The impact of family background on perception of relative income

Happiness and life satisfaction are often desired, but it is not
always clear what makes one person happier than another. This
paper explores the relationship between one's family background
and their perception of relative wealth. Different background
characteristics may be a considerable factor to determine what
factors alter perceived happiness in response to relative income.
This relationship will be modeled using data corresponding to
socio-economic status and demographics during both childhood
and adulthood. I will use the General Social Survey (GSS) to
collect this data. To depict this model happiness will be a function
of relative wealth, characteristics of family background, and
interaction terms. This paper will determine what characteristic of
one's background will impact their happiness relative to wealth.
For example, perhaps a more religious upbringing will make
relative income less important for happiness when they grow up. The
results could be indicative of the importance and role of different
upbringings on the way the world is perceived.