Abstract
The relation between temperament and happiness was assessed in a sample of 441 children aged 7–14 years drawn from a population
in Northern India. Parents assessed their children’s happiness and rated their children’s temperament using the Emotionality,
Activity, and Sociability Temperament Survey (EAS). Children self-reported their own happiness using a single-item measure,
the Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Parents’ temperament ratings conformed to the four
factor structure proposed by Buss and Plomin (Temperament: early developing personality traits. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Hillsdale, 1984): Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Shyness. Temperament accounted for between 4 and 11% of the variance in children’s
happiness depending on the measures. Children who were more social and active, and less shy, were happier. This result parallels
the well-established relation between happiness and personality in adults and is similar to recent research on happiness and
temperament in children; temperament traits akin to extraversion were positively associated with happiness. However, despite
that neuroticism and its temperament counterpart are strongly and consistently linked to happiness in adults, the relation
between happiness and the temperament trait associated with neuroticism (i.e., Emotionality) was weak. This suggests that
the relations between temperament and happiness in children may not completely generalize across cultures.
in Northern India. Parents assessed their children’s happiness and rated their children’s temperament using the Emotionality,
Activity, and Sociability Temperament Survey (EAS). Children self-reported their own happiness using a single-item measure,
the Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Parents’ temperament ratings conformed to the four
factor structure proposed by Buss and Plomin (Temperament: early developing personality traits. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Hillsdale, 1984): Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Shyness. Temperament accounted for between 4 and 11% of the variance in children’s
happiness depending on the measures. Children who were more social and active, and less shy, were happier. This result parallels
the well-established relation between happiness and personality in adults and is similar to recent research on happiness and
temperament in children; temperament traits akin to extraversion were positively associated with happiness. However, despite
that neuroticism and its temperament counterpart are strongly and consistently linked to happiness in adults, the relation
between happiness and the temperament trait associated with neuroticism (i.e., Emotionality) was weak. This suggests that
the relations between temperament and happiness in children may not completely generalize across cultures.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-14
- DOI 10.1007/s10902-011-9262-x
- Authors
- Mark D. Holder, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
- Ben Coleman, Okanagan College, Kalamalka Campus, 7000 College Way (C 311), Vernon, BC V1B 2N5, Canada
- Kamlesh Singh, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
- Journal Journal of Happiness Studies
- Online ISSN 1573-7780
- Print ISSN 1389-4978