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Money Matters: a Nuanced Approach to Understanding the Relationship between Household Income and Child Subjective Well-Being

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  • Gill Main

    (University of Leeds)

Abstract

This paper examines the links between household income and child subjective well-being. Previous studies produce contradictory findings: qualitative investigations indicate a strong relationship which is elusive in quantitative studies. I hypothesise that the reason for this discrepancy is that household-level measures of child poverty do not adequately capture children’s active roles in forming views on their material needs, assessing their comparative socio-economic status, and contributing to processes and outcomes of intra-household resource sharing. Thus a relationship between household income and subjective well-being is hypothesised to exist, but to be mediated by factors including (among others) material deprivation, perceptions of fairness in the processes and outcomes of intra-household allocation, and subjective material well-being. Drawing on survey data from a sample of 1010 parent-child (aged 10–16) pairs in England, structural equation modelling is used to examine these potential mediating effects. Findings indicate that income has a complex role to play in child subjective well-being, with significant direct and indirect associations. Income, deprivation, perceptions of the fairness of intra-household allocation processes and outcomes, and subjective material well-being are all significantly interrelated and are all predictors of subjective well-being. The complex nature of these relationships illustrates the multi-dimensional nature of child poverty and its impacts. Household income is an important factor; but alone it cannot capture children’s active roles in assessing their needs and material living conditions. This confirms the importance of considering children’s agency in understandings of child poverty and material well-being, and including their reports in studies of child poverty and intra-household allocation.

Suggested Citation

  • Gill Main, 2019. "Money Matters: a Nuanced Approach to Understanding the Relationship between Household Income and Child Subjective Well-Being," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(4), pages 1125-1145, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:12:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-018-9574-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-018-9574-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Albino Prada & Patricio Sanchez-Fernandez, 2021. "World Child Well-Being Index: A Multidimensional Perspective," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2119-2144, December.
    4. Getachew Yirga Belete, 2021. "Impacts of Social Protection Programmes on Children’s Resources and Wellbeing: Evidence from Ethiopia," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(2), pages 681-712, April.
    5. Loreto Ditzel & Ferran Casas & Javier Torres-Vallejos & Alejandra Villarroel, 2022. "The Subjective Well-Being of Chilean Children Living in Conditions of High Social Vulnerability," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1639-1660, June.
    6. Gundi Knies, 2022. "Effects of Income and Material Deprivation on Children’s Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Longitudinal Data for England (2009–2018)," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1469-1492, April.
    7. Bessell, Sharon & Siagian, Clara & Bexley, Angie, 2020. "Towards child-inclusive concepts of childhood poverty: The contribution and potential of research with children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    8. Ana Loreto Ditzel & María Josefina Chuecas & Lívia Maria Bedin & Javier Torres-Vallejos & Alejandra Villarroel & Mariavictoria Benavente & Jaime Alfaro & Jorge Castellá Sarriera & Joel Juarros-Basterr, 2022. "Access to material resources and the subjective well-being of children in Brazil and Chile," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(2), pages 447-465, April.
    9. Annie Smith & Stephanie Martin & Maya Peled & Colleen Poon, 2023. "Developing an index of adolescent deprivation for use in British Columbia, Canada," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 273-291, February.

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