New research indicates that young people are actually happier in the midst of the economic crisis than they were during the boom times. The research, conducted by the University of Akureyri, also indicates that relationships between parents and children has strengthened during the crisis.
The university gathered the data necessary by asking students in 6th, 8th and 10th grade questions about their lifestyles and general health. The previous poll was conducted four years ago, for the same age groups.
Dr. Ársæll Arnarsson, an associate professor of psychology at the university, told RÚV that comparing the general happiness of young people in 2006 and today revealed some surprising results.
Most expected that the general happiness of young people would be lower than it was in the boom times, but on the contrary, 10-25% more young people report a good relationship with their parents now than in 2006.
If we were to speculate further, we’d imagine that having fewer consumer choices also means you have to pay more attention to the things in life that don’t have a price tag, which in general tends to make people happier.