How Happy are our Children found that young people whose family income has decreased in the past year are more than twice as likely to have low wellbeing than those whose family income has increased.
Through a series of surveys and a focus group between October 2010 and February 2011, 4,000 children and young people were questioned.
The biggest influences on respondents’ wellbeing were named as friends and family. The proportion of young people with low wellbeing was found to be higher in households where no adults were in full-time work at 16 per cent compared with 10 per cent of other children.
The Children’s Society chief executive Bob Reitemeier said: "Today’s findings are deeply concerning for everybody who has the interests of Britain’s children at heart. As the spending cuts take hold, the wellbeing of our children is under threat.
"The consequences are likely to hit the most vulnerable children hardest. We fear that they will pay a life-long economic and social price for current political decisions. It is vital that when local and national government make cuts that affect our children’s lives, wellbeing must be prioritised, not forgotten".
Last November, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he had asked the Office for National Statistics to lead a consultation on how the nation’s wellbeing can be measured. He said he wanted the exercise to start from April this year.
