Happiness Decreases in Secondary School,
a Longitudinal Study of Finnish Early Adolescents
A COMPARISON OF GLOBAL AND SCHOOL-RELATED HAPPINESS BETWEEN THE 12- AND 15-YEAR-OLD
C
PhD,University Lecturer in Special Education in Department of Teacher Education in University of
Helsinki, Finland
RESEARCH QUESTIONS• How happy are the 12- and the 15-year-olds (n=727 and n=339, respectively) globally and in the school-context?
• Are there differences between the genders?• Are there differences between the 6th and 9th graders?
• What would increase the happiness of 6th and 9th graders?
• What is the correlation between success in school (GPA) and global and school happiness in the 9th graders?
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) &The School Children’s Happiness Inventory
(SCHI)• SHS is a 4-item test aimed at measuring global happiness,
scale 1-7 (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). In general, I consider myselfNot a happy person - - - - - - - a very happy person
• SCHI is a context-related questionnaire on happiness (Ivens, 2007), 15 positive and 15 negative SWB items (e.g., “I felt relaxed”, or “I wanted to give up”), scale 1-4. In the Finnish version, 25 items.
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
SHS
SCHI
Descriptive Statistics for Happiness Measures in the 6th Graders
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Girls Boys Difference__________________________________________________________________________
n M SD n M SD t p __________________________________________________________________________SHS (1-7) “global” 375 5.30 .88 352 5.30 .87 .102 n.s.SCHI (1-4) “school” 377 3.28 .46 355 3.31 .43 -.762 n.s.__________________________________________________________________________
Descriptive Statistics for Happiness Measures in the 9th Graders
Girls Boys Difference_______________________________________________________________________
n M SD n M SD t p ______________________________________________________________________SHS (1-7) “global” 182 5.00 1.05 157 5.05 1.00 -.72 n.s.SCHI (1-4) “school” 182 3.04 .54 157 3.16 .51 -2.10 <.05_______________________________________________________________________ Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Comparison of Happiness measures in the 6th and 9th Grade
6. grade 9. grade difference
n M SD n M SD t p
SHS ”global” 727 5.30 0.88 339 5.01 1.01 4.89 < .001
SCHI ”school” 732 3.30 0.44 339 3.09 0.53 6.51 < .001
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Change in global happiness
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
F df p η2Global happiness
time 23.28 1 .000 .02gender n.s.
time*gender n.s.
R2a = .02
Mean of Global Happiness (scale 1-7)
Time
GirlsBoys
Change in school-related happiness
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
F df p η2School-related happiness
time 40.71 1 .000 .04gender 5.47 1 .019 .01
time*gender n.s.
R2a = .04
Mean of School-Related Happiness (scale 1-4)
Time
GirlsBoys
What would increase my happiness?
6. GRADE GIRLS% BOYS% ALL% • success in school• more free time• success in a hobby• a girl/boy friend• more friends• a pet• more money• better looks• a new hobby• peaceful family life• better health• becoming a celebrity
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
What would increase my happiness?
6.GRADE GIRLS% BOYS% ALL% • success in school* 52. 3 43.0 47.6• more free time^ 36.3 47.8 41.9• success in a hobby 40.6 39.4 40.0• a girl/boy friend 37.4 41.1 39.2• more friends* 41.1 29.3 35.4• a pet* 41.4 29.1 35.4• more money 31.0 37.4 34.1• better looks* 34.5 19.6 27.2• a new hobby* 27.1 17.9 22.6• peaceful family life 23. 6 19.6 21.6• better health 12.2 11.2 11.7• becoming a celebrity 11.4 8.9 10.2
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
9. gradeGirls %
(182) Boys % (157) All %(339)
better success in school 59,9 61,1 60,5
more money 61,0 58,6 59,9
more free time 53,8 58,0 55,8
a girl/boy friend 51,6 47,8 49,9
clear plans for future* 57,7 40,8 49,9
better looks* 52,7 33,1 43,7
more friends 45,1 36,3 41,0
better success in a hobby 36,8 33,8 35,4
people would be equal everywhere* 44,5 14,6 30,7
peaceful family life25,8 29,3 27,4
a new hobby 29,7 24,8 27,4
I would dare to be myself 24,7 18,5 21,8
climate change would end 24,7 17,8 21,5
better health 19,8 17,8 18,9
becoming a celebrity 13,7 21,0 17,1
A pet 19,8 13,4 16,8
improved spiritual life 18,1 14,6 16,5
my close ones would stop using alcohol and/or other drugs 16,5 15,9 16,2
I would stop using alcohol and/or other drugs 10,4 8,3 9,4
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Correlation between happiness and GPA
• Global happiness and GPA, r = .18, p<.001• School-related happiness and GPA, r = .18, p
< .001
• Division in two groups according to the grades (scale 4-10)
• Group 1: GPA < 8.5• Group 2: GPA ≥ 8.6
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
GPA more important for the girls
• In the girls, • SHS, t(180) = -3.42, p < .01
M(girls ≥8.6) = 5.36, SD = 0.95, n = 55M(girls <8.6) = 4.80, SD = 1.04, n = 127
• SCHI, t(180) = -4.25, p < .001M(girls ≥8.6) = 3.29, SD = 0.49, n = 55 M(girls <8.6) = 2.93, SD = 0.53, n = 127
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
GPA less important for the boys
• In the boys,• SHS, t(155) = 1.13, p > .05
M(boys ≥8.6) = 4.87, SD = .96M(boys <8.6) = 5.09, SD = .98.
• SCHI, t(155) = 1.06, p > .05M(boys ≥8.6) = 3.07, SD = .55M(boys <8.6) = 3.18, SD = .50
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Summary• Overall, children are happy!• However, happiness decreases during
puberty• Especially, in the school-context• Especially, in the girls• The correlates of happiness do not
change much during the junior high school
• GPA gains in importance, so does free time, money and looks
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Discussion 1/2
• Decrease in happiness during puberty is not unexpected: – Neuroendocrinological changes– Developmental tasks– Greater stress– New demands and challenges
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015
Discussion 2/2• Why do girls become unhappier?
– Multichallenged?– Good marks– Good behavior– Good looks– Too conscientious
Still, less autonomy, less freedom?
Lotta Uusitalo-Malmivaara, June 2015