The relation between temperament and happiness in children aged 8-12 was
examined. Participants included 311 students in Grades 4-6 and their parents, recruited from
public and private schools in the Central Okanagan. Parents rated their children’s
temperament using the Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey
(Buss & Plomin, 1984) and rated their children’s happiness using a single-item measure.
Children rated their own temperament using the EAS Temperament Survey and the Piers-
Harris Self Concept Scale for Children, Second Edition (Piers-Harris 2) (Piers & Herzberg,
2002). Children also rated their own happiness using a single-item measure, the Oxford
Happiness Scale, Short Form (Hills & Arygle, 2002), and the Subjective Happiness Scale
(Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Confirmatory factor analyses established that parent and
child ratings on the EAS Temperament Survey conformed to the four-factor structure
proposed by Buss and Plomin (1984). Multiple regression analyses revealed that
temperament accounted for between 9-29% of the variance in children’s happiness
depending on the rater (i.e., parents vs. children) and the measure of happiness. Individual
temperament variables that predicted a unique amount of the variance of children’s happiness
over and above the combined effect of all temperament variables varied with the rater of
children’s temperament (i.e., parents vs. children) and with the measure of happiness.
Children who were more social, less shy, less emotional, and more free from anxiety rated
themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. Children who scored higher on the activity
temperament rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. The results of the
current study parallel results of research investigating the relation between happiness and
personality in adults. It establishes a strong relation between temperament and happiness, and
iii
supports the use of self-reports with children. Implications and suggestions for future
research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/2805 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Klassen, Andrea Nicole |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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