Study: Spirituality a big part of kids’ happiness

OKANAGAN, British Columbia — Spirituality is a major contributor to a child’s overall happiness — even more so than for adults — according to a new study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Okanagan. The study tested 315 children aged 9 to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations. “Our goal was to see whether there’s a relation between spirituality and happiness,” said Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology and the study’s co-author. “We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children.”

Past studies have shown that in adults, spiritual feelings and higher levels of religious behavior typically account for about 4 percent or 5 percent of a person’s overall happiness, said a UBC statement. The results of the UBC study came as a surprise: 6.5 percent to 16.5 percent of children’s happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

“From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” Holder said. “I expected it to be much less — I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being.”