Main description:

This book explores the broad view on child well-being and the quality of life research. It starts with a discussion of the origin of the social indicator movement and a review of literature on the concepts of quality of life, (subjective) well-being and resilience. It then discusses the force of culture on child development, and shows how two prototypical environments favor either the independent or interdependent self-model. After an exploration of the shifts and changes in the child well-being indicator movement and trends of child well-being measurements, the book turns to research on Tsunami-affected children. The first part of the study gives these children and their caregivers a voice, formulating in their words what constitutes child well-being for them in the given circumstances. The concepts provided are processed in detail, contrasted, and then made into indicators. The second part of the study describes the introduction of a child well-being index based on these indicators. The book ends with four main conclusions reflected in a theoretical model of contextualized child well-being indicators.

Contents:

Introduction.- Chapter 1: Social Indicators and the Concepts of Quality of Life, Subjective Well-Being and Resilience.- Chapter 2: Culture and Child Well-Being.- Chapter 3: Child Well-Being.- Chapter 4: Development of Child Well-Being Indicators Four Years after the Tsunami Disaster.- Chapter 5: Children's Voices on Their Well-Being: A Child Well-Being Index.- Conclusions.- References.