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Children’s Subjective Well-being: Multi-Group Analysis Among a Sample of Children from Two Socio-Economic Status Groups in the Western Cape, South Africa

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  • Shazly Savahl

    (University of the Western Cape)

  • Ferran Casas

    (Universitat de Girona)

  • Sabirah Adams

    (University of the Western Cape)

Abstract

Recent advancements in child well-being research have shown an increased importance of subjective well-being in understanding children and adolescents’ quality of life. These advancements have raised questions concerning the extent to which children’s subjective perceptions and experiences of well-being can be compared between countries and across diverse cultures. With a dearth of empirical data on cross-cultural comparisons, the validation of existing measures and cross-cultural comparisons have been identified by a number of researchers as critical in contributing to this process, and ultimately to the international dialogue on children’s overall quality of life. The aim of the current study was to test two measures of subjective well-being (the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale and the Personal Well-Being Index-School Children) among a sample of children in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Noting the diversity of living experiences between children from different socio-economic status groups in South Africa, the study further aimed to determine the extent to which the measures are comparable across socio-economic status groups. Data from the first wave of the Children’s World Survey were used; and included a sample of 1004 12 year old children randomly selected from 15 schools within the Cape Town Metropole. Located within the goodness of fit theoretical framework, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling was used to test the overall fit structure; while multi-group factor analysis was used to test measurement invariance across socio-economic status groups. The results show appropriate fit structure for the overall model, with metric and scalar factor invariance tenable across socio-economic status groups. The overall findings suggest that the two measures are appropriate for use with children from low and middle socio-economic status groups in the Western Cape province of South Africa and that the two groups can be compared by correlations, regressions and means.

Suggested Citation

  • Shazly Savahl & Ferran Casas & Sabirah Adams, 2017. "Children’s Subjective Well-being: Multi-Group Analysis Among a Sample of Children from Two Socio-Economic Status Groups in the Western Cape, South Africa," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(2), pages 473-488, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:10:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s12187-016-9392-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-016-9392-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yi Wang & Ronnel King & Shing On Leung, 2023. "Understanding Chinese Students' Well-Being: A Machine Learning Study," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(2), pages 581-616, April.
    2. Sabirah Adams & Shazly Savahl & Maria Florence & Kyle Jackson, 2019. "Considering the Natural Environment in the Creation of Child-Friendly Cities: Implications for Children’s Subjective Well-Being," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(2), pages 545-567, April.
    3. Heidi Witten & Shazly Savahl & Sabirah Adams, 2024. "A Qualitative Study on Adolescents’ Perceptions and Understandings of Flourishing in the Western Cape, South Africa," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(5), pages 1969-1993, October.
    4. Lin Wang & Yuhang Cheng & Shan Jiang & Ziyao Zhou, 2023. "Neighborhood Quality and Subjective Well-being Among Children: A Moderated Mediation Model of Out-of-school Activities and Friendship Quality," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(4), pages 1607-1626, August.
    5. Shazly Savahl & Sabirah Adams & Maria Florence & Ferran Casas & Mulalo Mpilo & Deborah Isobell & Donnay Manuel, 2020. "The Relation Between children’s Participation in Daily Activities, Their Engagement with Family and Friends, and Subjective Well-Being," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(4), pages 1283-1312, August.
    6. Jennifer E. Symonds & Seaneen Sloan & Michelle Kearns & Dympna Devine & Ciaran Sugrue & Sachita Suryanaryan & Daniel Capistrano & Elena Samonova, 2022. "Developing a Social Evolutionary Measure of Child and Adolescent Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing in Rural Sierra Leone," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1433-1467, April.
    7. Claudia Raats & Sabirah Adams & Shazly Savahl & Serena Isaacs & Habib Tiliouine, 2019. "The Relationship Between Hope and Life Satisfaction Among Children in Low and Middle Socio-Economic Status Communities in Cape Town, South Africa," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(2), pages 733-746, April.
    8. Paula Yépez-Tito & Marta Ferragut & Shally Cóndor-Guerrón & Maria J. Blanca, 2022. "Life Satisfaction and Character Strenghs in Ecuatorian Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(2), pages 599-616, April.
    9. Eirini Leriou & Andreas Kollias & Anna Anastasopoulou & Aristeidis Katranis, 2022. "Understanding and Measuring Child Well-Being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round Three," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(4), pages 1295-1311, August.
    10. Hanita Kosher, 2023. "The Relation Between Children's Participation in Their Daily life and Their Subjective Well-Being," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(5), pages 1827-1850, October.
    11. Paolo Raciti & Paloma Vivaldi Vera, 2019. "A Proposal for Measuring Children Emotional Well-Being within an Anti-Poverty Measure in Italy: Psychometric Characteristics and Comparative Verification of Results," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(4), pages 1187-1219, August.
    12. Shazly Savahl & Sabirah Adams & Ferran Casas & Maria Florence, 2023. "Children’s Interactions with Family and Friends in Constrained Contexts: Considerations for Children’s Subjective Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 321-339, February.
    13. Eirini Leriou & Aggeliki Kazani & Andreas Kollias & Christina Paraskevopoulou, 2021. "Understanding and Measuring Child Well-Being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round One," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 1-51, February.
    14. Eirini Leriou, 2023. "Understanding and Measuring Child Well-being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round Five," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(4), pages 1395-1451, August.
    15. Cho, Esther Yin-Nei & Yu, Fuk-Yuen, 2020. "A review of measurement tools for child wellbeing," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    16. Derakhshan, Leili & Maarefvand, Masoomeh & Ebadi, Abbas & Mousvai, Mir Taher, 2023. "Evaluation of the validity and reliability of Children’s Worlds Subjective Well-Being Scale (CW-SWBS) in Tehran, Iran," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    17. Fernando Bucheli, 2021. "Before Entering Adulthood: Developing an Index of Capabilities for Young Adults in Bogota," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 965-1002, June.
    18. Eirini Leriou, 2022. "Understanding and Measuring Child Well-being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round four," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(6), pages 1967-2011, December.

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