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It may be worth paying attention to what your child finds funny. By Claire Fox, Keele University | Photo Credit: Paolo Ghedini

What a child's humour reveals about their psychological well-being

Just like adults, children use humour in their everyday lives. Some like to make fun of themselves whereas others like to laugh at the expense of others. But what effect does a child's humour have, for example, on their relationships with others and how they feel about themselves? To find out, we studied the use of humour in children aged between 11 and 16, and discovered a link between a child's humour style and their mental health.

Our study is based on previous research into styles of humour among adults. Rod Martin and colleagues used a questionnaire to identify four different types of humour: self-enhancing, affiliative, self-defeating, and aggressive. They found evidence to suggest that someone's styles of humour can have positive or negative impact on their relationships with others and their psychological well-being.

Self-enhancing humour is used to enhance oneself, to boost one's own sense of self, but is not detrimental to others. For example, someone who is feeling a bit upset about a situation can try to think of something funny about the situation so they feel better about it. Affiliative humour enhances relationships with others and reduces interpersonal tensions. For example, laughing and joking around with one's friends. These two forms of humour are known as...

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What Children's Jokes Reveal About Their Mental Health

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