What Makes Young People Happy?

Youths Say It's Family Ties — Not Sex, Drugs Or Cash, Poll Shows

(AP)  "It would be nice, but where I am right now is, I want to take care of myself," says Rosales. "Before you can be in a committed relationship you have to know who you are and what you really want."

Eventually, though, marriage is a goal for most young people, with 92 percent saying they either definitely or probably want to get married.

"I don't want to be one of those career businesswomen who just doesn't ever settle down," says St. John, the New York high school student.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY:
Money may make the world go around, but when asked what one thing makes them happiest, almost nobody in the poll mentioned money or anything material. Still, money does play a role in happiness.

Those who can't afford to buy many of the things they want are less happy with life in general. Just under half of young people think they'd be happier if they had more money, while the same percentage (49 percent) say they'd be just as happy.

"I'm going to college next year," says Fiedler, who will attend Drexel University in Philadelphia. "Not the cheapest thing nowadays. Money isn't the most important thing, but if something happens, it can turn into it."

STRESSES, FEARS:
Young people in this survey had a 10 percent higher stress rate than adults did in a 2006 AP-Ipsos poll. For ages 13 to 17, school is the greatest source of stress. For those in the 18-24 range, it's jobs and financial matters.

Only 29 percent feel very safe traveling, and 25 percent very safe from terror attacks. Still, those interviewed said the fear of terror interfered very little with their lives.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL:
Alcohol users are slightly less happy than those who don't drink. The differences are more remarkable among 13-17 year olds; just 40 percent of those who drank in the last seven days reported being happy with life, versus 68 percent of those who didn't. And 49 percent of illegal drug users reported being happy with life, compared with 66 percent of those who didn't use drugs.

RACIAL DIVIDE:
While 72 percent of whites say they're happy with life in general, just 56 percent of blacks and 51 percent of Hispanics say that. And 66 percent of whites were happy at the moment the interview began, compared with 57 percent of minorities.

SUSTENANCE FOR THE SOUL:
"I just like believing in something greater than me and everybody else," St. John, who attends a Catholic school, says of her commitment to religion. "When I pray, sometimes it just makes me feel better, if I'm freaking out about things."

Those for whom religion and spirituality plays a bigger role tend to be happier, according to the poll. More than half — 55 percent — say it is either a very important part of life or the single most important thing in their lives.

I NEED A HERO:
Oprah Winfrey? Michael Jordan? Hillary Clinton? Tiger Woods? All those names came up when people were asked about heroes. Of public figures, Martin Luther King, Jr. got the most mentions. But nearly half mentioned one of their parents, with mothers ranking higher (29 percent) than fathers (21 percent).

"My parents came here from the Philippines in the '70s," says Rosales. "They raised a family and got to where they are from scratch. My mother's now the director of a hospital. I admire them both so much."

"My mother is a pastor, and she's my role model," says Esohe, the 14 year old in Nashville. "She's so giving." Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to name their mothers.

Also mentioned: God (more than 10 percent), teachers (nearly 5 percent); and members of the military, policemen and firefighters.

THE CRYSTAL BALL:
Will young people grow up to be happy adults? Overall they're optimistic: Sixty-two percent think they'll be happier in the future than they are now. (Those over 18 are more optimistic.) But many anticipate a more difficult life than their parents had.

"I think a lot about my kids and what their lives are going to be like," says Fiedler. "There may be wars going on, who knows. I just have a feeling it's going to be harder for the future generation to be happy."

[gmond]

Getting away from young people makes me happy.

[toolmangler-2009]

Lack of stress. I am also happy if I am not stressed out.

[drinuk]

Happiness is....Charlie, Booze, ***, Rotting in Bed, beatin'' the c r a p out of anyone who looks at you and being UNHAPPY.

[usayesterday]

If only the 13 to 24 age group knew what it was like to be in the 25 to 36 age group right now, (and beyond)...


...they''d all be happy just being in the 13 to 24 age group!

[incog-nito]

There is no happiness in this world for most people, only temporary escape.

[tnt1954]

some kids come from ''hardened'' families.
partially disabled veteran families.
or were adopted. or all three.
some kids, parents go to prison.
they couldn''t earn a living any other
way than crime or swindling. so the
kids are on their own. yea, even
at 8 yrs. old. they gotta hit
the road early, and there is no where to
come back. they often have like a chip
on their shoulder. like they got a raw deal.
reality therapy is the best thing for these
kids. so your father was an alcoholic, addict
pimp and your mother was a nymphomaniac.
what are you gonna do about it? the prudence
prudehorns usually exclaim, how could such
trash be allowed to have children from
their self-righteous positions in ''better society''. the high mighty witches associations.
lol. the snob factor. not the o''reilly factor.

[feelfree1]

Re: "What Makes Young People Happy?"

Was "NOT dying in a fraud-based, self-defeating, cleptocratic, illegal war of aggression" on the list?

[oakishpines]

'' ... most get sick tax world folk most time remind all that most folk most time dance get well feed world songs rallied around tens millions spore bloom weed dragon trail fickle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail groups ... ''

[oakishpines]

'''' ... being born was like meeting all the people that preach thou shalt not kill, and then finding out they killed all the navajos, all the cherokee, all the sioux, the maya, the inca the *** the ******** whiteys ***** sand ******* europeans jews fatties ******* christians pedophiles prostitutes muslims lazys nakeds profanes ignorants blemisheds tireds hungrys lonelys boreds lustys scareds sads

and there was no one left that i was allowed to be
except a *** *** ... ''''



'' ... there should be a sci fi series called pimped by men to accompany the real tv series pimped by girls ... ''

[standlee5]

DUH.

[michellem99-2009]

Happiness is...
When I was that age
I saw no happiness
only pain of a foster
child being moved
fron home to home.
Yet I cryed to sleep.
The abuse would stop
when much older.
Happiness later
came atfer many years.
If I had to name some
one I truly love.
That person is
the man I call
Dad who I think
the world of.
Yet I learnt
his voice
as the blind do.
I missed him growing up.
I will alway love Dad.
Verse by Barbara Ann
Dad named me that when a baby.

[sparks224]

What Makes Young People Happy?
You mean besides the s.e.x and drugs?