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@article{210584,
        author = {Dr. Simi Shrivastava and Dr. Shivli Shrivastava},
        title = {Family Structure and Happiness level: a comparative study among higher secondary school students of regular schools},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {6},
        pages = {1540-1547},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=210584},
        abstract = {A family is traditionally defined as a group of people connected by blood, marriage, or adoption, sharing a household, emotional bonds, and mutual support (Barnard, 2026). The two-family structures examined in this study were nuclear and joint families. Happiness refers to a state of well-being characterised by positive emotions, from contentment to joy, and is a key concept in Positive Psychology (Seligman et al., 2005). The present study compared happiness levels among 160 higher secondary school students from Classes XI and XII, comprising 56 students from joint families and 104 from nuclear families. A quantitative, cross-sectional comparative research design was employed. Happiness was measured on a five-point scale, with higher scores indicating greater happiness. Descriptive statistics and Welch’s independent-samples t-test were used to compare four subgroups: Class XI girls, Class XI boys, Class XII girls, and Class XII boys. The findings showed a mixed pattern: joint-family girls in Class XI and boys in Class XII reported higher mean happiness scores, whereas nuclear-family boys in Class XI and girls in Class XII scored higher. Only the Class XII girls’ comparison was statistically significant (p = .039). The overall mean scores were 4.362 for joint-family students and 4.341 for nuclear-family students, indicating a negligible difference. The findings suggest that family structure alone may not consistently explain students’ happiness. Emotional support, family relationships, communication, and the school and social environment may also contribute. Further research using validated measures, larger samples, and multivariable analyses is recommended.},
        keywords = {A family is traditionally defined as a group of people connected by blood, marriage, or adoption, sharing a household, emotional bonds, and mutual support (Barnard, 2026). The two-family structures examined in this study were nuclear and joint families. Happiness refers to a state of well-being characterised by positive emotions, from contentment to joy, and is a key concept in Positive Psychology (Seligman et al., 2005). The present study compared happiness levels among 160 higher secondary school students from Classes XI and XII, comprising 56 students from joint families and 104 from nuclear families. A quantitative, cross-sectional comparative research design was employed. Happiness was measured on a five-point scale, with higher scores indicating greater happiness. Descriptive statistics and Welch’s independent-samples t-test were used to compare four subgroups: Class XI girls, Class XI boys, Class XII girls, and Class XII boys. The findings showed a mixed pattern: joint-family girls in Class XI and boys in Class XII reported higher mean happiness scores, whereas nuclear-family boys in Class XI and girls in Class XII scored higher. Only the Class XII girls’ comparison was statistically significant (p = .039). The overall mean scores were 4.362 for joint-family students and 4.341 for nuclear-family students, indicating a negligible difference. The findings suggest that family structure alone may not consistently explain students’ happiness. Emotional support, family relationships, communication, and the school and social environment may also contribute. Further research using validated measures, larger samples, and multivariable analyses is recommended.},
        month = {November},
        }