Predictors of Child Well-Being or What Makes Children Happy

Abstract

In order to understand what makes children happy, it is important to hear what children have to say about their lives themselves. Their voices do not always resonate with the widespread discourse of adults about what children need, and the very awareness of children’s well-being diverges between adults and children. This chapter presents an analysis of overall life satisfaction and subjective well-being of 2,000 children living in the Tyumen region, Russia. The survey was conducted as part of the international collaboration Children’s Worlds (ISCWeB). The authors study the influence of various predictors (family, friends, school, safety, area of residence, etc.) on the subjective well-being of children. The results prove that the objective availability of everything necessary for a full-fledged life of a child does not always determine subjective well-being and a sense of happiness. Children may have not everything they want and still be happy. Conversely, a child may claim to have everything a child could dream of and still feel unhappy. These results are discussed in the context of policy and programming to promote and sustain well-being among all children.

1. Introduction

1.1 A case “About the girl Eva”

My colleague, who runs a private educational center, shared this story with me. She and her daughter teach English to children and help correct speech disorders. They have a 12-year-old English language student, let us call her Eva. Eva has a nuclear family with prosperous young parents. Her father works, and her mother is engaged in raising children. The family is financially very well off and lives in a large two-level apartment. Eva has five more brothers. All children attend additional classes outside of school, some of which require additional fees. Parents can afford it. Eva goes to school in the afternoon and spends her morning taking additional classes, including English.

Is the girl happy? We can assume, with a very high probability, that yes, she is happy. Eva has everything and even more than is necessary for a prosperous life: a large family, a house and comfortable living conditions, siblings, parents and their care, a good school near her house, friends, material security with everything necessary, the possibility of comprehensive development and visiting numerous institutions of additional education for children … In general, parents try to give their children the maximum and do everything in their power to make the children happy.

2. Theoretical overview

Children’s perspectives on their behavior, health, well-being, and other aspects of their lives differ from those of adults – teachers and parents – and are a valuable source of information about how settings, such as school, home, and community, can improve children’s well-being and quality of life. The very understanding of children’s well-being by adults and the understanding of their well-being by children themselves diverge. Based on this, some researchers propose the idea of special “cultures of childhood,” which are not limited to the scheme of “development in interaction with adults,” but are built on their own initiative, opinions, views of children, and their informal communication” [1].

Subjective well-being in research does not only mean happiness, satisfaction with one’s own life, and achievement of goals, but also the absence of negative feelings, ideal physical and mental well-being, safety, and sufficiency of resources [2]. Bradburn believed that subjective well-being is the relationship between positive and negative affects, which as a result give a person a feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their own life. Bradburn created a model of the structure of subjective well-being, which was based on the balance of diverse affects – positive and negative. A follower of Bradburn and a representative of the hedonistic approach was Ed. Diener, who created a theoretical basis for the study of subjective well-being, is recognized as the “gold standard” in the study of psychological well-being, where special attention is paid to the cognitive and emotional assessment of life satisfaction, that is, the degree of experiencing happiness (the ratio of positive and negative affect) [3, 4]. A cognitive component includes a general intellectual assessment of a person’s satisfaction with various areas of their life, that is, to what extent a person’s life satisfies their individual expectations. The emotional component of subjective well-being is considered the long-term frequency of positive or negative impact, that is, experiencing a bad or good mood. Diener believes that each person individually relates this or that event to the concept of “good” or “bad,” each of which carries a certain emotional response.

Arkhireeva regards the subjective well-being of the child as a system of experiences that reflect the child’s ideas and impressions about their place in the “environment — child” system. The structure of the subjective well-being of a primary student, according to the researcher, includes:

1. “emotional well-being;

2. cognitive-evaluative component of well-being, consisting of:

   1. satisfaction with relationships with parents, the teacher, and peers;

   2. satisfaction with success in educational activities;

3. assessment of the ability to organize and manage one’s life;

4. optimism in assessing the prospects for a future life” [5].

According to Eliseeva, subjective well-being includes two main components:

1. Cognitive (a person’s idea of certain aspects of their life);

2. Emotional (human experience associated with the successful or unsuccessful functioning of the individual) [6, 7].

Well-being is a subjective matter considering that every person and child have their own perception of it. Our study corroborates this thesis. Additionally, in different periods of time, one acquires new priorities, values, necessities, and desires, and it is their fulfillment that defines one’s life satisfaction.

