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Comment on Kids with conservative parents are happier

PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

Oh, yeah, I read that.

But the meta-analysis didn’t say that conservative people and children to tend to be happier and have fewer issues with mental health. It said that an authoritative parenting style predicts fewer mental health problems and delinquent behavior.

That suggests the questions: Are conservative parents statistically more likely to employ an authoritative parenting style? If yes, then we could conclude that kids of conservatives are less likely to have mental health problems. But that question was neither asked nor answered by anything I’ve read today.

The study is not about happiness. Happiness is defined in the positive, actively having and experiencing a particular feeling or set of them. Thus, a lack of mental health problems, which the study is about, is not happiness.

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wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

Thus, a lack of mental health problems, which the study is about, is not happiness.

That is a large part of happiness.

thefederalist.com/…/research-finds-conservatives-…

From that article

ifstudies.org/…/conservatives-happier-at-home-wor…

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/…/1948550618768241

“In sum, conservatives reported greater meaning in life and greater life satisfaction than liberals.”

They have plenty of links in the articles.

It is very well known conservatives are happier than liberals, they give more to charity and have better sex lives.

redstate.com/…/aoc-is-wrong-conservatives-have-be…

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- PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  For once, I genuinely learned something useful here. The research call it the conservative-liberal happiness gap or the ideological happiness grap, and it’s…it’s true. It exists and is well-documented.
  
  Obvious question is why?
  
  This has rabbit hole potential…
  
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  - wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    Obvious question is why?
    
    I explained why but let’s not take my word for it. Let’s look at the research.
    
    realclearscience.com/…/why_are_conservatives_happ…!
    
    To paraphrase, conservatives are less concerned with equality of outcomes and more with equality of opportunity. While American liberals are depressed by inequalities in society, conservatives are okay with them provided that everyone has roughly the same opportunities to succeed. The latter is a more rosy and empowering view than the deterministic former.
    
    They found that conservatives “expressed greater personal agency, more positive outlook, more transcendent moral beliefs, and a generalized belief in fairness” compared to liberals.
    
    Conservatives are more satisfied with their lives, in general… report better mental health and fewer mental and emotional problems (all after controlling for age, sex, income, and education), and view social justice in ways that are consistent with binding moral foundations, such as by emphasizing personal agency and equity.
    
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    PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    let’s not take my word for it
    
    This is my default position. I will never take anyone’s word if I can understand something myself.
    
    Yeah, I found the research that tried to tease out the causes. I think this paper was the best one I read. Section 6.6. Evaluative connotations was probably the best out of the paper:
    
    According to philosophers of science, meaning is never found directly in the data; meaning is provided by interpreting the data from specific theoretical perspectives. Different perspectives can imply different evaluative connotations.
    
    So the bits you quoted from realclearscience.com, from another perspective, could support the idea that conservatives are delusional in their belief that everyone has roughly the same opportunities to succeed. Perceived social mobility has declined after all, so, the idea that their happiness derives from the view that inequality doesn’t matter would then be false, i.e., delusional.
    
    I’m not trying to make that argument, mind you. I’m just saying these studies that say conservatives are happier still seem suspect to me fundamentally even though I must admit their conclusions. I don’t think they’re wrong, per se…just…not objective? universal? right? idk.
    
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