Children 'most affected by rows'

The Children's Society said more than one in 20 children aged between 10 and 15 in England were "significantly" unhappy, family arguments being the major cause.

Those from families who "get along well together" are on average 20 per cent happier than those who do not, regardless of whether they have a lone parent, step-family, or live with both parents.

The study, which questioned nearly 7,000 children between 10 and 15 years old, also found that girls are nearly twice as likely to be unhappy with their looks than boys. One in five said they were unhappy with their appearance and this number rose with older age groups.

It was also revealed that young black African, Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi children were "significantly" happier with their appearance than white children

The chief executive of the Children's Society, Bob Reitemeier,

said: "This ground-breaking study is a major step forward in our efforts to understand and enhance the well-being of young people.

"It shows the vast majority of our children are happy, but it is a major concern that two children in every classroom are unhappy, and that so many are insecure about their appearance and confidence.

"Family conflict emerges in this study as a major cause of childhood unhappiness, and so it is vital that families can get the sort of family mediation and counselling the Children's Society offers to help them resolve and avoid conflicts.

"This report is a stark reminder that our actions as adults can have a profound impact on our children's well-being and the importance of listening to what children are telling us."

Survey co-author Prof Jonathan Bradshaw, of the University of York, said: "This survey makes a major contribution to our understanding of children's subjective well-being in England and the factors that contribute to it.

"It also establishes a valuable benchmark that we can use to track changes in well-being over time."

The research showed that of the 6,744 children interviewed in year six, the final year of primary school, and years eight and 10 of secondary school, an average of two in every class were unhappy.

The seven per cent of "significantly" unhappy children amounted to 140,000 out of the 1.8 million children in the three year groups, or 300,000 if all 10 to 15 year olds were counted, the charity said.

The survey, carried out by Ipsos Mori between April and July 2008,

asked children to give a score out of 10 on a happiness scale to a

series of aspects of their lives.

Overall, the average "well-being" score was 7.7 out of 10. But

happiness levels fell as children got older, with average happiness scores falling from around eight out of 10 in the last year of primary school to around 7.4 for young people aged 14 to 15 years old.

The charity said the aim of the research project, believed to be the biggest of its kind, was to create a "well-being index" to inform and measure the impact of public policy and track changes in children's happiness.

The final report by the inquiry, among other recommendations, urged advertisers to stop encouraging the premature sexualisation of children.

The professor of medical psychology at the University of Leeds medical school, Andrew Hill, who has a special interest in eating disorders and body image, said today's findings about girls' unhappiness with their appearance were not a surprise.

"It mirrors the previous findings and that is something to do with the way that society values women more by their appearance and the cultural transmission of that social value.

"Often girls pick up on that from a much younger age than 10 years old."