A Study of Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Italy: how are Children doing at 8 years of Age?

Abstract

The paper presents a portion of the first findings of the International Survey of Children’s Well-being (ISCWeB) study, which was performed in Italy. The primary purpose of the ISCWeB project was to consider the subjective well-being of children and to achieve a comprehensive understanding of their lives, focusing on their own perceptions and evaluations. This work aimed to learn more about the subjective well-being of 8-year-old Italian children. A total of 1145 children participated in the study and completed the ISCWeB questionnaire. Several psychometric scales were used: the single-item Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS) scale, the five-item Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS-5), the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS), and the Personal Well-being Index - School Children (PWI4). In addition, the satisfaction in different life domains was measured and several group comparisons were performed to analyze gender and contextual differences. Adopting gender comparisons, family and school contexts were explored more in deep through selected items of the ISCWeB questionnaire. It was also considered the role of gender as individual variable capable of influencing the relations between family and school satisfaction and subjective well-being. Overall, a high degree of children’s subjective well-being emerged. No differences were found between males and females on overall subjective well-being, while gender statistically significant differences were found in the life domains of family and school. Moreover, the results revealed the contribute of gender in moderating the relation between school satisfaction and subjective well-being, finding that higher satisfaction with school life leads to higher subjective well-being for males but not for females. Theoretical, practical and policy implications were discussed.