Every parent tries to create a better childhood for their offspring, guided by their own views. Nonetheless, their understanding of a better childhood may not correspond with that of the child themselves. For example, for a child brought up in an orphanage, the highest degree of happiness is to have a family; for a child with physical disabilities to become healthy and play outside with their peers; and a healthy child in an ordinary family dreams of a new pricy gadget. A child from a big family may dream of a separate bedroom, their own space and privacy.

Well-being and happiness are closely connected notions. However, there are certain differences. On the one hand, well-being is a more scientific term, while the notion of happiness is often used in the ordinary life. On the other hand, there is a difference in the definitions of the terms. Well-being is a more stable state; it is an individual’s assessment of their own life, its quality, and the satisfaction with various aspects of life on the cognitive and emotional levels. Happiness has more to do with one’s emotions; it is a state of excitement and euphoria deriving from the accomplishment of certain goals. Unlike well-being, happiness is a more fleeting state. Human psyche is incapable of experiencing euphoria for a long time. People are constantly striving for improvement and for something new; therefore, something that caused the sensation of absolute happiness one day can feel ordinary the next day.

3. Study

3.1 Project and sample

The study presented in the chapter was conducted as part of the unique International Survey of Children’s Well-Being – Children’s Worlds (ISCWeB, https://isciweb.org/), which today involves more than 40 countries around the world. The project has existed for more than 10 years, during which three waves of data collection have been completed. The mission of the project is to collect representative data on children’s lives and daily activities, their pastimes, and their perception of their well-being in as many countries as possible in order to raise awareness and improve the well-being of children and their lives.

The organizers and participants of the project called for the voices of children themselves to be heard, giving children the opportunity to express their views on various aspects of their lives and well-being, because “in an era of information, it is surprising to discover how little we know about the state of our children” [8, 9].

Researchers from more than 40 countries are currently participating in the project. The third wave of the project (2016—2019) involved scientists from 35 countries from four continents, who analyzed the performance of more than 128,000 children of three age groups – 8, 10, and 12 years old [10]. Russia first joined the project in 2016, presenting the results of the well-being of 10- and 12-year-old children from the Tyumen region. The Tyumen region is the largest region and ranks 3^rd among all the subjects of the Russian Federation. In recent years, the Tyumen region has consistently been included in the list of leading regions in the country in terms of the level and quality of life. Accordingly, the results of the presented study do not reflect the general picture of the subjective well-being of children in the country as a whole.

In total, 1904 children from 24 schools, nine cities, and five rural settlements took part in the study in the Tyumen region. The study sample consisted of 953 10-year-old children: 437 (45.9%) boys, 516 (54.1%) girls; and 951 12-year-old children: 478 (50.5%) boys, 473 (49.7%) girls. In the total sample of two age groups, boys comprise 48.1% (N = 915) and girls 51.9% (N = 989).

3.2 Research methodology

The presented study was carried out between January and May 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

To implement the study, questionnaires from the Children’s Worlds project (ISCWeB) were used. Questionnaires covered topics, such as family and people with whom children live; money and property; friends; area of residence; school and bullying; pastime; children’s rights; views and satisfaction with oneself, one’s life and one’s future. Questionnaires included questions about the frequency of classes, a scale of life satisfaction in general and specific areas or factors, a scale of agreement with status and events, and socio-demographic characteristics (https://isciweb.org/the-questionnaire/). The questionnaires were translated into Russian using reverse and direct techniques, tested with a focus group for each age group.

The following Children’s Worlds project scales were used to process the results.

Children’s Worlds Subjective Well-Being Scale (CW-SWBS) – 6 items measuring cognitive subjective well-being (Based on the Student Life Satisfaction Scale by Huebner, 1994) [11].

The children were to rate the statements on the scale from 0 (Not at all agree) to 10 (Totally agree): Now please say how much you agree with each of the following sentences about your life as a whole: My life is going well, I have a good life, The things that happen in my life are excellent, I like my life, I am happy with my life.

OLS (Overall Life Satisfaction) – One question about satisfaction with life as a whole (from 0 = Not at all satisfied to 10 = totally satisfied).

Data analysis conducted within the research consisted of such stages as the text tool set, investigative analysis allowing us to formulate the hypotheses, and the hypothesis proofs themselves. The questionnaire adaptation included factor structure analysis, analysis of the feasibility of indicators that reflect the level and structure of the respondents’ subjective well-being. The process of proving the hypotheses was carried out via the following statistical criteria: Student Criterion (t-test), single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation analysis. Two-step cluster analysis allowed us to single out respondent groups homogeneous in relation to the phenomenon under consideration.

