Abstract
This paper focuses on theoretical debates about child well-being and introduces the structural model of child well-being. The development of the model has its origins in the great diversity of concepts of well-being in the research field. The model is based on the definition of health by the World Health Organisation (WHO 1946), the bioecological theory of child development (Bronfenbrenner and Morris 1998), social support theory (Cobb 1976), and the socio-cultural approach to human development (Vygotsky 1962; Leont’ev 1978). The general frame of the model is founded on the new paradigm of childhood, especially the notion of the child as an active social actor. The model analyzes child well-being as a construct which is made up of dimensions of well-being at the individual level and framed by preconditions of well-being at both individual and societal levels. The dimensions of well-being are physical, mental, social, and material, while the frame of well-being consists of subjective action, a circle of care, the structures of society, and culture. The relationships between the different elements are also included in the model. The paper concludes with a discussion on the model as a whole.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ben-Arieh, A. (2010). From child welfare to children well-being: The child indicators perspective. In S. B. Kamerman, S. Phipps, & A. Ben-Arieh (Eds.), From child welfare to child well-being: An international perspective on knowledge in the service of policy making (pp. 9–22). Dordrecht: Springer.
Ben-Arieh, A., & Frønes, I. (2011). Taxonomy for child well-being indicators: a framework for the analysis of the well-being of children. Childhood, 18(4), 460–476.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1, Attachment. London: Hogarth Press.
Bradshaw, J., Hoelscher, P., & Richardson, D. (2007). An index of child well-being in the European Union. Social Indicators Research, 80(1), 133–177.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1993). The ecology of cognitive development: Research models and fugitive findings. In R. H. Wozniak & K. Fischer (Eds.), Scientific environments (pp. 3–44). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In T. Husen, & T. N. Postlethwaite (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (2nd ed.) (Vol. 3, pp. 1643–1647). Oxford, England: Pergamon Press/Elsevier Science.
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. (1998). The ecology of developmental processes. In W. Damon & R. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (Vol. 1, pp. 993–1028). New York: John Wiley.
Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38(5), 300–314.
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.
Columbo, S. A. (1986). General well-being in adolescents: Its nature and measurement. Dissertation Abstracts International 46, 2246B. Saint Louis: Saint Louis University.
Corsaro, W. A. (1997). The sociology of childhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Hanafin, S., & Brooks, A.-M. (2005). Report on the development of a national set of child well-being indicators in Ireland. Dublin: The National Children’s Office.
Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 17–43). New York: The Guilford Press.
James, A. (2009). Agency. In J. Qvortrup, W. A. Corsaro, & M.-S. Honig (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of childhood studies (pp. 34–45). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
James, A., & Prout, A. (Eds.). (1990). Constructing and re-constructing childhood. Basingstoke: Falmer Press.
James, A., Jenks, C., & Prout, A. (1998). Theorizing childhood. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Leont’ev, A. N. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. (Transl.) M. J. Hall, original edition 1975.
Moore, K. A., Theokas, C., Lippman, L., Bloch, M., Vandivere, S., & O’Hare, W. (2008). A microdata child well-being index: conceptualization, creation, and findings. Child Indicators Research, 1(1), 17–50.
O’Hare, W. P., & Gutierrez, F. (2012). The use of domains in constructing a comprehensive composite index of child well-being. Child Indicators Research, 5(4), 609–629. doi:10.1007/s12187-012-9138-6.
Pollard, E. L., & Lee, P. D. (2003). Child well-being: a systematic review of the literature. Social Indicators Research, 61(1), 59–78.
Qvortrup, J. (1994). Childhood matters: An introduction. In J. Qvortrup, M. Bardy, G. Sgritta, & H. Wintersberger (Eds.), Childhood matters: Social theory, practice and politics (pp. 1–23). Aldershot: Avebury.
Qvortrup, J., Bardy, M., Sgritta, G., & Wintersberger, H. (1994). Preface. In J. Qvortrup, M. Bardy, G. Sgritta, & H. Wintersberger (Eds.), Childhood matters: Social theory, practice and politics (pp. ix–xiv). Aldershot: Avebury.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.
Schor, E. L. (1995). Developing communality: family-centered programs to improve children’s health and well-being. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 72(2), 413–442.
Sen, A. (1992). Inequality reexamined. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
UNICEF (2007). Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries, Innocenti Report Card 7. Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
United Nations (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/CHILD_E.PDF. Accessed 20 August 2012.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). In E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar (Eds.), Thought and language: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). In M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Schribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
WHO (1946). Constitution of the World Health Organisation. Basic Documents, Supplement 2006. http://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf. Accessed 20 August 2012.
Yarcheski, A., Scoloveno, M. A., & Mahon, N. E. (1994). Social support and well-being in adolescents: the mediating role of hopefulness. Nursing Research, 43(5), 288–292.
Acknowledgments
This paper was supported by a postgraduate student fellowship from the Oskar Öflunds Foundation, the Finnish Concordia Fund and the Häme Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. I would also like to acknowledge the support received from Dr. Atte Oksanen, Dr. Irmeli Järventie, Prof. (Emer.) Anja Lahikainen and Prof. (Emer.) Matti Alestalo
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Minkkinen, J. The Structural Model of Child Well-Being. Child Ind Res 6, 547–558 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9178-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9178-6