Our project decided to rely on a number of concepts when selecting the various domains of child well-being. We took into consideration the values we wanted to stress, the desire to remain policy relevant, our understanding of the changes occurring in the field of social indicators, and our concern with the whole child. In addition, we wanted to be certain that in applying universal concepts of well-being we would have the latitude to remain culturally sensitive. We were concerned that any single unified theory at this point might not be able to address our needs. For all these reasons, we decided to concentrate our work on five domains of children's well-being. We do not mean to suggest that these five domains provide a definitive categorization; for some research objectives, these five may not be the only or even the most important ones.
| To jump to details for the indicators listed, click on the green arrow next to the indicator name. | |
| Safety and Physical Status | |
| The safety and physical status domain addresses the most basic components of well being, whether a child is and feels safe from physical injury and trauma or is affected by physical or environmental threats, and the extent to which the child leads a physically healthy lifestyle. | |
| Subdomain: Safety | |
| Received Parenting Practices | |
| Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect | |
| Perceived Safety vs. Risk | |
| Exposure to Environmental Hazards | |
| Physical/Neighborhood Crime | |
| Exposure to War and Terrorism | |
| Rate of Injury or Trauma | |
| Subdomain: Physical Status | |
| Substance Abuse | |
| Height, Weight and Body Mass Index | |
| Level and Incidence of Physical Activity | |
| Eating Habits and Diet | |
| Personal Life | |
| This domain includes measures of a child's ability to initiate and maintain social interactions, the extent and level of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and other emotional capacities, and culturally relevant measures of educational achievement and work-related skills. The measures identified for General Knowledge under the subdomain Academic Skills and Resources come exclusively from the Civic Education Study (CIVED) developed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The CIVED measures 14-year old students' civic knowledge, skills and attitudes across the following three domains: democracy, national identity and international relations, and social cohesion and diversity. The survey was conducted in 1999 in 28 countries. Judith Torney-Purta, Coordinator of the CIVED, University of Maryland, and a participant in Phases I and II of the Multinational Indicators project guided the selection of the measures included to capture general knowledge, and gave permission for their inclusion in this study and database. For the CIVED report and full instrument see http://www.wam.umd.edu/~iea | |
| Subdomain: Interpersonal Skills and Resources | |
| Support from Family, Friends, and Others | |
| Conflict Resolution Skills | |
| Social Communication Skills | |
| Behavior Among and With Peer Group | |
| Subdomain: Intrapersonal Skills and Resources | |
| Anxiety and Depression | |
| Happiness, Life Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Quality of Life | |
| Perceived Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem | |
| Subdomain: Academic Skills and Resources | |
| Literacy | |
| Numeracy | |
| Knowledge of Information and Communication Technology | |
| General Knowledge | |
| Scientific Knowledge | |
| Civic Life | |
| Indicators in this domain measure the extent to which children have opportunities to engage in and engage in civic and community activities; and the level to which children are exposed to and trust government; their knowledge of the fundamental principles of democracy; recognition of international issues and organizations; and belief in civil rights and opportunities for all. The measures identified in this domain come exclusively from the Civic Education Study (CIVED) developed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The CIVED measures 14-year old students' civic knowledge, skills and attitudes across the following three domains: democracy, national identity and international relations, and social cohesion and diversity. The survey was conducted in 1999 in 28 countries. Judith Torney-Purta, Coordinator of the CIVED, University of Maryland and a participant in Phases I and II of the Multinational Indicators project guided the selection of the measures included in this domain, and gave permission for their inclusion in this study and database. For the CIVED report and full instrument see http://www.wam.umd.edu/~iea Users of this database can choose among the measures/questions identified and the examples included can be adjusted to include college in industrialized countries. | |
| Subdomain: Civic and Community Activities | |
| Children's Formal and Informal Involvement in Community Life | |
| Subdomain: Opportunities for Civic and Community Activities | |
| Existence of and Participation in Student Government | |
| Perception by Children of Children's Involvement in Decision Making in School | |
| Subdomain: Civic and Community Values, Awareness, and Perception | |
| Trust in Government and Community | |
| Belief in Civil Rights | |
| Exposure to and Trust in Newspapers/TV/Internet News | |
| Knowledge of Fundamental Principles of Democracy and Skill in Interpreting Political Communications | |
| Belief in Existence of Opportunities for Immigrants, National, Racial and Economic Groups, and for Girls/Women | |
| Children's Economic Resources and Contribution | |
| The impact of economic conditions on children and their lives cannot be ignored. Economic resources available for children play a critical role in enabling them to enjoy life as well as to develop. But children are not merely an economic burden on society (or the family). Children are also an economic resource, active actors and contributors within their households or societal economies. Indicators in this domain focus on the objective and subjective economic status of children's' families, and measure the extent to which children themselves are an economic resource and active actors and contributors within their households. All measures, references and data sources in this domain were identified by Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, University of York, UK. A summary of this domain's sources and data can be found in the following Adobe PDF file: Economic Indicators | |
| Subdomain: Macro-economic and Intergenerational Distributive Justice | |
| Percent of Children in Household in Bottom Two Quintiles | |
| Relative Child Poverty Rates | |
| Extreme Poverty | |
| Family Level of Dependence | |
| Subjective Measures of Material Well-Being and Poverty | |
| Lack of Socially Perceived Necessities | |
| Family Debt | |
| Subdomain: Children's Contribution and Autonomy Indicators | |
| Benefit Transfers Paid Directly to Children or to Family on Their Behalf | |
| Children's perception of their contribution to family resources | |
| Percentage of family resources contributed by children | |
| Subdomain: Expenditure on Children | |
| Average costs of children (for the household and for society) by age group | |
| Percentage of family expenditures (spent by or on) by children | |
| Public expenditure by age group | |
| Subdomain: Access to Resources | |
| Measures of children's share of the family's material and economic resources | |
| Access to various social, educational, and health services regardless of economic status | |
| Children's Activities | |
| Across political jurisdictions and cultures, children engage in work, play, creative activities, consumption, social interactions, and other activities that are analogous to adult activities yet qualitatively different. Children are active in their families, among peers and community groups; in various social institutions and settings, such as schools, informal educational programs and institutions, and recreation facilities; as consumers and as users and creators of information networks and other media. Indicators in this domain are related to how children divide their time across different activities, the nature of the activities, places in which these activities occur, and children's perceptions of the relative importance and contribution of the different activities to their lives. | |
| Subdomain: Children's Activities | |
| Time Use - Activities | |
| Where is Time Spent | |
| Time Spent with Parents | |