For statistical data analysis and presentation of research results, the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software package, version 23.0 for Windows, was used.

4. Results

4.1 Relationship between subjective well-being of children and objective indicators that ensure children’s well-being

UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) has compiled a ranking of child well-being in wealthy European countries. The center’s specialists wanted to understand how the financial situation of families with children in such countries affects the education and health of children, as well as their overall satisfaction with life. The study has found that, in general, the most suitable countries for children are the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway. At the same time, many of the richest countries in the world, having the resources necessary to ensure a happy childhood for all children, do not really live up to expectations [12].

Results of the Children’s Worlds project generally confirm the given conclusion. Figure 1 shows the relationship between the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) and the level of subjective well-being of children. Children in such economically developed countries as Spain, Norway, and Switzerland estimate the level of subjective well-being higher than the average for the population, but there is no close relationship between the level of GDP per capita and the level of subjective well-being of children. In rich countries, the situation of children is by no means always better than in the countries where the economic situation is less favorable. Thus, according to the results of the project, children in Albania are happier than their peers in Germany, and children in India are happier than in Finland.

Figure 1.

Scatterplot of countries in terms of GDP and subjective well-being of children.

The commission convened by the WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF, and The Lancet has created a ranking of countries on the basis of the Child Prosperity Index (Figure 2). It considers the following parameters: child survival and well-being rate, education and nutrition, income level, and environmental conditions. There is a straight and steady correlation between the Child Prosperity Index and children’s general satisfaction. Furthermore, if we consider that the Child Prosperity Index represents the factors that are the basis of general life satisfaction, then such countries as Albania, Greece, Romania, and India use these factors with a higher efficiency than the other countries.

Figure 2.

Scatterplot showing the relationship between Child Prosperity Index and overall life satisfaction.

4.2 Cognitive and emotional components of the subjective well-being of children

In our present study, we consider, on the one hand, how positively a child evaluates themselves and their life in general (cognitive or cognitive–evaluative component); and, on the other hand, how competent the child is in relation with the environment, is aware of themselves in the context of relations with other people and society as a whole, feels harmony with the world, is prosperous in these relations with the world and with themselves, and is happy (emotional component). The focus is on awareness – understanding happiness and what it means to be happy, from the perspective of a child.

As a result of factor analysis, a two-factor structure of the subjective well-being of children was obtained (Table 1).

	Indicators of subjective well-being	К1	К2
Emotional component (К1)	I am happy with my life	,942
	The things that happen in my life are excellent	,934
	I like my life	,930
	I have a good life	,928
	My life is going well	,891
	Satisfaction with: What may happen to you later in your life	,715
Cognitive component (К2)	Satisfaction with: All the things you have		,837
	Satisfaction with: The people you live with		,821
	Satisfaction with: The house or flat where you live		,777
	Satisfaction with: Your friends		,671
	Satisfaction with: Your life as a student		,655
	Satisfaction with: The way that you look		,620

Table 1.

Indicators and factor loadings of the subjective well-being components.

The first of the identified factors, which is called the emotional component, practically coincides with the Children’s Worlds Subjective Well-Being Scale in terms of the composition of indicators [11]. This factor also includes such indicators as “Satisfaction with: What may happen to you later in your life.” The cumulative percentage of variance explained by this factor is 52%.

The emotional component is characterized as a subjective feeling of satisfaction with oneself and one’s own life, a subjective experience associated with the values of life and the system of the child’s emotionally colored assessments. This component includes an assessment of how happy the child is in life, as well as satisfaction with possible future prospects – what can happen in life in the future.

The highest factor loadings in relation to the emotional component have such indicators as “I am happy with my life,” “The things that happen in my life are excellent,” “I like my life,” “I have a good life.” There are direct significant strong correlations between all these indicators.

Pearson’s correlation coefficient ranges from 0.819 between “I like my life” and “My life is going well” to 0.922 between “I like my life” and “I am happy with my life.” According to the Student’s criterion for dependent samples, there are no statistically significant differences in the quantitative assessment of these indicators.

The second factor, the cognitive (cognitive–evaluative) component, includes components of the Children’s Worlds scale of basic cognitive values and indicators such as “Satisfaction with: All the things you have, the people you live with, the house or flat where you live.” The cumulative percentage of variance explained by this factor is 26%. The greatest factor loading in relation to this factor is shown by such indicators as “Satisfaction with: All the things you have,” “Satisfaction with: The people you live with.”

