By: Trevor Stokes, MyHealthNewsDaily Contributor
Published: 11/19/2012 03:07 PM EST on MyHealthNewsDaily
Gloomy teens, take heed — your more happy-go-lucky classmates will likely earn more than you, according to new research.
Researchers followed more than 10,000 U.S. adolescents over a decade and found that happiness during the teen years and young adulthood was linked with income at age 29.
Downcast teens earned 30 percent less than the average salary at age 29, whereas happy teens earned 10 percent above average, according to researchers.
"Happiness is a good predictor of income," even after factors such as gender, IQ, physical health and height are taken into account, said study researcher Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics at the University of Warwick in England.
Why high spirits may translate to bigger salaries is unknown, but happiness during the teen years may allow people to focus on the tasks at hand instead of dwelling on their feelings.
"If you're happy, you have less worries and distractions and stress that probably divert you away from the things that are important for work and getting promotions," Oswald said. "People who worry less can concentrate on being better employees."
People in the study completed questionnaires about their emotional well-being at ages 16, 18 and 22, and researchers followed up with them when study participants reached age 29, as part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
The teens were asked to rate their life satisfaction on a five-point scale, and researchers found that each 1-point increase was associated with a $2,000 increase in income by age 29 on average.
Even within families, the researchers found that happier teens earned more than their more woeful siblings.
But teens can't simply grin their way to bigger paychecks, Oswald said. The researchers found that teens also benefited from being outgoing and having fewer neuroses.
The researchers emphasized that the link may work in both directions, with income levels and happiness influencing each other.Among study participants, happiness levels were further boosted by earning a college degree, getting hired for a job and receiving promotions, researchers found.
How parents might help gloomy teens
Parents can help their teens improve their incomes, experts said.
"One take-home message for parents might be that actually, it is important how your kids are feeling," Maria Iacovou, senior research fellow at the University of Essex in England, told MyHealthNewsDaily. Iacovou studies how families affect children's incomes, but was not involved in the new study.
"Children's mental health and well-being — when they're teenagers — maybe it isn't just something that should be ignored and be assumed it will all come out right in the end, it is something that should actually be paid attention to right here and right now," Iacovou said.
However, this doesn't mean that teens can or should simply start smiling more.
"The effects in this paper are not small by the standards of social sciences, but they're not huge," Iacovou said. "It doesn't mean that if you have a gloomy teenager or if you are a gloomy teenager that you will necessarily end up with the rest of your life ruined."
The study appeared online today (Nov. 19) in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Pass it on: Ensuring teenagers are happy may help them earn bigger paychecks in the future.
FollowMyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
Copyright 2012 MyHealthNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.