Unhappy kids are more likely to be materialistic: Study

Unhappy kids are more likely to be materialistic: Study

Unhappy kids are more likely to become materialistic than children

who are happy with their lives‚ a new study from the Netherlands

suggests.

Unhappy kids are more 

likely to become materialistic

 than children who are happy

 with their lives‚ a new study

 from the Netherlands suggests.

And TV advertising is an

 important instigator‚ the study

 found.

"Children who were less 

satisfied with their lives do

 become more materialistic

 over time‚ but only when 

they are frequently exposed

 to advertising‚" said study 

lead author Suzanna Opree.

"Advertising seems to teach children that possessions are a way to increase happiness"‚ Live

 Science Reported.

It's a significant finding because research with adults suggests that materialistic children may

 become less happy later in life‚ said Opree‚ a
research associate at the University of Amsterdam School of Communication Research.
The study describes it as "having a preoccupation with possessions and believing that products

 bring happiness and success."

In the survey‚ the children responded to items measuring materialism - for example‚ self-rating

 how much they like other children based on whether they have more possessions. Kids also

 rated how happy they were with their life‚ home‚ parents‚ friends‚ school and themselves and

 as a whole.

Ad exposure was gauged by how frequently kids watched nine ad-packed TV shows‚ including

 "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Skating With Celebrities‚" a Dutch family show.

Kids in general are bombarded with a lot of ads‚ the researchers said.

It's not a case of dissatisfied children watching more TV‚ she said.

"Unhappy children are not more frequently exposed to advertising than happy children‚" 

Opree said.