A new survey came up with some surprising results to the question: What makes you happy? In an extensive survey of 1,280 young people aged 13 to 24, the top answer was spending time with family. The survey was recently conducted by the Associated Press and MTV. 

In the survey, spending time with friends came in second and spending time with a significant other was third. Also surprising (especially if you are the parent of a teenager), three-quarters of the young people questioned said their relationship with their parents makes them happy.  

“They’re my foundation,” said Kristiana St. John, 17, from
Queens, New York. “My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed.” 

On average, whites (72%) were happier than blacks (56%) and Latinos (51%) no matter what their economic level. While you might think money would make a difference in happiness, and those with higher incomes generally reported being happier, no one surveyed cited money as a measure of happiness. 

Fully 65% of the young people surveyed reported being happy with their life as it is. Some of the other findings:

• Being sexually active generally made young people less happy. Though most of those surveyed thought marriage would make them happy and most planned to have children, though not for a long time.
• Half said religion and spirituality are very important and more than half expressed belief in a higher power.
• Children of divorced parents are slightly less happy than those whose parents are still together.
• Alcohol drinkers and drug users were significantly less happy than those who didn’t drink or use drugs.

“It’s good news to hear young people being realistic about what really makes them happy,” said psychologist Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and a professor at
San Diego state University. “Research has shown us that relationships are the single greatest source of happiness.” 

When asked who their greatest role model was – Oprah Winfrey? Michael Jordan? Hillary Clinton? Tiger Woods? – more than half of the young people chose their parents.