ISCI 2011 Conference Children's Well-Being: The Research & Policy Challenges

1. ISCI 2011 Conference Children's Well-Being: The Research & Policy Challenges Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great Britain Amy Clair, University of York

2. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainBackground Research has tended to focus on other aspects of the parent/child relationship “Common sense” (Casas et al, 2008, pg 198) Family important to children’s SWB Tess Ridge study Potentially a two-way relationship Amy Clair, University of York

3. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainContext • Heritability • Shared Environment • “the joint family environment leads to shared forms of cognition, values, attitudes, and emotions on the part of adolescents and their parents” (Ben-Zur, 2003, pg 69) • Emotional contagion • Children ‘receivers’ of emotion • Stability/instability • Policy salient Amy Clair, University of York

4. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainSample Characteristics • BHPS 1994-2008 • 16,836 responses from 5,125 children • 967 children only 1 response • 15,869 responses from 4,158 children • 2,134 boys, 2,024 girls • 15,590 responses from mothers • 12,631 responses from fathers • Children mean age = 13 • Mother mean age = 40 • Father mean age = 43 Amy Clair, University of York

5. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainMethods • Parents • SWB (12-item GHQ) (α=0.98+) concentration, loss of sleep, playing a useful role, capable of making decisions, constantly under strain, problem overcoming difficulties, enjoy day-to-day activities, ability to face problems, unhappy or depressed, losing confidence, believe in self-worth, general happiness • Life satisfaction (α=0.85+) health, income of household, house/flat, social life, amount of leisure time, use of leisure time, life overall • Children • Self-esteem (α=0.73) I feel I have a number of good qualities, I certainly feel useless at times, I am a likeable person, All in all, I am inclined to feel a failure, At times I feel I am no good at all. • Life satisfaction (α=0.71) How do you feel about your school work? your appearance? your family? your friends? your life as a whole? Amy Clair, University of York

6. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainMethods • SWB construct • Socio-demographic considerations • Statistical methods: • Conducted using SPSS and STATA • Pearson’s r • Generalized least squares regression Amy Clair, University of York

7. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings • Child Well-being – time trends Life Satisfaction Self-Esteem Male M=10.88, Female M=9.99. t (16186) = 23.16, p < .001. r = .18 Male M=24.36, Female M=23.98. t (16113) = 6.12, p < .001. r = .05 Amy Clair, University of York

8. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings • Parent Well-being – time trends Life Satisfaction SWB Amy Clair, University of York

9. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings • Child Well-being – age trends Life Satisfaction Self-Esteem Amy Clair, University of York

10. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings Correlations Amy Clair, University of York

11. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings Generalized least squares regression Amy Clair, University of York

12. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings Generalized least squares regression Amy Clair, University of York

13. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainFindings Generalized least squares regression *** p< .001, ** p< .01, * p< .05 Amy Clair, University of York

14. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainLimitations Limited age group Yearly Parents and children not assessed using the same measures GHQ Amy Clair, University of York

15. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainConclusions Parental well-being significantly related to child well-being Important influence of age and gender Parents more influential on affective/emotional aspects of subjective well-being However parent life satisfaction seems to be more important Parental influence not always positive Mothers seem to have greater influence overall Amy Clair, University of York

16. ISCI 2011 Conference - Investigating the relationship between parent and child subjective well-being in Great BritainImplications Example of need for subjective well-being to be covered more accurately in surveys Need to go into more detail An interdisciplinary concern Amy Clair, University of York