Talking with their fathers about important topics makes children happier, according to a new study.

The study, which coincides with Father’s Day, found that young people who said that they talked seriously to their fathers “most days” gave themselves an 87 per cent score on a happiness scale.

Those who did not scored themselves 79 per cent on the same scale. The study, conducted on behalf of the Children’s Society, spoke to 1,200 young people between 11 and 15 in the UK.

Nearly half of young people said they “hardly ever” spoke their fathers about important topics compared with 28 per cent who hardly ever spoke to their mothers about such matters.

According to the research, 31 per cent of the survey group spoke seriously to their mother “most days”, but only 13 per cent confided in their father that often.

Children spoke less to their fathers about important things as they grow up, the study found.

According to the survey, 42 per cent of 11 year-olds spoke to their dads regularly about things that mattered to them, as compared with 16 per cent of 15 year-olds.

The findings were “highly significant”, the charity said, as a range of other academic studies showed that a child’s relationship with their father in adolesence was crucial to a child’s welfare later in life.

Chief Executive of the Children’s Society, Bob Reitemeier, said that the research showed that “young people’s happiness is closely linked to how often they speak to their fathers about the things that matter”.

“Yet all too often these days, children are becoming alienated or live apart from their fathers.”