In contrast to the emotional component, the cognitive one reveals the specific relationship of the child to the actual phenomena (surrounding things, objects, close people, etc.). The cognitive component reveals awareness of oneself in the context of interaction with others and society as a whole.

There are direct significant correlations between the emotional and cognitive components and such indicators as “Overall Subjective Well-Being,” “Positive and Negative Affects Scale,” “Psychological Subjective Well-Being.” The closest relationship was noted between the emotional component and Psychological Subjective Well-Being.

The emotional component in the structure of subjective well-being is a tool by which a child is able to concentrate their consciousness on themselves and their inner world.

A two-stage cluster analysis in the context of the selected components of subjective well-being made it possible to group children into three clusters that are homogeneous in relation to the phenomenon under consideration.

The first cluster includes 63.8% of respondents. Both factors of subjective well-being are higher than the average for the general population. Between the components, there is a direct significant correlation of the average strength (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, R = 0.509).

The second cluster includes 24.1% of respondents. The cognitive component is higher than the population average; the emotional component is below the population average. There is an inverse significant correlation between the components (R = −0.315).

The third cluster includes 12.1% of respondents. The cognitive component is lower than the population average; the emotional component corresponds to the population average. There is a direct significant correlation between the components (R = 0.545).

A qualitative interpretation of the statistical data obtained, taking into account the cognitive and emotional components of subjective well-being, made it possible to distribute the children into groups, in the context of the identified three clusters (Figure 3).

Figure 3.

Distribution of children into the cluster groups.

The first group: “happy” – children with a level of satisfaction with life above the average. They are pleased with themselves; the house in which they live, their things; school life and acquired knowledge; communicating with the people around them – relatives and friends, teachers and classmates – gives them joy. Teachers at school and relatives at home show, in their opinion, care for them. That is, on the one hand, these children cognitively appreciate everything that they have in life; on the other hand, they are satisfied with their lives, they experience pleasure and happiness, and these children are prosperous.

The second group: “relatively happy” – these are children, on the one hand, evaluating their life as “prosperous” and feeling happy; on the other hand, they are cognitively not completely satisfied with what they have – indicators of the cognitive component are below average. In our opinion, it is these children who know how to be happy in the proposed life circumstances, appreciate and know how to enjoy what they have, while noting that they would like more.

The third group: “relatively unhappy” – children falling into a special “risk group.” On the one hand, these children state that they practically do not need anything: they have relatives and friends at home, teachers at school to take care of them; there are friends they can ask for help from in case of problems. On the other hand, these children assess their lives as “unsatisfactory” and do not feel happy. In this case, material security does not lead to happiness.

Thus, the objective availability of everything necessary for a full-fledged life of a child does not always determine the subjective well-being and feeling of happiness.

4.3 Subjective well-being of children in international comparison

With an average score of 8.48 on the Scale of Subjective Well-being, Russia (the Tyumen Region) ranked 26th out of 35 countries participating in the third wave of the Children’s World study. Lower positions in the list are occupied, among other things, by some European countries such as Estonia, Germany, and Wales. Interestingly, Hong Kong (one of the leading global cities and financial centers of the world) closes this list. And children from Albania consider themselves the happiest – the biggest mystery of the current wave of research, both for the team of project organizers and for all participants. The top lines are occupied, among others, by India, Sri Lanka, and Algeria [10].

4.4 Child well-being and family

Children’s general life satisfaction and subjective well-being are predictably most closely linked to their family satisfaction and the frequency of family events. These data are supported by numerous studies by Russian and international colleagues [13, 14].

In the Tyumen region, 89.2% of child respondents gave their satisfaction with the people they live with 7 points out of 10 and more. Sixty percent of children are absolutely happy in their families (10 points out of 10). Thus, the majority of children are happy with their relatives, girls being more satisfied with their family (9.23) than boys (8.91). It should be noted that in 12 out of 30 countries surveying children aged 10 and 12, including Russia, family satisfaction is significantly decreased within the age of 10 to 12 years old [13, 14, 15, 16].

Nonetheless, all the respondents mention that their parents do not always listen to them and take their words into account. For the children of both age groups, general life satisfaction most strongly correlates with such an indicator of family satisfaction as “My parents listen to me and pay attention to what I say.” There is a straight and statistically significant relationship between these aspects, more so in the 12-year-old age group.

