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Better to Grow Up Poor in a Richer Place? Social Housing, Neighbourhood Comparisons, and English Teenagers’ Well-Being

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  • Franco Bonomi Bezzo

    (La Statale, University of Milan
    Institut National d’études Démographiques
    University of Cape Town)

  • Pieter Vanhuysse

    (University of Southern Denmark
    University of Southern Denmark)

Abstract

How does being comparatively socio-economically disadvantaged within their neighbourhood affect the lived experiences of young teenagers? We explore this question on a sample of 13 to 15-year-old teenagers living in social housing in England. We explore three major domains of young teenagers’ well-being: (a) their sense of generally leading a bad life, (b) conflictual family interactions, and (c) unhappy social interactions with their peers. We find that living in a social housing estate within a less deprived neighbourhood does not negatively affect teenagers’ general sense of leading a bad life and does not increase conflictual family interactions. But it does make them less likely to report unhappy social interactions with their peers, indicating a positive effect of social mixing at the neighbourhood level.

Suggested Citation

  • Franco Bonomi Bezzo & Pieter Vanhuysse, 2024. "Better to Grow Up Poor in a Richer Place? Social Housing, Neighbourhood Comparisons, and English Teenagers’ Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:25:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10902-024-00740-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-024-00740-z
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