IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v140y2018i2d10.1007_s11205-017-1807-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Ecological Model of Well-Being in Child Welfare Referred Children

Author

Listed:
  • Lara Ayala-Nunes

    (University of Seville)

  • Lucía Jiménez

    (University of Seville)

  • Saul Jesus

    (University of Algarve)

  • Cristina Nunes

    (University of Algarve)

  • Victoria Hidalgo

    (University of Seville)

Abstract

Despite its social, political and economic relevance, child well-being remains a challenging construct to define and measure accurately. This holds true especially for children growing up in at-risk families, where their development is hindered by many adverse circumstances. Typically, the well-being of child welfare (CW) referred children has been conceptualized as the absence of negative outcomes, and the study of its determinants has been limited to children’s micro-systems. In this study, we aimed to obtain a suitable indicator of child well-being and to test a model of the determinants of CW referred children’s well-being including parental, family and wider contextual variables. The sample included 249 parents and 46 case managers from Portuguese and Spanish CW services. A three-domain solution from selected items of the Child Well-Being Scales (Physical, Academic and Socioemotional) was tested and confirmed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results of structural equation modeling for each domain revealed that risk factors nested in the wider context and those related to material disadvantage were the most powerful predictors of physical well-being, while parenting and family functioning variables predicted better both academic and socio-emotional well-being. Our findings suggest that different risk and protective factors matter for different outcomes and that most of these factors are associated with each other. Therefore, interventions with at-risk children must take this specificity into account when targeting each domain of well-being, and efforts could be allocated to a few modifiable dimensions, which would in turn positively affect other parental and family factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Lara Ayala-Nunes & Lucía Jiménez & Saul Jesus & Cristina Nunes & Victoria Hidalgo, 2018. "A Ecological Model of Well-Being in Child Welfare Referred Children," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 811-836, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:140:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1807-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1807-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-017-1807-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-017-1807-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jones, Annette Semanchin & LaLiberte, Traci & Piescher, Kristine N., 2015. "Defining and strengthening child well-being in child protection," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 57-70.
    2. Gilbert, Neil, 2012. "A comparative study of child welfare systems: Abstract orientations and concrete results," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 532-536.
    3. Kim, Jinyoung & Durden, Emily, 2007. "Socioeconomic status and age trajectories of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 2489-2502, December.
    4. Inmaculada Herranz Aguayo & Eduardo Díaz Herráiz & Elsa Montenegro Marques & Idalina Machado & Sidalina Almeida, 2016. "Child at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion: Comparative View Between Spain and Portugal in the European Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 961-978, December.
    5. Schoon, Ingrid & Sacker, Amanda & Bartley, Mel, 2003. "Socio-economic adversity and psychosocial adjustment: a developmental-contextual perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 1001-1015, September.
    6. Inmaculada Herranz Aguayo & Eduardo Díaz Herráiz & Elsa Montenegro Marques & Idalina Machado & Sidalina Almeida, 2016. "Erratum to: Child at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion: Comparative View Between Spain and Portugal in the European Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1401-1403, December.
    7. Najman, Jake M. & Aird, Rosemary & Bor, William & O'Callaghan, Michael & Williams, Gail M. & Shuttlewood, Gregory J., 2004. "The generational transmission of socioeconomic inequalities in child cognitive development and emotional health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(6), pages 1147-1158, March.
    8. Elizabeth Pollard & Patrice Lee, 2003. "Child Well-being: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 59-78, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Manuela Calheiros & Sandra Ornelas & Eunice Magalhães & Margarida Vaz Garrido, 2022. "Profiles of Young Children Involved with Child Protection Services in Portugal," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(3), pages 933-958, June.
