Children’s Subjective Well-being in Pakistan

Abstract

This article reports the initial results of the children’s subjective wellbeing survey in Pakistan. The survey was carried out in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. A total 3600 children between eight to twelve years old took part in the survey. This study is a part of the International Survey of Children’s Wellbeing (ISCWeB) dealing with children’s subjective understanding of their well-being. It encompasses children’s perceptions on their family, peer relation, safety, agency, economic conditions and education. In addition, satisfaction with oneself, thus focusing on their overall well-being. The psychometric-scales including the one item scale on overall life satisfaction (OLS), the Students Life Satisfaction (five-item scale that is SLSS5) and Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) were used to assess children’s perceptions of their subjective well-being. The researcher found that children are highly satisfied with their lives. Among the three age categories, the highest level of satisfaction was showed by the eight years old age group, within that girls have higher results in comparison with boys. However, the lowest results were seen among children of twelve years old age group. Furthermore, no significant differences were seen in the wellbeing of children based on the area they live in. Nonetheless, a slightly higher satisfaction was observed among the children living in rural areas.