A well-being of their own: Children’s perspectives of well-being from the capabilities approach

Abstract

Although children’s well-being is an increasingly important area of interest for policy and research, it is still an under-theorized concept. This article proposes a theoretical framework regarding children’s well-being that combines a capabilities approach with a social provisioning approach. The methodology used involved children in the conceptualization of their well-being and in validating a list of relevant capabilities necessary to have a good life. The data show how children express a multidimensional understanding of well-being and propose an agenda of priorities and concerns of their own different from that of adults.

Children’s well-being in the primary school: A capability approach and community psychology perspective

“…It is important to note that the themes here are not exhaustive and may differ when the methods are applied to a different group of children. Specifically, the list presented here is contextualised and non-definitive; the children’s voices dominate yet the broader influences on their lives cannot be removed such as, for example, parental influence or societal factors (Domínguez-Serrano et al, 2019).…”

“…Appropriate resources, opportunities and environments can enable hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and academic success, whereas the lack of such opportunity results in, for example, children becoming unfulfilled, lacking in social skills and being bored. Other lists of children’s capabilities have been developed; definitive lists such as Nussbaum and non-definitive, for example, Biggeri et al (Domínguez-Serrano et al, 2019). Some of these shall be compared with the findings in this study.…”

“…In a relatively recent growth in the recognition of the value of children’s well-being, there have been developments in policy and research contributing to the field (Domínguez-Serrano and Del Moral-Espín, 2018; Thomas et al, 2016). As a concept, it remains much discussed yet still poorly defined due to its multidimensional and multilevel nature (Amerijckx and Humblet, 2014; Domínguez-Serrano et al, 2019).…”

From snapshots to complex continuity: Making sense of the multifaceted concept of child well-being

“…The term ‘future orientation’ seems to be related to a kind of ‘vital decision’; people try to be consistent with their self-decided orientation, except if they are convinced that existing goals are no longer realistic or that there are more important goals in life. The perspectives of children and adults may differ (Domínguez-Serrano et al, 2019), and perception of the social world, skills and personal relationships may change from one year to the next and aspirations – influencing the life course and future developmental well-being – may also change. When we turn to a full discussion on subjective child well-being, the time axis cannot be ignored.…”

Design and Validation of a Scale for Measuring Well-Being of Children in Lockdown (WCL)

“…In the same vein, in reference to health, and according to the World Health Organization [WHO] (1946) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (p. 100). Some authors agree that children’s well-being cannot be represented by a single domain or indicator, as their lives are lived in terms of multiple domains and each domain has an impact on their well-being ( Ben-Arieh et al, 2001 ; Bradshaw and Mayhew, 2005 ; Hanafin and Brooks, 2005a , b ; Land et al, 2007 ; Domínguez-Serrano et al, 2019 ; Fattore et al, 2019 ; Migliorini et al, 2019 ). For example, Brandshaw and Richardson (2009) have argued that children’s well-being should be represented in terms of seven domains: (1) health; (2) subjective well-being; (3) personal relationships; (4) material resources; (5) education; (6) behaviors and risks; and (7) housing and environment.…”