Life events and children’s subjective well- being Larissa Pople The Children’s Society International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 27 th July

Life events and children’s subjective well-being

Larissa Pople

The Children’s Society

International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 27th July 2011

Life events


Background and research aims

• Existing evidence suggests that adverse life events are linked to lower SWB for children.

• Our research confirms that children’s SWB has both static and dynamic components.

• We wanted to explore: • How important life events are for children’s SWB and in comparison to other factors (e.g. socio-demographic, personality etc) • The role of internal/external buffers (e.g. self-esteem, sense of control, wealth & supportive relationships)


2008 survey: life events

• Our 2008 national well-being survey of 7,000 10 to 15-year-olds found a number of links between life events and SWB.

• Well-being was significantly lower among CYP reporting: • Being bullied • Changes in family structure• Changes in home, school and local area (but these differences were small)


2008 survey: bullying

“How often, if at all, have you been bullied in the last year?”


7.67.2

6.5

8.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

Never Hardlyever

Sometimes Often

Overa

ll w

ell

-bein

g (

0-1

0)

2008 survey: family change

“Were you living with the same adults this time last year?”


6.8

7.8

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

Yes No

Overa

ll w

ell

-bein

g (

0-1

0)

2010 survey: 20 life events

• Our 2010-11 survey included 20 new questions about life events. These were put to 2,400 10 to 15-year-olds and asked about positive/negative events relating to:

• School• Friendships• Outside of school/neighbourhood

• Response categories: “Has not happened” “Happened once” “Happened more than once” “Not sure”


2010 survey: positive events


Positive events Happened(at all)

Gender differences(More likely to happen to..)

You got a really good mark in a test or exam 92% Boy

You did really well at an activity at school (like sport, music, drama, etc)

91% NS

You got praised by a teacher 90% Girl

You made a new friend 88% NS

You did really well at an activity outside school (like sport, music, drama)

81% NS

You got an award or prize for something you did at school

71% NS

2010 survey: negative events at school


Negative events at school Happened(at all)


You got told off by a teacher 86% Boy

You got a really bad mark in a test or exam* 73% Girl

You got into trouble at school 70% Boy

You felt treated unfairly by a teacher 68% Boy

You did really badly at an activity at school (like sport, music, drama)*

53% NS

You got a detention 50% Boy

2010 survey: negative events outside school or with friends


Negative events relating to friendships or outside school

Happened(at all)


A close friend had a serious problem* 64% NS

You had a serious argument with a close friend 64% NS

A friend that you trusted did not keep a secret 64% Girl

You stopped being friendly with a close friend 52% Girl

You broke up with a boyfriend/girlfriend 45% Boy

You were pressured by friends to do something you did not want to do

40% Boy

You were bullied or picked on by other young people 38% NS

You felt treated unfairly by an adult in your neighbourhood

34% Boy

2010 survey: changes at school, home and within the family


Questions included in 2008 survey Happened(at all)


You moved house in the past year 18% NS

You moved local area in the past year 10% Girl

You changed school in the past year 9% Girl

You were living with different adults this time last year

9% NS

2010 survey: gender differences


You got into trouble at school

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Has nothappened

Happenedonce

Happenedmore than

once

A girlA boy

2010 survey: gender differences


You got a detention

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Has nothappened

Happenedonce

Happenedmore than

once

A girlA boy

2010 survey: age differences


Life event Age differences(More likely to happen to…)

You were bullied or picked on by other young people Year 6s(aged 10 & 11)

You got an award or prize for something you did at school Year 6s(aged 10 & 11)

You were pressured by friends to do something you did not want to

Year 6s(aged 10 & 11)

You got a detention Year 10s(aged 14 & 15)

You got into trouble at school Year 10s(aged 14 & 15)

You got a really bad mark in a test or exam Year 10s (aged 14 & 15)



You were bullied or picked on by other young people

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Has not happened Happened once Happened morethan once

Year 6

Year 8

Year 10



You got an award or prize for something you did at school

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Has not happened Happened once Happened more thanonce

Year 6

Year 8

Year 10



You were pressured by friends to do something you did not want to do

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%


Year 6

Year 8

Year 10



You got a detention

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%


Year 6

Year 8

Year 10



You got a really bad mark in a test or exam

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%


Year 6

Year 8

Year 10



You felt treated unfairly by a teacher

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%


Year 6

Year 8

Year 10

2010 survey: correlations between life events and SWB


Life event Spearman’s rho

You did really badly at an activity at school (like sport, music, drama etc) -.245**

You felt treated unfairly by a teacher -.237**

You got a really bad mark in a test or exam -.221**

You stopped being friendly with a close friend -.220**

You felt treated unfairly by an adult in your neighbourhood -.211**

A close friend had a serious problem -.207**

You were pressured by friends to do something you did not want to do -.199**

You were bullied or picked on by other young people -.194**

You got a detention -.186**

You had a serious argument with a close friend -.185**

2010 survey:correlations between life events and SWB


Life event Spearman’s rho

You got an award or prize for something you did at school .181**

A friend that you trusted did not keep a secret -.176**

You did really well at an activity at school (like sport, music, drama etc) .167**

You did really well at an activity outside school (like sport, music, drama etc)

.152**

You got into trouble at school -.146**

You broke up with a boyfriend/girlfriend -.146**

You got told off by a teacher -.143**

You got praised by a teacher .142**

You got a really good mark in a test or exam .131**

You made a new friend NS

2010 survey: correlations between life changes and SWB


Change Spearman’s rho

Were you living with the same adults this time last year? -0.129**

Have you changed school in the past year? -0.074**

Did you live in the same local area a year ago as you do now? -0.063**

Have you moved house in the past year? -0.041**

2010 survey: life events with greatest differences in SWB


7.06.2

7.5

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

Has nothappened

Happenedonce

Happenedmore than

once

Overa

ll w

ell

-bein

g (

0-1

0)

“You were pressured by friends to do something you did not want to do”



7.06.2

7.5

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

Has nothappened

Happenedonce

Happenedmore than

once

Overa

ll w

ell

-bein

g (

0-1

0)

“You felt treated unfairly by an adult in your neighbourhood”



7.16.3

7.5

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

Has nothappened

Happenedonce

Happenedmore than

once

Overa

ll w

ell

-bein

g (

0-1

0)

“You stopped being friendly with a close friend”

2010 survey: factor analysis

Factor analysis identified four separate factors:

1. All the positive events

The negative events relating to:

2. Friends, bullying and adults in the neighbourhood

3. Getting into trouble at school 4. Doing badly at school


We combined these two factors

2010 survey: regression analysis


Factor Beta Significance

Age -0.092 0.001

Gender 0.130 0.000

Positive events 0.320 0.000

Negative events at school -0.212 0.000

Negative events with friends & outside school

-0.236 0.000

Adjusted r2 0.207

Conclusions

• Our research confirms that life events - particularly negative events - at school, outside school, at home and with friends are associated with children’s SWB.

• Some, but not all, of the life events that we explored had significant age and gender profiles.

• Further research: • The links between personality and life events• Explore other life events, and in different areas of children’s lives • The role of internal/external buffers in mediating the impact of life events


Life events and children’s subjective well-being

Larissa Pople

The Children’s Society


Documents

Life events and children’s subjective well- being Larissa Pople The Children’s Society International Society for Child Indicators Conference, 27 th July