Opportunities for Happiness and Its Determinants Among Children in China: A Study of Three Waves of the China Family Panel Studies Survey

Since 2010, China’s happiness research has extended its focus from adults and youths to the child population, but most of the studies are confined to local samples. Also, the majority are limited to considering psychological background, thus lacking the idea of integrating the capability approach, which has achieved prominence in international child well-being studies. In order to address these shortfalls, for our paper we decided to combine the happiness and capability perspectives with the analytical framework of ‘subjective well-being capability’. Utilising three waves of China Family Panel Survey as a dataset, we map the national profile of child happiness in terms of opportunity. In order to assess each child’s opportunity for happiness, we adopt the MIMIC model for statistical analysis. Our results suggest that children’s opportunities for happiness serve as the latent variable behind various observable domains of such happiness. Also, through application of the capability approach we have identified a series of conversion factors, which have significant impact on a child’s potential happiness. Moreover, there are robust synergies between the different capabilities and happiness opportunities among the children examined. Based on such research findings, we discuss our contribution to China’s child happiness research in theoretical and policy terms.