Indirect effects of material conditions on children's relational and subjective well-being

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the factors through which children’s material deprivation affects their subjective well-being. Children’s relational experiences with their families, friends, teachers, people in their neighborhood and their time use experiences were defined as mediator variables. Secondary analysis of the collected data with 1885 Turkish children, aged 10 and 12-years-old, was conducted. The data was collected as part of a multinational research survey called Children’s Worlds. The participants were recruited from the state schools in Istanbul using stratified sampling method. Children were asked to fill a questionnaire and the survey included only children’s own appraisals, perceptions, and experiences with their immediate surroundings. The results showed that children’s satisfaction with their experiences at school, neighborhood, with their family, friends and their time use play a significant mediating role in the relationship between their material deprivation and subjective well-being in general. There was a significant difference according to age; 10-years-old children were found to have higher levels of subjective well-being in comparison to 12-years-old children. In terms of gender differentiation, girls were found to be showing higher levels of satisfaction with their close relationships in comparison to boys. The current study makes a considerable contribution to the field as it is the first study addressing the indirect effects of children’s material deprivation on their subjective well-being in different areas of their lives in a Turkish sample.