Multi-national study of children’s subjective well-being: learning from the pilot work in England Larissa Pople, The Children’s Society International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

The pilot work in England International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Objectives of the pilot work To examine the questionnaire and its utility for the entire population To test children’s understanding of the questionnaire by age and culture To compare within and between countries International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Learning from previous research International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 The Children’s Society’s experience of carrying out research on children’s SWB has taught us that UK children understand the wording ‘happy with’ better than ‘satisfied with’. Since our surveys have focused on SWB rather than behaviour, we have not included questions about time use. We also know that absolute necessities are almost universal in the UK (we are developing a child-centred list of socially perceived necessities with the University of York)

Learning from cognitive testing interviews International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 In August 2010, we carried out cognitive testing interviews with 6 boys and 3 girls aged 8 and 9. Key findings include: This age group tends to give very high ratings for SWB, although sometimes their comments suggest that a lower rating would have been justified, like in this comment “I wasn’t sure whether to write 10 or 9 [she put 10], because some of them I really like, and some I less like. Like the [teacher that she’d described earlier], she just told off people for no reason like if they were just out of their seats sharpening their pencils, she would be like ‘Go back to your seat!’…” 8-year-old girl

Learning from cognitive testing interviews International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 Comparisons may not work as intended with this age group: ‘Compared to other children you know, how well off (rich/wealthy) do you think your family is?’ ‘Compared to other families in your area, how well off (rich/wealthy) do you think your family is?’ Children tended to think about people that they know in response to both questions.

Learning from cognitive testing interviews International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 Health and appearance This age group seems to understand ‘health’ primarily in terms of healthy eating and keeping fit, and not about being free from illness. We therefore made some changes in wording e.g. How happy are you with… ‘your health’ – added (feeling well or unwell) [we added a question about ‘the food you eat’] ‘your body’ – dropped ‘the amount of exercise you do’ – kept the same ‘your appearance’ – added (the way that you look)

Learning from cognitive testing interviews International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 Certain forms of wording didn’t work well for this age group, including ‘How happy are you with…’ ‘your relationships with your school mates’ – changed to ‘the children in your class’ ‘what may happen to you later on in life’ – added (in the future) ‘the groups of people you belong to’ – dropped ‘the things you have achieved in life’ - dropped ‘your self’ - dropped ‘your religion (or spirituality)’ - dropped

Learning from cognitive testing interviews International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 Other questions that didn’t work well for this age group include: ‘On average how much money of your own do you have to spend each week?’ – changed to ‘pocket money’. Also changed free text box to tick box categories ‘Where do you live’ (city/town/village/countryside) - dropped

Learning from focus group research International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 In July/Sept 2010, we carried out focus groups with 26 children aged Key findings include the importance of: Events and celebrations e.g. birthdays and Christmas The unkind/upsetting behaviour of friends, peers and siblings e.g. teasing, arguing, unkindness etc The local area e.g. a pleasant environment & things to do - we also asked about ‘the groups that you belong to’ Freedom and choice National/international issues e.g. poverty, homelessness, crime

Learning from the pilot surveys International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 In July & October 2010, we carried out 2 pilot surveys with 75 and 346 children aged 8 and 9. Key findings include high levels of missing data for certain questions: Changes in children’s lives ‘Did you live in the same local area a year ago as you do now?’ (31%) ‘Were you living with the same adults this time last year?’ (20%) ‘Have you moved house in the past year?’ (12%) ‘Have you changed school in the past year?’ (8%)

Learning from the pilot surveys International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 ‘What would you say is your religion?’ (19%) ‘Do you have difficulties with learning?’ (16%) ‘How many adults that you live with have a paid job?’ (15%) ‘Which of the following best describes the home you live in?’ (9%) I live with my family I live in a children's home I live in another type of home ‘Which people do you live with?’ (changed ‘mother’s partner / father’s partner’ to ‘stepfather / stepmother’) Pocket money

Learning from the pilot surveys Material items or ‘socially perceived necessities’. A games console like an Xbox, PS3, DS or Wii (6%) Money to buy treats like sweets, chocolate, crisps, pizza or chips once a week (16%) Your own mobile phone (16%) At least one holiday away from home each year (21%) A garden or somewhere nearby where you can play out (10%) Response options: ‘I have this’, ‘I don’t have this but I would like it’, ‘I don’t have this and I don’t want or need it’, ‘Don’t’ know’. International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Learning from the pilot surveys International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July ‘happiness with…’ scales NMeanStd. Deviation % unhappy % 10 out of 10 Home* %74% Local area %74% Family* %74% School* %73% Money/Possessions* %72% Friends* %72% Health* %72% Safety %72% Teachers %71% Enjoying self %70%

Learning from the pilot survey International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July ‘happiness with…’ scales NMeanStd. Deviation % unhappy % 10 out of 10 Time use* %63% Appearance* %63% Choice* %63% School work %62% Exercise %62% Food %60% Confidence %57% Class mates %56% Listened to %54% Future* %52%

Learning from the pilot surveys International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 Overall well-being: Huebner scale My life is going well My life is just right I wish I had a different kind of life I have a good life I have what I want in life Good reliability, stability and single construct for 10 to 15- year-olds Not so good for 8 and 9-year-olds, and high % missing values

Learning from the pilot survey International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Learning from the pilot survey International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Learning from the mainstage survey International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Learning from the pilot survey International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011

Conclusions International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011 ‘To test children’s understanding of the questionnaire by age and culture’ We carried out cognitive testing, focus groups, two pilot surveys and a mainstage survey with 8 and 9-year-olds in England Certain forms of wording do not work for this age group High levels of missing data for certain questions Heavily skewed distributions with majority scoring 10/10 Overall well-being questions worked differently for this age group, Cantril’s ladder appears to work best

Multi-national study of children’s subjective well-being: learning from the pilot work in England Larissa Pople, The Children’s Society International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 29 th July 2011