child was 16. Mother’s mental health is based on 24

questions and is averaged throughout childhood.

As Figure 1.3 shows, most of these factors have similar

predictive power, but two findings stand out. Whether the

mother works or not has no significant effect one way or

other on whether the child becomes a happy adult. This

important finding is discussed at length in a later chapter.

On the other hand the mental health of the mother turns

out to be crucial.

Figure 1.2. How adult life- satisfaction is affected by child outcomes (British

Cohort Study)

Qualications

Behavior at 16

Emotional health at 16

0.07 (0.01)

0.03 (0.02)

0.10 (0.01)

β (s.e.)

0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 R^2 = 0.035

Figure 1.3. How adult life- satisfaction is affected by family background (British
Cohort Study)

Family income

Parents’ education

Father’s unemployment

Mother’s work

Parental involvement

Family break-up

Mother’s mental health

0.02 (0.01)

0.02 (0.01)

–0.03 (0.01)

–0.01 (0.01)

0.04 (0.01)

–0.03 (0.01)

0.06 (0.01)

β (s.e.)

–0.04 –0.02 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 R^2 = 0.020