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A Ecological Model of Well-Being in Child Welfare Referred Children

Author

Listed:
  • Lara Ayala-Nunes

    (University of Seville)

  • Lucía Jiménez

    (University of Seville)

  • Saul Jesus

    (University of Algarve)

  • Cristina Nunes

    (University of Algarve)

  • Victoria Hidalgo

    (University of Seville)

Abstract

Despite its social, political and economic relevance, child well-being remains a challenging construct to define and measure accurately. This holds true especially for children growing up in at-risk families, where their development is hindered by many adverse circumstances. Typically, the well-being of child welfare (CW) referred children has been conceptualized as the absence of negative outcomes, and the study of its determinants has been limited to children’s micro-systems. In this study, we aimed to obtain a suitable indicator of child well-being and to test a model of the determinants of CW referred children’s well-being including parental, family and wider contextual variables. The sample included 249 parents and 46 case managers from Portuguese and Spanish CW services. A three-domain solution from selected items of the Child Well-Being Scales (Physical, Academic and Socioemotional) was tested and confirmed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results of structural equation modeling for each domain revealed that risk factors nested in the wider context and those related to material disadvantage were the most powerful predictors of physical well-being, while parenting and family functioning variables predicted better both academic and socio-emotional well-being. Our findings suggest that different risk and protective factors matter for different outcomes and that most of these factors are associated with each other. Therefore, interventions with at-risk children must take this specificity into account when targeting each domain of well-being, and efforts could be allocated to a few modifiable dimensions, which would in turn positively affect other parental and family factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Lara Ayala-Nunes & Lucía Jiménez & Saul Jesus & Cristina Nunes & Victoria Hidalgo, 2018. "A Ecological Model of Well-Being in Child Welfare Referred Children," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 811-836, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:140:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1807-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1807-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Inmaculada Herranz Aguayo & Eduardo Díaz Herráiz & Elsa Montenegro Marques & Idalina Machado & Sidalina Almeida, 2016. "Child at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion: Comparative View Between Spain and Portugal in the European Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 961-978, December.
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    5. Inmaculada Herranz Aguayo & Eduardo Díaz Herráiz & Elsa Montenegro Marques & Idalina Machado & Sidalina Almeida, 2016. "Erratum to: Child at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion: Comparative View Between Spain and Portugal in the European Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1401-1403, December.
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    8. Gilbert, Neil, 2012. "A comparative study of child welfare systems: Abstract orientations and concrete results," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 532-536.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Manuela Calheiros & Sandra Ornelas & Eunice Magalhães & Margarida Vaz Garrido, 2022. "Profiles of Young Children Involved with Child Protection Services in Portugal," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(3), pages 933-958, June.
    2. Lin Qi & Huamin Peng & Ruiwen Sun, 2022. "Examining Family Living Arrangements, Economic Development, Education Expenditure and Children’s Weight from the Welfare Mix in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2673-2695, October.

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