TY - JOUR
T1 - Access to material resources and the subjective well-being of children in Brazil and Chile
AU - Ditzel, Ana Loreto
AU - Chuecas, María Josefina
AU - Bedin, Lívia Maria
AU - Torres-Vallejos, Javier
AU - Villarroel, Alejandra
AU - Benavente, Mariavictoria
AU - Alfaro, Jaime
AU - Sarriera, Jorge Castellá
AU - Juarros-Basterretxea, Joel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - This article analyzes the relationships between the material conditions and the subjective well-being of 3,716 children (50.5% girls) between 10 and 12 years of age (M = 11.4) in Chile and Brazil. These are the two Latin American countries that took part in the third wave of the Children’s Worlds research. The material conditions of the children were assessed using latent classes. A multivariate analysis of covariance was done next in order to test the influence of material conditions over the children's subjective well-being and interpersonal relationships. The association between gender and country variables of the children was also studied. The results showed that although the average subjective well-being scores of the children were high in general, the class analysis showed significant differences between the results for children with better material conditions than those with poorer material conditions. The latter group presented lower subjective well-being levels. MANCOVA was used to analyze the mean differences in subjective well-being levels and interpersonal relationships controlling variables of gender and country of residence. This showed that children with greater access to better material conditions showed significantly higher levels of subjective well-being levels and had a more positive view of their interpersonal relationships in all areas assessed compared to those who reported worse material conditions. These results are discussed in view of the high indices of material deprivation that exist in Latin America during childhood as well as how these findings may help better understand the well-being of children living in Latin American countries.
AB - This article analyzes the relationships between the material conditions and the subjective well-being of 3,716 children (50.5% girls) between 10 and 12 years of age (M = 11.4) in Chile and Brazil. These are the two Latin American countries that took part in the third wave of the Children’s Worlds research. The material conditions of the children were assessed using latent classes. A multivariate analysis of covariance was done next in order to test the influence of material conditions over the children's subjective well-being and interpersonal relationships. The association between gender and country variables of the children was also studied. The results showed that although the average subjective well-being scores of the children were high in general, the class analysis showed significant differences between the results for children with better material conditions than those with poorer material conditions. The latter group presented lower subjective well-being levels. MANCOVA was used to analyze the mean differences in subjective well-being levels and interpersonal relationships controlling variables of gender and country of residence. This showed that children with greater access to better material conditions showed significantly higher levels of subjective well-being levels and had a more positive view of their interpersonal relationships in all areas assessed compared to those who reported worse material conditions. These results are discussed in view of the high indices of material deprivation that exist in Latin America during childhood as well as how these findings may help better understand the well-being of children living in Latin American countries.
KW - Childhood
KW - Interpersonal relationships
KW - Latin America
KW - Material conditions
KW - Subjective well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119175304&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12187-021-09875-4
DO - 10.1007/s12187-021-09875-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85119175304
SN - 1874-897X
VL - 15
SP - 447
EP - 465
JO - Child Indicators Research
JF - Child Indicators Research
IS - 2
ER -