Dr. Mark D. Holder University of British Columbia

CATCH: Community Action Toward Children’s Health

11-February-2014

The Science of Happiness in Children

Medical Model

Psychology, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience have traditionally focused on what’s wrong with you and how do we fix it.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Research Bias

- Search for “Depression”

- 334,581 references

- Search for “Happiness”

- 23,571 references 7%- Academic Articles

Last 15 months only

7% → 6%

Positive Psychology

After a century of studying human weaknesses and

dysfunction, positive psychology is about the habits and motivations

that underlie human flourishing

Happy People

- Exercise- Have relationships- Enjoy nature- Help others- Have hobbies- Express gratitude- Are spiritual

Isn’t this all just common sense?

1)Very Cheerful Children2)Imaginary Friends3)Rewards4)Math Scores and Happiness at

School5)Parent’s Marital Status

The Faces Scale

“Overall, how do you usually feel?”

Very Unhappy Very Happy

very happy

52 3 41 6 7

52 3 41 6 7

52 3 41 6 7

0

20

40

60

80

Unhappy (1-3) Very happy (6-7)

Canada

India

Measure Canada Zambia

UN Human Development Index 6th 164th

Life expectancy 80.7 yrs 42.4 yrs

GDP per capita $50,496 $1,414

Adult literacy rate 99% 80.6%

HIV/AIDS prevalence (15-49 yrs) 0.30 % 15.20%

52 3 41 6 7

52 3 41 6 7

0

20

40

60

80

Unhappy (1-3) Very happy (6-7)

Canada

Zambia

Happiness & Having Children

Non Parents Parents Parents Living with a Minor

Daily Activities and Happiness

Choices and Happiness

More choices = better results (more customized) More choices = more freedomSuccess:

285 varieties of cookies, 75 iced teas, and175 salad dressings6.5 million stereo combinations

More Choices = Less Happiness

Increased choice can lead to:1)Paralysis2)Easier to imagine better choices3)Increased expectation4)Self blame

More Choices = Less Happiness

Buying jam: 6 vs 20 choices

Children’s coloring: 3 crayons vs 24 crayons

• Maximizers vs Satisficers• Channel surfing• Hotel choices

• Maximizers make better decisions – Get better deals on hotels– Get higher paying jobs

Maximizers vs Satisficers

• But maximizers are less happy with their choices

• Online Dating

• Good news is that this can be changed

Choose Optimism

Optimism is positively correlated with:1) Self esteem2) Health3) Happiness4) High morale

And negatively correlated with: 1) Depression2) Anxiety3) Loneliness4) Stress

Pessimism is linked with:

1) Increased risk of accidental death2) Increased risk of violent death

Hope and Academics

• Hope at start of semester predicts:–Anticipated grade–Actual grade

• But hope is not correlated with IQ

Cultivate Optimism

• Write about your ideal/best future self (2 times in one week for 20 minutes using multiple domains)

The Downside of Optimism

- With too much optimism, you may not take smart and cautionary steps

Choose to Laugh

Choose to Smile

Debbie-Downers of laughing

• Plato thought laughter was ugly and could lead to undermining authority and lead people to overthrow the state

Debbie-Downers of laughing• Lord Chesterfield advised his son to be like him and never laugh in

public

George Vasey (1875) wrote “The philosophy of laughter and smiling”. He concluded that smiling should replace all laughter. Laughter was unnatural and drove its adherence to violent acts to promote more laughter. It distorts the face and leads to children’s death.Victorian fear of laughter perhaps contributed to the evil laugh

Babies begin laughing at 2-4 months of age This seems true globally Not the result of parents’ influence•Blind babies and deaf babies laugh at same age

Smiling

Signs of smiling start at 26-30 weeks of gestation

How often do we smile?

• 30% of people smile more than 20 times daily• 14% smile fewer than 5 times daily• Children smile 400 times per day

Smiling predicts...

• Social relationships and life satisfaction 3.5 years later (Facebook)

Preventing Smiling

• Judging the smiles of others• Botox and brain activity

Understanding and Showing Emotions is Important

Laughter across species• Laughter is seen in chimps (and perhaps rats and

gorillas)• If play recordings of dogs “laughing” to other

stressed dogs they calm down

Health Benefits of Laughter

• Laughter opens and dilates blood vessels (increases circulation and oxygenation of blood)

• Decreases blood pressure and muscle tension• Decreases arrhythmia in cardiac rehab• Decreases bronchial responsiveness in asthmatics• Increased levels of melatonin in breast milk

Give yourself permission to laugh

Bhutan

• In Bhutan, happiness (they define it more like peaceful serenity) is the most important driver of government policy

A Big Thanks

Dr Ben Coleman – Okanagan College

Graduate Students:Judi WallaceAndrea KlassenRob CallawayAshley LoveMaxine Crawford

Undergraduate Students:Tabatha FreimuthZoë SehnTim Krupa and Gene Krupa

Funding:Michael Smith Foundation for Health ResearchOgopogo Rotary ClubUBC Okanagan Internal Grants & Travel GrantsJoan Rundle (private donation)BrainTrust CanadaMitacsOkanagan Sustainability Institute