The most low-rated indicator is “My parents and I make decisions about my life together.” There is no marked difference between 10- and 12-year-old children in evaluating this statement. In the international context, the statement concerning the children’s participation in making decisions about their life is the most opposed one. Efim Arkin’s observation that “parents get involved in their children’s life too often, yet unfortunately very rarely take interest in it” is of relevance in this case.

5. Case “About the girl Eva”

One day my colleague noted that despite it being only morning, Eva looked very tired, unemotional and had trouble concentrating on work. And this is considering she had school later in the day.

“Why are you so tired?” she asked Eva.

“This morning, I’ve already had a swimming session in the pool and had a music class,” she replied.

“When?! How did you manage?” asked the English teacher, surprised. - “What else are you doing apart from school?”

Eva started naming her classes, “English, German and French, the pool, art classes…” Not quite finishing the list, the girl broke down in tears.

It was heart-wrenching to see. How should a little girl find energy for all those classes?

One can only wonder what Eva would reply if she were asked, “are you happy?”, “are you satisfied with your life?”, “do you like your life?” It is unlikely that she would answer «yes». It is interesting to think which of the cluster groups Eva would fall into.

6. Conclusion

Subjective well-being is an indispensable component of the individual’s general well-being. It is reasonable to consider the subjective well-being of a child in a broad context and from different perspectives: first of all, by studying the available social indicators (income, poverty, infant mortality, level and quality of education, etc.) and secondly, by finding out what children themselves say of their life and life satisfaction.

The subjective well-being assessment should include the evaluation of outer objective factors determining the child’s living conditions (family structure, financial well-being, place and conditions of living, health characteristics, education, etc.). However, it would be most vital to evaluate the child’s subjective assessment of their life and establish whether these features may indeed serve as indicators of children’s well-being. For this reason, the children should become the main participants of the research.

Children themselves should not be overlooked while assessing the markers of subjective well-being. The objective presence of everything required for a full-quality life may not always determine subjective well-being and the feeling of happiness. Therefore, although necessary, addressing social issues and deficiencies will always remain a partial answer to the question of what makes children happy.

How to improve children’s well-being? What can be done by parents and teachers to make children happy?

First of all, one should love and accept them unconditionally, just for their existence, without taking into account their school accomplishments and other attainments. One needs to tell them about it. Such phrases as “I love you!,” “I am proud of you!,” or “You are so pretty!,” are necessary for every child to hear. One needs to talk to children, listen to and hear them. While making decisions that influence the children’s life, it is advisable to ask for their opinion and encourage children’s participation in family decision-making. Spending time with one’s children makes the child happy. For example, it is possible to discuss the child’s day during dinner, take walks together, or watch favorite cartoons.

At the same time, it is vital not to cross the boundary and become overbearing, not to suffocate the child with love, total attention, and control. While being preoccupied with the child’s development in many spheres, it is still necessary to mind the child’s health and mood. For instance, Eva’s parents should finally ask her what she herself would like to do.

Parents are the best example for their children. Happy and accomplished parents bring up happy children. That is why it may be beneficial if parents are involved in events and projects organized by schools, cities, etc. where children could take part in various activities together with their families. It is in such situations that children are at happy and most proud of their parents.

It is vital to educate children, parents, and teachers socially and emotionally. The contemporary generation of children, Gen Z, has difficulty communicating and displaying emotions. It is important to teach children to understand emotions – their own and those of other people, understand why they feel particular emotions, develop positive thinking skills. The ability to create and maintain healthy relationships and constructively resolve conflicts are the pivotal life skills essential for every child.

We should also develop children’s resilience, thus preparing them for real adult life. Psychological counseling is necessary for the children that find themselves in difficult life circumstances.

From the position of science, we should continue to research the factors defining child well-being in order to establish the right social politics in relation to children, family, and schools.

Children are one of life’s greatest gifts — but raising caring, happy children in this modern world can be a challenge to any parent.

Tim Seldin,

President of The Montessori Foundation and Chair

of The International Montessori Council

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to the Professor Carmel Cefai, PhD, Director of Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health University of Malta, for inviting them to the Children’s World project; the core-group of the project (https://isciweb.org/), in particular, Prof. Dr. Asher Ben-Arieh, Dr. Gwyther Rees, also project coordinators Dr. Hanita Kosher and Sagit Bruck for their support.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.