Children's subjective well-being: International comparative perspectives

Abstract

We are enjoined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to take account of the views of children. One way this can be done is by asking children about their lives in sample surveys. This paper is a comparison of the results obtained to sample survey questions on subjective well-being of children at two contrasting levels of analysis-international macro (European Union 29) and national level micro (England). At both levels, children"s well-being is accessed in terms of three subjective domains: (1) personal well-being, (2) relational well-being, and (3) well-being at school. At the micro level we also explore neighbourhood well-being. The results show that at the macro level personal well-being is associated with the material and housing circumstances but not family relationships or family structure. Well-being at school is not associated with any variable. Subjective health is only associated with family structure. At the micro level, although many of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of children are found to be associated with their well-being in the four domains, these factors explain only a small amount of the variation in these well-being domains.

Trends in Life Satisfaction and Self-rated Health in Czech School-aged Children: HBSC Study.

“…LS is associated both with physical and mental health in children and adolescents as well as with the various health behaviours among them (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Studies have also demonstrated that LS is related to age, gender, material and housing circumstances, family and school environment, and socioeconomic status (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13).…”

“…Studies have also demonstrated that LS is related to age, gender, material and housing circumstances, family and school environment, and socioeconomic status (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Furthermore, LS in adolescents is strongly influenced by life experiences, social relationships, stress and anxiety, social competence and good coping skills, self-esteem, self-acceptance, the ability to love oneself, optimism, and individual spirituality (7,8,14,15).…”

Circles of Happiness: Students’ Perceptions of Bidirectional Crossovers of Subjective Well-Being

“…According to UNICEF (2011), advancing adolescents' development requires keen understandings of their current circumstances, and adolescents should be encouraged to contribute as integral partners with adults in health-related decisions. While recent research and educational theory in the field underline taking children's views into consideration to advance knowledge about their well-being and happiness (Awartani et al 2008;Bradshaw et al 2011;Noddings 2003), adolescents' voices are rarely heeded, counter to the guidelines in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF 2011).…”

Supportive communication with parents moderates the negative effects of electronic media use on life satisfaction during adolescence

“…LS is positively related to mental and physical health as well as health behaviors in adolescents. LS is furthermore associated with material and housing circumstances, and negatively related to risk behaviors like substance use or violent behaviors (Park 2004;Bradshaw et al 2011).…”