    2. Lin Qi & Huamin Peng & Ruiwen Sun, 2022. "Examining Family Living Arrangements, Economic Development, Education Expenditure and Children’s Weight from the Welfare Mix in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2673-2695, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moreno-Maldonado, C. & Jiménez-Iglesias, A. & Camacho, I. & Rivera, F. & Moreno, C. & Matos, M.G., 2020. "Factors associated with life satisfaction of adolescents living with employed and unemployed parents in Spain and Portugal: A person focused approach," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    2. Antonella D’Agostino & Caterina Giusti & Antoanneta Potsi, 2018. "Gender and Children’s Wellbeing: Four Mediterranean Countries in Perspective," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(5), pages 1649-1676, October.
    3. Sarah Miller & Angela Eakin, 2011. "PROTOCOL: Home based child development interventions for pre‐school children from socially disadvantaged families," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11.
    4. HERNANDEZ MARTIN Adrian & PICOS Fidel, 2021. "Income support to families with children in Spain," JRC Working Papers on Taxation & Structural Reforms 2021-10, Joint Research Centre.
    5. Workneh, Migbaru Alamirew, 2018. "Poverty, income inequality and unemployment in Spain in the 2008's Financial Crises," MPRA Paper 92462, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Workneh, Migbaru Alamirew, 2018. "Unemployment and health in Spain during the 2008's financial crises," MPRA Paper 92525, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Mar 2019.
    7. Angeles Sánchez & María Navarro, 2021. "Public Policies of Welfare State and Child Poverty in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Simmons-Horton, Sherri Y., 2017. "Providing age-appropriate activities for youth in foster care: Policy implementation process in three states," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 383-391.
    9. William P. O’Hare, 2016. "A State Level Assessment of the Well-Being of Black Children in the United States," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(1), pages 277-297, March.
    10. Bywaters, Paul & Brady, Geraldine & Sparks, Tim & Bos, Elizabeth & Bunting, Lisa & Daniel, Brigid & Featherstone, Brid & Morris, Kate & Scourfield, Jonathan, 2015. "Exploring inequities in child welfare and child protection services: Explaining the ‘inverse intervention law’," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 98-105.
    11. Garcia Quiroga, Manuela & Hamilton-Giachritsis, Catherine, 2014. "“In the name of the children”: Public policies for children in out-of-home care in Chile. Historical review, present situation and future challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 422-430.
    12. Ovrum, Arnstein & Gustavsen, Geir Waehler & Rickertsen, Kyrre, 2012. "Health inequalities over the adult life course: the role of lifestyle choices," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 125862, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Sinha, Kompal & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Sharma, Anurag, 2021. "Do socioeconomic health gradients persist over time and beyond income? A distributional analysis using UK biomarker data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    14. Modin, Bitte & Koupil, Ilona & Vågerö, Denny, 2009. "The impact of early twentieth century illegitimacy across three generations. Longevity and intergenerational health correlates," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1633-1640, May.
    15. Tania Clarke & Ruth Platt, 2023. "Children’s Lived Experiences of Wellbeing at School in England: a Phenomenological Inquiry," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(3), pages 963-996, June.
    16. Éva Sztáray Kézdy & Zsófia Drjenovszky, 2021. "Hungarian Stay-at-Home Fathers: A New Alternative for Family Wellbeing," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, May.
    17. Miroslav Verbič & Nela Kačmarčik-Maduna, 2018. "Child Well-being in Transition Countries as an Intergenerational Investment in the Development of Human Capital," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1077-1105, August.
    18. Hidalgo, Victoria & Jiménez, Lucía & Grimaldi, Víctor & Ayala-Nunes, Lara & López-Verdugo, Isabel, 2018. "The effectiveness of a child day-care program in child welfare services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 145-151.
    19. Nizalova, Olena & Norton, Edward C., 2021. "Long-term effects of job loss on male health: BMI and health behaviors," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    20. Davillas, Apostolos & M. Jones, Andrew & Sinha, Kompal & Sharma, Anurag, 2018. "Distributional analysis of the role of breadth and persistence of multiple deprivation in the health gradient measured by biomarkers," ISER Working Paper Series 2018-14, Institute for Social and Economic Research.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:140:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1807-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.