TITLE:
Happiness Decreases during Early Adolescence—A Study on 12- and 15-Year-Old Finnish Students
AUTHORS:
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara
KEYWORDS:
Happiness, School-Related Happiness, Happiness-Increasing Factors, Ninth Graders, Adolescents, GPA, Secondary School
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.6,
April
25,
2014
ABSTRACT: Global and school-related happiness were
measured in 339 Finnish ninth graders, about 86% of whom had participated in a
study on the happiness of sixth graders three years earlier. Students filled
out two questionnaires, the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky
& Lepper, 1999) and the School Children’s Happiness Inventory (Ivens, 2007). In addition, they chose items that they
perceived would increase their happiness from a given list. Both global and school-related
happiness had decreased since the sixth grade. Especially in girls, the decline
was dramatic. The decrease in happiness was mostly attributed to peer problems
and, to a lesser extent, stress at school. The factor most desired to increase
happiness was more success at school followed by the desire for more money,
more free time and a girlfriend or boyfriend. Girls with a high grade-point
average were happier than other girls, globally and at school. Among boys, no
such differences appeared.