Child Survey as an Essential Part of Child Well-Being Index Design

The article looks at how child well-being can be measured in Russia and how a child well-being index could be built. It reports pilot surveys in the Tambov region with children aged 10 to 17 (1,942 children) and with parents of children of the same age (1,589 parents). The index covers six domains: education, safety, health, material well-being, social relations and self-realization. The surveys allow the views of parents and children on well-being to be compared. The authors argue that children's own views are essential, so any child well-being index should include interviews with children.

Key points

• The study aims to analyse how child well-being can be measured and an index created in Russia.
• Pilot surveys were done in the Tambov region with 1,942 children aged 10 to 17 and 1,589 parents.
• The index is built on six domains: education, safety, health, material well-being, social relations and self-realization.
• The results allow comparison of how parents and children see different aspects of well-being.
• The authors argue that child surveys must be a necessary part of any child well-being index design.

Limitations

The abstract gives no specific results or figures on the differences between children's and parents' views. The data come from one region (Tambov), so they may not represent Russia as a whole.