Peer-reviewed article
Examining the Relationship between Subjective Well-being and Psychological Well-being among 12-Year-Old-Children from 30 Countries
Rodrigo Moreta-Herrera, Xavier Oriol-Granado, Mònica González-Carrasco, Diego Vaca-Quintana ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at how children's subjective well-being (how they feel about their lives) and psychological well-being (such as functioning and personal growth) relate to each other. It uses survey data from 44,358 12-year-old children in 30 countries, from the third wave of the International Survey of Children's Well-Being. The authors find that subjective well-being is moderate and psychological well-being is high on average, and that levels differ by country. The two types of well-being are related, and the model linking them holds up in a comparable way across the nationalities studied.
Key points
- Data came from 44,358 children aged 12 in 30 countries (ISCWeB, third wave).
- Levels of subjective well-being were moderate and levels of psychological well-being were high.
- There were significant differences in well-being indicators between countries.
- Subjective well-being is related to psychological well-being through a general adjustment model with oblique factors.
- The model of latent relationships showed metric invariance across nationalities.
Limitations
The abstract describes a correlational design, so it cannot show cause and effect, and it covers only 12-year-olds. It does not name the countries, so the country list cannot be given, and it does not report detailed figures or evaluate any intervention.
Abstract
AbstractCross-cultural studies on the relationship between subjective and psychological well-being in children are still very limited. Consequently, proposing a model that considers the interaction of these constructs and examining its applicability in several countries would enhance the understanding of these phenomena in childhood. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the latent relationship between subjective and psychological well-being, and to measure invariance in a sample of 12-year-old children from 30 countries. Through a quantitative methodology with a correlational design, we analyze data from 44,358 children who participated in the third wave of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB), using Structural Equations Modeling (SEM). Results suggest that levels of subjective and psychological well-being are moderate and high, respectively, and point to significant differences in well-being indicators by country. In addition, subjective well-being is related to psychological well-being through a general adjustment model with oblique factors. Finally, the model of latent relationships presents metric invariance across nationalities.