Happy?

INCOME LEVEL

EDUCATION LEVEL

ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER

LONGEVITY

AVAILABILITY OF LEISURE TIME

CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

SYSTEM OF REPRESENTATION/GOVERNMENT

FREEDOM OF SPEECH/BELIEF

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

VARIETY OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS

ADEQUATE HOUSING

RIGHT TO PRIVACY

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

PLACE THE FOLLOWING IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE FOR INFLUENCING HUMAN WELLBEING:

MEANINGFUL JOB

Unicef says the study is the first of its kind for child well-being

UK is accused of failing children

The UK has been accused of failing its children, as it comes bottom of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries.

Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, from York University, one of the report's authors, put the UK's poor ratings down to long term under-investment

and a "dog-eat-dog" society.

"In a society which is very unequal, with high levels of poverty, it leads

on to what children think about themselves and their lives. That's really what's at the heart of this," he said.

Unicef - the United Nations children's organisation - says Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries is the

first study of childhood across the world's industrialised nations.

CHILD WELL-BEING TABLE 1. Netherlands2. Sweden3. Denmark4. Finland5. Spain6. Switzerland7. Norway8. Italy9. Republic of Ireland10. Belgium11. Germany12. Canada13. Greece14. Poland15. Czech Republic16. France17. Portugal18. Austria19. Hungary20. United States21. United KingdomSource: Unicef

WHY?

In 1958, only 4 percent of American homes had dishwashers. Now more than half do.

Less than 1 percent had colour televisions. Now 97 percent do. In addition, in the '50s there were no microwave ovens, VCRs, or personal computers.

Today, many new homes have three-car garages and are nearly 900 square feet (the same as an entire house in the 1950s).

Americans fly 25 times as many passenger miles as they did in the 1950s.

Although Americans had fewer material goods, the number of Americans who say they are very happy peaked back in 1957.

On average, Americans shop six hours a week and spend only 40 minutes playing with their children.

WATCH

About Affluenza

There is currently an epidemic of 'affluenza' throughout the world - an obsessive, envious, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses - that has resulted in huge increases in depression and anxiety among millions.

Despite very different cultures and levels of wealth, affluenza is

spreading.

It is to do with why so many more people want what they

haven't got and want to be someone they're not, despite being

richer and freer from traditional restraints than ever before.

"Never before have I read a book that so precisely captures the way we are all being emotionally snookered by the demands of 21st-century living... read this book" - Jeremy Vine, broadcaster and columnist

(answer each question 'Yes' or 'No'):

1. I would like to be a very wealthy person.2. I would like to have my name known by many people.3. I would like to successfully hide the signs of ageing.4. I would like to be admired by many people.5. I would like to have people comment often about how attractive I look.6. I like to keep up with fashions in hair and clothing.7. I would like to have my name appear frequently in the media.8. I often compare what I own with what others own.9. Possessions can be just as important as people.10. Shopping or thinking about what to buy greatly preoccupies me.11. If a friend can't help me to get ahead in life, I usually end the friendship.12. I'm less concerned with what work I do than with what I get for it.13. I admire people who own expensive homes, cars and clothes.14. My life would be a lot better if I owned certain things I don't have now.15. The things I will own will say a lot about how well I've done in life.16. I want a lot of luxury in my life.

Take the test

The more of the questions you answered YES to, the more likely it is that you

have some degree of affluenza.

Oliver JamesOliver James trained and practised as a clinical child psychologist and, since 1988, has worked as a writer, journalist, broadcaster and television documentary producer and presenter. His books include the best-selling Affluenza, and Britain on the Couch, which was also a successful documentary series for Channel 4. He is a trustee of the Alzheimer's charity, SPECAL and lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and two small children.

• Affluenza is NOT about the virtue of being poor; it is about the consequences of

excessive preoccupation with material wealth.

• There appears to be a correlation around the world between the level of

materialistic ambition in societies and their level of low-grade mental illness such as

stress, anxiety and depression.

• This is caused by a focus on ambition rather than achievement, on failure rather than

success, on want rather than need.

• Business has a vested interest to encourage people to feel dissatisfied so that they will consume more.

• Comparison with people who have ‘more’ always leads to unhappiness.

• High-achievers are more likely to suffer from this as they have higher expectations.

James’ main findings

Affluenza can be combatted by:

• making sure the challenges you set yourself are realistic.

• focusing on what you have rather than what you don’t have.

• defining your own terms for success.

• avoiding negative comparisons with other people.

• understanding that lasting happiness comes from within you,

not from your material possessions.

Affluenza can be combatted by:

• understanding the difference between needs and wants.

• Keeping control of your spending so that you don’t build up

huge debts

• understanding that lasting happiness comes from within

you, not from your material possessions.

"Never before has our emerging environmental crisis been laid out so clearly before us. Rather than shouting from the fringes, respected economists, scientists, and politicians are sounding the warnings that our oceans are dying, that the ice shelves are melting, and that we are setting ourselves up for the most massive and devastating market failure humanity has ever seen.

So we recycle our rubbish. We vote greener. We buy sleek, new hybrid cars and fill our houses with energy-efficient light bulbs. And we put our money and faith in the brave and ingenious technologies that will rescue us from the whirlwind.

But it won't be enough. Because this is not, basically, a technological problem. Nor is it a political problem. This is a problem of excessive demand, and of self-deceit. The planet is breaking, and it is breaking under the weight of our hunger for more. To reform the world, we must first reform ourselves."